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NBA champion Jack White is set for a bigger role with the Boomers at the Basketball World Cup after star centre Jock Landale's crushing ankle injury in Australia's final warm-up match.
- Jock Landale rolled his ankle in Australia's warm-up victory over South Sudan in Melbourne
- Jack White is set to a received an expanded role for the Boomers, with Landale sent for scans
- The Basketball World Cup begins on August 25, with Australia playing Finland in Japan
The Boomers thumped South Sudan 88-67 at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday evening but lost Landale after the Houston Rockets player badly rolled his left ankle early in the victory.
Australia coach Brian Goorjian said Landale would not fly with the team to Japan on Friday and would instead be sent for scans to determine the extent of the injury.
Landale missed the Boomers' previous two matches with a similar ankle concern and looks likely to be ruled out of the showpiece tournament.
"He's not getting on the plane with us," Goorjian said in his post-match press conference on Thursday.
"It didn't look great, so they're going to deal with that here.
"We're going to travel with the 12 that we've got now … I'm of the mindset right now as if we don't have him."
White won the 2023 NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets before signing with Oklahoma City last month.
He was already scheduled to travel with the squad to the World Cup as a reserve, but will now slot into the 12-man team that opens its campaign against Finland on August 25.
He got 17 minutes off the bench in the win against South Sudan, picking up eight points and three rebounds to go with three steals.
Centre Duop Reath is another candidate for an extended run, after posting an impressive 15 points and six rebounds on Thursday night.
Goorjian, who came under fire for delaying the naming of his final 12-player squad, said he was confident backing in White.
"I'm taking the high road on this. I got criticised quite strongly about having 13 guys and not making that selection," he said.
"I said Jack White has been right on the cusp of this thing and it's huge for us, and there's a quality piece there.
"I'm not comfortable with some of these guys that have not played at all.
"Thank goodness he's here … he's a very helpful piece. He's multi-purpose and if we're going to play that small ball and switch he's another really important piece.
"Josh Green, Matisse (Thybulle), Jack White, there's an avenue there to go down … it's doable, and I saw flashes of it (against South Sudan)."
AAP
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