Boomer Ben! Henshall named in Australian squad

The 19-year-old was the lone Wildcat in the squad of 12, which includes nine NBL players, for the FIBA Asian Cup qualifier in Bendigo on February 22.

Henshall will fly from Tasmania after Perth’s game against the JackJumpers in Hobart on Saturday night to join his Boomers teammates ahead of the Korea clash.

The WA-bred talent has shown some promising signs in his first season with the Wildcats.

After a pair of impressive pre-season against against G-League Ignite, Henshall made his NBL debut against South East Melbourne Phoenix in October, scoring a game-high 24 points in a losing cause at John Cain Arena.

He not only became the first Australian to top score on NBL debut, he also joined NBA star Joe Ingles as the only man under the age of 20 to score 20 points on debut.

The young guard isn’t the only player familiar to the Red Army named in the Boomers squad with dual Wildcats championship-winning centre Nick Kay also making the cut.

Kay, who spent three seasons with the Wildcats and was named in the All-NBL First Team in two of those, is currently plying his trade with Shimane Susanoo Magic.

Former Wildcats assistant Jacob Chance, now at Melbourne United, is part of a four-man coaching team under head coach Brian Goorjian.

“I’m looking forward to our game in Bendigo, I hear it’s a full house so that’s going to provide a great atmosphere,“ Goorjian said.

"There is a lot of interest in the young talent coming through and this will be a great opportunity for them to play alongside some of our most experienced players.”

The match will tip-off at 3.30pm WST next Thursday.

Boomers squad

Taran Armstrong – Cairns Taipans

Dejan Vasiljevic – Adelaide 36ers

Ben Henshall – Perth Wildcats

Nicholas Kay - Shimane Susanoo Magic (Japan)

Isaac Humphries – Adelaide 36ers

Mitch McCarron – Adelaide 36ers

Jordan Hunter – Sydney Kings

Josh Bannan – Brisbane Bullets

Nick Marshall – Adelaide 36ers

Rocco Zikarsky - Brisbane Bullets

Kye Savage – Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (CoE)

Josh Dent - Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (CoE)