Boomers Coach Goorjian Praises Cooks

Australian Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has highlighted Sydney Kings star Xavier Cooks as a standout player during the NBL Finals series.

Cooks’ Boomers stocks soared during the finals, as he was named Grand Final MVP in the Kings’ 3-0 Grand Final sweep of the Tasmania JackJumpers.

As Australia turns its attention to next month’s FIBA World Cup qualifying window, Goorjian believes Cooks has a big future in the green and gold.

“The standout was Xavier Cooks. Amazing,” Goorjian told ESPN.

“I thought Chase (Buford) did a tremendous job of how he used him. Certain players you look at and they don't have a position and I used to have an example of Mark Worthington, so he's either (no position), or he's really versatile.

“What Chase did is he made him versatile. If you put a big on him he had the ball and he was bringing it up the court, he could get in the paint. If he's got a mismatch, he could force a switch.

“It opened my eyes to that; I just think he was a total mismatch and I think he as a bright international future.”

The Boomers will face China, twice, and Japan in the qualifiers, and Goorjian expects a strong squad to take the court.

“You've got the NBA group, those players play in a competition like the Olympics after 82 games lead in, right back into a season and now this window, they've got to get rest,” he said.

“If it falls on the NBL component, I know what China and Japan are bringing to the table, if we go below the Dellys (Matthew Dellavedova), the Cooks, the Duops (Duop Reath), it's going to be really, really difficult.”