VICTORIA (Australia) - Basketball Australia have announced a 25-man preliminary roster ahead of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 which includes star prospects such as Rocco Zikarsky, Roman Siulepa, Dash Daniels and Jacob Furphy.
Australia head coach Robbie McKinlay named the group of players for a training camp which will be held March 17-20 at the Centre of Excellence, Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
"This is the start of the journey towards the World Cup so it's an exciting time for these young players. We are looking forward to having such a deep and versatile group in camp," McKinlay said on the Australian Basketball website.
Australia's preliminary list for FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025
The player pool is a collection made up primarily of youngsters who played for the country's U17 and U18 national teams in 2024.
The list includes all 12 players who helped Australia take the title at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024 and book their spot in Lausanne. McKinlay was the coach of the U18 team last summer.
Furphy was the team's leading scorer and Emmett Adair and Luke Fennell both averaged in double figures scoring. Jack Whitbourn averaged double digits in rebounds while Che Brogan and Mason Honeyman were the top two assist men on the team. Also from the U18 group are Daniels, Goc Malual, Jesse McIntosh, Ajak Nyuon, Nash Walker and Ben Waller.
Daniels, Nyuon and Walker also played at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024, where the Australians slumped to 15th place - their worst showing ever in the competition.
Also included in the U19 preliminary roster from last summer's U17 team are Roor Akhuar, Ryder Cheesman, Indy Cotton, Alex Dickeson, Mading Kuany and Henry Sewell.
Zikarsky plays for the Brisbane Bullets in the Australian NBL and has already shined for the senior national team in the last window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers. Neither the talented center nor Siulepa played at the U18 Asia Cup, though both starred at the U18 event, the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in April 2024, when the Oceania power won the crown.
McKinlay's Emus have been drawn into the ultra-competitive Group D in Switzerland, which includes USA, France, and Cameroon. All four teams advance to the Round of 16 where those four teams will cross over with the quartet from Group C - hosts Switzerland, Dominican Republic, Israel and Jordan.
FIBA