![NO ROOM: Ben Simmons. NO ROOM: Ben Simmons.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/storypad-3ZMaZUzN3dKuM6vrzTJmtN/e9ad6125-f219-4222-8eaa-1b97d50aeb1d.jpg/r0_2_1200_677_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
HUNTERS junior Ben Simmons was a shock omission from the 12-man Boomers squad set to compete at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.
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The final 12 has a distinct NBA flavour, with San Antonio Spurs NBA champion Aron Baynes joined by Utah Jazz rookie Dante Exum, along with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova and Chicago Bulls forward Cameron Bairstow.
However, Australia’s two biggest NBA stars – Spurs point guard Patty Mills and Golden State Warriors centre Andrew Bogut – will both miss the tournament due to injury.
Veteran Gloucester product Damian Martin also missed selection.
While six Australian rookies were named in the squad, Simmons was one of five wider squad players who didn’t make the cut for the tournament in August-September.
The 18-year-old son of former Newcastle Falcon Dave Simmons is tipped for a big future after committing to Louisiana State University.
LSU is the college that produced Shaquille O’Neal.
There are also high hopes for Simmons in the 2016 NBA draft.
‘‘Really disappointed didn’t make the Worlds Team. Good luck to all the guys who did #grindtime,’’ Simmons posted on Twitter.
Boomers head coach Andrej Lemanis said Simmons’s exclusion from the 12-man squad highlighted the depth of talent in the side.
‘‘There’s no doubt he’s going to be a great basketball player,’’ Lemanis said.
‘‘We just felt he wasn’t ready yet.
‘‘Playing against men, we just felt it’s not his time this year.
‘‘But he’ll be there in the future. He just needs to get older.’’
One young gun who did make the cut is 19-year-old top five NBA draft pick Exum.
Exum said he and Dellavedova would have to step up for the team in Mills’s absence.
‘‘Any opportunity you get on the court is an opportunity to show what you’ve got.’’
Boomers: David Andersen (Strasbourg), Cameron Bairstow (Chicago Bulls, Aron Baynes (San Antonio Spurs), Ryan Broekhoff (Besiktas), Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland Cavaliers), Dante Exum (Utah Jazz), Adam Gibson (Adelaide 36ers), Chris Goulding (CAI Zaragoza), Joe Ingles (Maccabi Tel-Aviv), Nathan Jawai (Galatasaray), Brock Motum (Bologna), Brad Newley (Gran Canaria). AAP