Bogut, Andersen make a bid for some Aussie attention

HOUSTON -- Well, tie me kangaroo down, sport. Let's just say it wasn't Yao Ming vs. Yi Jianlian.

When the two Chinese stars for the Rockets and Bucks met for the first time in an NBA game back on Nov. 9, 2007, it was bigger than big, huger than huge in a nation with more than 1.3 billion inhabitants.

An estimated 200 million viewers in China watched as their pair of native sons and 21st century iconic exports put their footprints on the American game. That's a TV audience that more than doubled your average Super Bowl, was likely the most viewed single-game sporting event in history and rattled the tectonic plates of the marketing world.

When a pair of centers from Australia --- Andrew Bogut and David Andersen --- squared off in a preseason game between the Bucks and Rockets this week, you had to figure there might have been a few mates sitting under a gum tree sipping tinnys of Four-X who shouted: "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!"

Or not.

"It won't be anything like (Yao vs. Yi)," said Bogut, shaking his head and laughing at the notion. "We only have 20 million people in our country. Probably one or two (are interested).

"Basketball is not huge in Australia, probably scraping the top eight, top 10 sports. Maybe during the season, if we both have pretty decent records, more people will take notice. At the moment, compared to China, maybe 5 percent will watch."

What Bogut and Andersen represent, of course, are the continually sprouting branches on the NBA's international family tree. There were 77 international players representing 32 different countries and territories on league rosters in the 2008-09 season. If Nathan Jawai makes the final roster cut in Dallas, there will be three Aussies in the league this season, with Andersen as both the oldest and the newest of the bunch.

Andersen, 29, was an All-Euroleague first team selection in the 2004-05 season when his team, CSKA Moscow, advanced to the Euroleague Final Four. Playing last season with FC Barcelona, Andersen won the Spanish championship.

"I think he'll be fine," Bogut said of the wiry 7-footer. "He can shoot the ball. He has a nice 17- to 18-foot jumper. He's got a pretty tricky post game, a lot of up fakes, a lot of spinning. He'll probably have to adjust defensively, from the 3-second defensive rule and so on. Europe is much different. Whether he starts or not, I can definitely see him playing 20, 25 minutes a game."

The antipodean pair might as well have traveled in opposite directions around the globe to reach this point in the NBA. While Andersen took the professional route, the 28-year-old Bogut chose to play American college ball, earning national player of the year honors at Utah and becoming the No. 1 overall pick by the Bucks in the 2005 draft. He is taller with longer arms and has more of a low-post game than Anderson. Bogut was averaging 11.7 points and 10.3 rebounds when last season abruptly ended after just 36 games due to a stress fracture in his lower back.

Now, Bogut says, he's feeling fit and hopeful following an offseason when the Bucks made significant personnel changes. Richard Jefferson was traded to the Spurs. Free agents Charlie Villanueva (Detroit) and Ramon Sessions (Minnesota) were allowed to walk. Veteran Kurt Thomas came in as part of the Jefferson trade. Carlos Delfino's rights came in a trade with Toronto. Hakim Warrick signed as a free agent.

"It's been like that for me since my rookie year," Bogut said. "Every year we've had pretty major changes, at least five or six new guys. So it's something I'm used to. Obviously, there's going to be an adjustment period when you have to adjust to new players, new skills sets, new shooters new defenders, whatever. So it's kind of tough.

"But I think the changes were made for the better. I think we've gained more than we've lost. I think the guys we brought in make us much deeper at every position than we were last year. I think now, on paper, we are more team oriented, not just a bunch of stars like we had last year. I think we'll be OK."

With the Rockets, Andersen has been asked to step into the void left by Yao's absence due to reconstructive foot surgery and again will be forced to adapt to a new part of the world.

"But when you see your peers, especially when you come from the same background, playing in a big league, it gives you a bit more confidence," Andersen said. "He's done really well and is one of the premier centers in the league, so you think to yourself, 'I should give it a fair go and have a decent shot at it.'"

In the process, the pair of big man could improve the fortunes of the Australian national team. The Aussies' best finishes in major international competition were fourth place at the Olympics in Seoul (1988), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000). They were knocked out by Team USA in 2008 at Beijing and finished seventh.

"Obviously, it is always a positive when you can get anybody from your country to the NBA, because you're gonna get better as a player whether you like it or not," Bogut said. "What happens is you're gonna play against the best guys in the world. Even if you don't get minutes (in games), you're practicing against the best guys in the world, so you're gonna get that confidence when you come back and play for your national team.

"I definitely think it's going to help us. (Andersen) has been in a situation where he's one of the best players in Europe and he wasn't given much of a chance to play for the national team. Not a lot of minutes, for whatever reason that may be. I think in the future he'll definitely be playing far more minutes at the 4-5 spot along with myself."

Maybe they'll even do enough to attract the fervent attention from Down Under that Yao and Yi got from China.

"Yeah," said a chuckling Bogut, "maybe those two guys sitting under a tree will notice."

Fran Blinebury has covered the NBA since 1977. You can e-mail him here.

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