Basketball Australia named its Australian National Men's Basketball Squad for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, and it was announced that Sacramento State head coach David Patrick will serve as an assistant coach.
Patrick, who has been an Australian National Team assistant coach since 2019, will be with the "Boomers" when training camp begins on Aug. 1st, and for the tournament which takes place Aug. 25th - Sept. 10th. A total of 32 national teams from around the world will compete at the event which is co-hosted by The Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.
The Australians, currently ranked No. 3 in the world, will be in a pool with Finland, Germany, and Japan. The Boomers open the tournament on Aug. 25th in Okinawa against Finland. In the last FIBA World Cup (2019), Patrick was on the staff and helped coach the team to a Final Four appearance, which included the country's first-ever win against the United States. The fourth-place finish was the best in Australian National Team history at the World Cup.
The Boomers' roster for the World Cup currently sits at 18 players, which includes 10 current NBA players - Josh Giddey, Patty Mills, Matisse Thybulle, Joe Ingles, Jock Landale, Josh Green, Matthew Dellavedova, Xavier Cooks, Jack White, and Dyson Daniels.
"It's an honor to be chosen by Coach Goorjian and Basketball Australia to be on the Boomers' staff," Patrick said. "The culture and togetherness cannot be duplicated when you step into the Boomer environment. It will be another amazing feeling to wear the green and gold on the world stage, and compete for a gold medal".
Patrick, who grew up in Melbourne, Australia, enters his second season as head coach at Sacramento State. He grew up playing for the Melbourne Tigers and played professionally in the NBL with the Canberra Cannons.
Patrick led the Hornets to 14 wins this past season, easily the best mark by a first-year head coach in Sacramento State's Div. I era (1991-pres.). It's also the third-best mark for a first-year head coach in program history (1948-pres.).
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