Will Rocco Zikarsky be the next Boomers rising star to debut in the Asia Cup Qualifiers?

BENDIGO (Australia)  - Basketball Australia have announced a 12-player roster for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers Window 1 game against Korea to be played in Bendigo.

Australia's 12-player roster for Window 1 of FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers

Taran Armstrong	Dejan Vasiljevic	Ben Henshall
Nicholas Kay	Isaac Humphries	Mitch McCarron
Jordan Hunter	Josh Bannan	Nick Marshall
Rocco Zikarsky	Kye Savage	Josh Dent

The lineup features two-time Asia Cup champion Mitch McCarron and well as Asia Cup 2017 champion and World Cup Boomer Nick Kay. Another veteran who has played in different windows of the World Cup Qualifiers is Isaac Humphries.

Don't forget about Dejan Vasiljevic either, as the forward went on a tear for 19.7 points per game across three games at the World Cup Qualifiers last year.

However, the main intrigue of this squad set to play in Bendigo is the youth movement as half of the team was born 2001 or later.

One of the most notable names of the promising prospects is also the youngest, Rocco Zikarsky. The 17-year-old was featured as a member of the U16 Asia Cup 2022 championship squad and All-Star Five, averaging 11.5 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 66 percent from the field. He them continued to impress at the U17 World Cup that same year, averaging 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

The big man is already playing against high-level competition in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) with the Brisbane Bullets and is already on the radar to be considered for the NBA Draft when he is eligible in 2025.

With this roster announcement, it seems inevitable that Zikarsky will make his Boomers debut right here in the Asia Cup Qualifiers. Will he join some of these other Boomers stars who saw their debuts in the Asia Cup Qualifiers as well?

Josh Giddey

February 23, 2020

Josh Giddey won the first-ever Wanda Rising Star Award at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 after averaging 19.4 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Boomers. He's also been a key part of the surging Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA, averaging 11.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game so far this season. Over his young career in which he was the sixth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, he's been putting up a solid 13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game.

But before he was racking up stats left and right at that level, Giddey had made his Boomers debut in Brisbane against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup 2022 Qualifiers. The signs were clear for everyone to see as the 17-year-old recorded an impressive line of 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Dyson Daniels

February 20, 2021

Australia lost their first game of the Asia Cup 2022 Qualifiers to New Zealand, so they seeked to get revenge in the rematch exactly one year later. Spearheading the 82-51 revenge victory was 17-year-old Dyson Daniels who scored a team-high 23 points while also getting 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and an Asia Cup Qualifiers-high 6 steals - a record that still stands heading into the 2025 cycle.

From there, Daniels went on to be the eighth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and recently played for the Boomers at the World Cup along with Giddey. In his past two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, Daniels has been averaging 4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.0 steal per game as a key defensive part of the team.

Tyrese Proctor

February 20, 2021

In that same game along with Daniels, 16-year-old Tyrese Proctor also got to see his first action on the court as a member of the Boomers. He was able to score a field goal and rack up an assist in his first appearance.

Among the names on this list, Proctor is the only Boomer to have played in the Qualifiers and the Asia Cup itself. The 1.93M (6'4") guard averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game as he helped Australia to another Asia Cup title in Jakarta.

Proctor is playing his second season with the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA Division 1, averaging 10.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game in his sophomore year. Various outlets have projected him being drafted in the first round of the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft.

Alex Toohey

February 20, 2021

Another intriguing Boomers debutant from the Asia Cup 2022 Qualifiers in that very same game is Alex Toohey. Also 16 years old at that time, Toohey grabbed four rebounds in his first and only Boomers appearance so far.

Now 19, Toohey is playing in the NBL for the Sydney Kings and averaging 7.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game. His exceptional form has resulted in him being considered among various outlets as a potential draft pick in the upcoming 2024 Draft as well.

FIBA