United DPs named in Boomers 17-man squad

Two of Melbourne United’s Development Players have been named in the extended 17-man Australian Boomers squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers to be held in Okinawa, Japan this month.

David Okwera (19 years old) and Zac Triplett (20 years old) have both been named to the squad, with the potential for selection to the 12-man team that will play a trio of games at the end of February.

Speaking after United’s training session on Wednesday, the pair spoke about their excitement regarding the announcement.

“For me being a Boomer has been one of my biggest goals in my career,” Okwera said.

“I’ve been fortunate to have already done it in the U19 World Cup, and I can’t wait to hopefully do it again at the senior level.”

“For me, one of the biggest things as a kid was watching guys like Andrew Gaze and the Boomers play for Australia,” Triplett added.

“To represent my country and be a Boomer was one of the biggest goals I had for my future, it’s a huge honour to be selected for the squad and then hopefully go from there.”

The duo are surrounded by Boomers talent at Melbourne United, with the quartet of Matthew Dellavedova, Chris Goulding, David Barlow and Brad Newley having represented Australia at multiple Olympics and World Cups.

This experience has been rubbing off on Okwera and Triplett, who have been closely watching and learning from their teammates.

“Being around Delly, CG, Barlow and Newley has been huge,” Zac said.

“They've been massive parts of Australian basketball for a long time, so just being out there on the court with them at a professional level has been huge for us at such a young age.

“I hope we can follow in their footsteps and live out the dreams that they lived out for us.”

Both players have appeared sparingly so far in NBL22, but have always made an impact when on the court.

Okwera became the youngest Australian to score double digits in an NBL game since Joe Ingles in United’s first game of the season, while Triplett got to work in the same game, adding five points in what was his own debut.

Melbourne Head Coach Dean Vickerman said he is thrilled for Okwera and Triplett, and believes the squad selection speaks volumes about the work they’ve put in.

“We wanted to sign them to long-term contracts because we have the total belief that they’re going to be high-quality players for a long time in this league.

“They’ve both played at the highest levels as juniors, and for them to get this opportunity at the senior level so quickly is amazing for both of them.”

See the full list of the 17-man squad below:

ZUNIC, KYLE - Perth Wildcats
MACDONALD, SEAN - Tasmania JackJumpers
MUDRONJA, ALEXANDER - Illawarra Hawks
PROCTOR, TYRESE - NBA GA Academy
GALLOWAY, JAYLIN - Sydney Kings
GAK, AKOLDAH - Illawarra Hawks
OKWERA, DAVID -Melbourne United
KAY, NICHOLAS - Shimane Susanoo Magic
BRANDT, ANGUS - Kagawa Five Arrows
VAGUE, RHYS - Kagawa Five Arrows
NAAR, EMMETT - Illawarra Hawks
MALUACH, MAKUACH - Korikouvot (FIN)
MOLLER, CRAIG - Wuerzburg (GER)
WESSELS, HARRY - Centre of Excellence
DENGDIT, BOL - Centre of Excellence
TRIPLETT, ZAC - Melbourne United
MARSHALL, NICHOLAS - Adelaide 36ers