Will Australia defend their wheelchair basketball world title?

“The depth of this extended squad is truly a testament to the talent that currently lies in the Rollers programme.”

Defending world champions Australia have named their 21-player squad for the 2014 IWBF Men’s Wheelchair Basketball World Championships, which will take place from 3-15 July in Incheon, South Korea.

The Australians will play group games against Germany, Sweden and Italy as they try to win back-to-back world titles after finishing second at the London 2012 Paralympic Games

Their squad consists of eight players from London 2012, including Tristan Knowles, Brad Ness and Justin Eveson, who have compiled a total of 10 Paralympic appearances for Australians.

Adding to the experienced core is an exciting group of young players emerging following the 2013 IWBF Under 23 Men’s Wheelchair Basketball World Championships led by Paralympian Jannik Blair, Luke Pople and Tom O’Neill-Thorne.

“The depth of this extended squad is truly a testament to the talent that currently lies in the Rollers programme,” head coach Ben Ettridge told Basketball Australia.

“We have an experienced core in the form of Brad Ness, Mike Hartnett, Justin Eveson, Shaun Norris, Tristan Knowles, Bill Latham, Jannik Blair and Nick Taylor, who formed the team that claimed silver in London.

“This squad also includes some exciting young players who have come through our development pathway, such as Tom O’Neill-Thorne, Luke Pople, Michael Auprince and Jordan Bartley.”

Australian begin their preparation for the World Championships next month with a European tour thatn will include a series of training camps and tournament games from 10-22 April.

Australia’s full World Championship roster includes:

Joshua Allison

Michael Auprince

Jordan Bartley

Jannik Blair

Marcus Chiavelli

Michael D’Amelio

Adam Deans

Justin Eveson

Michael Hartnett

Tristan Knowle

Bill Latham

Andrew Liddawi

Brad Ness

Shaun Norris

Tom O’Neill-Thorne

Luke Pople

Nick Radovich

Kim Robins

Shawn Russell

Nick Taylor

Sam White