Dan Grida's impressive return from devastating injury issues has continued after the Hawk was picked for Australian representative honours on Thursday.
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After a horror two-year battle with injuries, Grida was the feel-good story for Illawarra in a tough NBL campaign, which saw Jacob Jackomas's men pick up the wooden spoon.
The 24-year-old became a cult hero among Hawks fans this season, mainly due to his eye-catching mullet, but he also averaged more than five points and 3.86 rebounds per game in 2022/23.
Grida was among a team of 12 players selected by Basketball Australia for the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers, to be held in Melbourne next week.
His teammates will include former Hawk Todd Blanchfield, Mitch McCarron, Mitch Norton, Nathan Sobey, Rhys Vague and Nick Kay, as well as a crop of emerging players from the Centre of Excellence.
"We have a lot of seasoned campaigners with McCarron, Sobey, Vague and Kay," head coach Dean Vickerman.
"We have a great group of talented guys coming out of the NBL and this is a great step for them."
The Boomers group will head to Melbourne on Sunday ahead of their first qualifiers against Bahrain on Thursday night. They will then take on Kazakhstan three days later.
Senior national teams director Jason Smith said the trip would provide a great opportunity for young athletes to train alongside some of Australia's best players.
"These young athletes have been identified as potential Boomers of the future, we want to immerse them in our culture and give them access to our most experienced players," Smith said.
"Developing our next generation of players is key to the ongoing success of our national teams."
We have a great group of talented guys coming out of the NBL and this is a great step for them.
- - Dean Vickerman
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
