Are we seeing the death of the Boomers' volume shooting bench guard role?

Boomers head coach Brian Goorjian has omitted both Chris Goulding and Dejan Vasiljevic from his final 12 man Paris Olympic roster, in a sign that the team's bench will take a new direction.

Credit: FIBA

Brian Goorjian has settled on his final 12-man Boomers roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and as always, there’s more than one talking point.

The omission of Matisse Thybulle raised some eyebrows, as did the return of Matthew Dellavedova, but there was one less obvious change in the makeup of the Australian bench. By leaving both Chris Goulding and Dejan Vasiljevic off the upcoming Olympic squad, the Boomers will be travelling to Paris without a bona fide volume shooting bench guard. This is very much a new direction for the Aussie men’s team, as Goulding has been a Boomers fixture since the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Many would have expected Dejan Vasiljevic to step up in his absence, but Goorjian has omitted both NBL stars for this Olympic campaign.

Chris Goulding made his major tournament debut at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and since then, has gone on to appear at three World Cups and two Olympic tournaments. The 35 year old is very much one of the team’s elder statesmen, although he also happens to be coming off one of his best professional seasons. Known for his gunslinger mentality from downtown, Goulding averaged 9.7 three-point attempts for Melbourne United this past season, which was a career high. And despite taking on this ludicrous volume, the veteran connected on 40% of these attempts, establishing himself as the NBL’s premier sharpshooter. Given that he attempted 12.9 shots per game in total, the treys accounted for 75% of his total shot volume.

Goulding’s individual achievements saw him earn an All-NBL First Team selection for the first time since 2016, and with the numbers he put up, it was certainly well-deserved. But the 6’4 guard wasn’t short on team success either, as Melbourne United made it all the way to the 2024 NBL Finals. Although they lost to the Tasmania JackJumpers in a thrilling five game series, that series could have ended very differently if it wasn’t for an incredible Jack McVeigh buzzer beater in game three.

In previous tournaments, Goulding has had perhaps the most clearly defined role on the Boomers. The expectation was that he would come off the bench and provide an instant spark whenever the Boomers offence struggled. His track record however has been less than stellar in recent tournaments, which might have prompted Goorjian to make a change.

While Goulding has occasionally been able to heat up in group stage wins over less heralded nations, his record in high stakes matches paints a grim picture.

Goulding’s shooting splits in previous major tournaments, against competitive teams:

• Rio 2016 Olympics: 0/2 vs France, 0/2 vs USA, 0/4 vs Serbia

• China 2019 World Cup: 0/2 vs France, 1/7 vs Spain (semi-final game that went to double OT), 0/3 vs France (Bronze medal game)

• Tokyo 2020 Olympics: 2/7 vs USA, 2/6 vs Slovenia

Total: 5/33 (15%)

One could also argue that Goulding doesn’t offer a great deal outside of his volume shooting from range. He isn’t a noted playmaker, doesn’t have a size advantage for getting contested rebounds and has never drawn plaudits for his defence. But that’s part of his identity as a player; none of these are new criticisms against Goulding. If anything, the 35 year old deserves adulation for finding career-best offensive form at such a late stage in his career. He brings a clearly defined skillset to the table, that very few other Aussies can fill.

There’s also the argument that Goulding has never really been utilised to his full potential in previous tournaments. He averaged just 2.5 minutes across four appearances at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, so perhaps the writing was already on the wall for him. Goorjian has now gone one step further and taken the volume shooting bench guard out of the picture entirely, with Dejan Vasiljevic also missing selection.

Like Goulding, Vasiljevic is one of the most fearless shooters in the NBL, and attempts a high volume of three-pointers. Vasiljevic averaged a touch under 20 points in the 2023-24 NBL season, and although his 40% clip from the field doesn’t jump off the page, that’s in the context of routinely attempting difficult shots. Both Goulding and Vasiljevic will never shy away from launching a tough three, even with a defender all over them.

Vasiljevic attempted a touch under eight threes a game, and connected on 32% of them, but again that’s with a high degree of difficulty on many of his attempts. He added 4.2 points and 3.2 assists per game, proving to be more of an all-around contributor than he has been in previous seasons. But on the Boomers, Vasiljevic would have been selected to fill a well-defined archetype - like Goulding on many occasions - to come off the bench and provide instant offence.

Vasiljevic doesn’t have runs on the board like Goulding does, so his omission came as less of a surprise, but it’s still an interesting direction that Goorjian has taken. Patty Mills will once again shoulder much of the shooting load, but the veteran turns 36 in one month, and his best years are behind him at this stage. Mills has never let the Boomers down, and he always manages to find an extra gear in the green and gold, but after his most recent NBA season - where he struggled for playing time and shot 28% from deep - Goorjian may have to look elsewhere.

Goorjian presumably chose Dellavedova for his veteran presence, leadership, playmaking and tenacity on the defensive end – all of which are admirable traits – but you can’t help but wonder where the Boomers will look for outside shooting.

Only time will tell whether Australia will miss having a gunslinger guard in the twelve man roster, but for now Goorjian has opted to go without a volume shooting bench guard. Instead, we have front court players like Jack McVeigh, Duop Reath, Nick Kay as the shooters. This is especially true of McVeigh, who has been a marksman in the 2023-24 NBL season (but not necessarily with the volume of Goulding or Vasiljevic), and Reath, who has recently established his reputation in the NBA.

Goorjian does have other catch-and-shoot options at his disposal, including Joe Ingles and Josh Green to name a couple, but the current Boomers roster is lacking in off-dribble isolation shooters. Danté Exum is one guard who can fill the void, after overhauling his three-point shot in the past three years, but he has never been a high volume shooter like Goulding or Vasiljevic.

Australia will be leaning on Josh Giddey’s playmaking and team play to open up perimeter looks, as they often did at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, and Goorjian will be hoping for an improved defensive effort to generate transition offence. Thybulle’s omission places increased pressure on Green and Dyson Daniels to deliver on the defensive end, in order to compensate for a relative lack of isolation shooting, especially from downtown.