Daniels namedin Boomers squad

RISING Bendigo basketball star Dash Daniels will get his first taste of Australian Boomers action later this month in an exhibition match on the Gold Coast against the University of Colorado.

Daniels, who has signed with NBL club Melbourne United for next season, and is projected as a top 10 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, has been named in a 14-player Boomers squad for the 31 July game.

The Boomers will take a blend of veterans and next generation talent into the game, which will follow a four-day training camp.

It’s the first step in the Boomers’ preparation for the coming Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia.

A decision by incoming Boomers head coach Adam Caporn to tap into the country’s young talent has ultimately worked in Daniels’s favour.

The prodigiously talented point guard became one of the youngest players ever to sign with the NBL when he joined United as a training partner in December last year.

The younger brother of Atlanta Hawks star Dyson Daniels, the NBA’s 2024-25 most improved player award winner, Dash previously declared signing his first pro contract was a dream come true.

Daniels this month represented his country at junior level at the Under-19 FIBA World Cup in Europe.

The 17-year-old told the Melbourne United website that going up against his NBL26 teammates, as well as his time spent battling against men in the NBL1 with Sandringham, had left him well prepared for the aggression of a World Cup tilt.

“I think it’s helped a lot, knowing that these FIBA games can be really physical,” he said.

“Playing against the United guys for the past few months, they’re bigger, they’re experienced, they have prepared me to be able to compete with anyone and know what to expect in these games. Now playing against guys my own age, I’ve got a better feel for using my size, being physical and getting to my spots.”

The Australian Emus bowed out of the World Cup race with an 80-67 quarter-final loss to Germany last weekend.

Daniels joins his United teammate Jack White in the Boomers squad of 14.

United head-coach Dean Vickerman will also be with the team, serving as an associate head coach under Caporn.

Boomers squad: Josh Bannan, Xavier Cocks, Dash Daniels, Owen Foxwell, Jaylin Galloway, Angus Glover, Ben Henshall, Will Hickey, Will Magnay, Sean Macdonald, Jack McVeigh, Sean Macdonald, Jack White.

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