Updated June 22, 2012 16:54:47
Australian basketball superstar Lauren Jackson believes that despite the USA's on-court dominance the Opals have a shot at an Olympic upset in London.
Jackon was named for her fourth Olympic team on Friday as Basketball Australia announced the men's and women's squads for London.
Australia's men's team will benefit from the presence of Patty Mills, who is coming off a successful NBA season with San Antonio that saw the Spurs win 20 straight games before falling in the Western Conference Finals.
The Boomers will be led by veteran power forward Matt Nielsen, who is heading to his third Olympic Games.
Olympic gold has been elusive for the Opals, who won bronze in Atlanta in 1996 before taking three consecutive silver medals, falling in the final each time to the Americans.
"We've come so close so many times," Jackson admitted.
"We want to do exceptional things for sure, but it's just going to take time.
"The next month is going to be crucial for us [but] it's going to be fun. It's going to be a lot of fun."
Jackson's WNBA team-mate Sue Bird was quoted in the press recently as saying the six-foot-six Australian centre was not a cure-all for an under-strength team.
But Jackson played that off as friendly rivalry ahead of their respective London campaigns.
"Sue's my best friend and maybe they were taken out of context, maybe she really thinks that," she said.
"I've said that a lot in media before that America could probably take their A, B and C team and get gold, silver and bronze.
"I think that we've got a very good team and we've got a chance of doing something special.
"Sue may think that's sort of the way it's going to go down but ... I don't really care, it's just banter.
"For us we're just going to go out there and do our best and that's all we've ever done for the Australian team - give it our best shot and have no regrets at the end of it."
Bird's comments came after their Seattle Storm side struggled to find traction in the early stages of the season, with critics pointing to Jackson's absence as the key factor.
"Lauren would be new to this [losing] as well, and you don't know what it would be like," Bird said last month.
"As great as she is, she's not like some magic potion where she gets added and things all of a sudden click with everybody."
One notable gap in the Opals' roster is Penny Taylor, who was ruled out of contention for London in May with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Taylor, who can play at guard or forward, is considered one of the best women's basketballers in the world and was set for her third Olympic campaign before sustaining the injury playing for her Turkish club.
Jenna O'Hea, who plays in the WNBA for Los Angeles Sparks, will be contesting her first Olympics after missing out in 2008 and is expected to step up in Taylor's absence.
Young centre Liz Cambage will join Jackson in the Opals' front court in her maiden Olympic campaign.
Jackson said Australia's line-up possessed enough depth to cover for the 31-year-old.
"Penny's role is definitely going to be missed for sure, but we'll get everybody combining together to take on that pressure, that load," she said.
"You can't really expect [O'Hea] to come in and do all that and compensate for someone like Penny.
"But we've got a lot of players that can definitely step up and that's sort of why this preparation time is crucial, so that we can really maintain and figure out roles."
Boomers: Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, Adam Gibson, Peter Crawford, Brad Newley, David Barlow, David Andersen, Matt Nielsen, Mark Worthington, Aleks Maric, Aron Baynes
Opals: Lauren Jackson, Kristi Harrower, Belinda Snell, Jennifer Screen, Sam Richards, Rachel Jarry, Liz Cambage, Kathleen Macleod, Jenna O'Hea, Abby Bishop, Suzy Batkovic, Laura Hodges
Tags: basketball,
sport,
olympics-summer,
australia First posted June 22, 2012 12:54:20
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