Baylor guard Aaron Bruce and the Australian senior national team open the 2006 FIBA World Championship Saturday, Aug. 19, in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka, Japan.
Bruce, who will be a junior at Baylor this fall, is believed to be one of only three current U.S. student-athletes competing at the world championship; along with Winthrop's Craig Bradshaw (New Zealand) and Oregon's Oguchi Chamberlain (Nigeria).
Australia opens the 24-country world championship Saturday Aug. 19 in Japan facing Brazil in a game that tips at 11:30 p.m. CT Friday in the U.S.
In his first stint with Australia's 12-man senior team, nicknamed the "Boomers," Bruce is competing alongside Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut and former St. Mary's University forward Daniel Kickert.
Australia played several exhibition contests leading up to the world championships, including a four-game series the Boomers split against rival New Zealand. Bruce started all four contests at point guard and averaged 4.0 points and 1.5 assists in 14 minutes per game.
In their final exhibition tune-up before the world championship, the Boomers won one of three games in the Stankovic Continental Champions Cup held last week in Nanjing, China. Bruce averaged 1.0 points and 0.7 assists in 11 minutes per game off the bench.
Bruce is making his first appearance for Australia's senior team but he is no stranger to international competition with his country's national teams. He played the last two summers for the under-21 national team, including serving as captain for the "Crocs" at the 2005 FIBA U21 World Championships in Argentina. He was part of the Australian junior national team that won the 2003 FIBA U19 World Championship in Greece. Included in that world championship run was a win over the United States in which Bruce led Australia with 25 points.
The 6-3 guard is a two-time All-Big 12 honoree and former Freshman All-American who set a conference scoring record for freshmen in 2004-05. Bruce was elected to Baylor's All-Centennial team in 2006.
Australia placed ninth at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens but did not qualify for the 2002 FIBA World Championships. The Boomers have never finished higher than fifth at the world championships.
The FIBA World Championship is played every 4 years and determines the best basketball nation of the world. The first FIBA World Championship was played in 1950 in Argentina and has since then been competed 14 times. The 2006 edition will be played in five cities across Japan from Aug. 19 until Sept. 3.
AUSTRALIA AT 2006 FIBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Group C Pool Play - Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka
Aug. 19 vs. Brazil (11:30 p.m. CST Aug. 18)
Aug. 20 vs. Turkey (1:30 a.m. CST)
Aug. 22 vs. Greece (1:30 a.m. CST)
Aug. 23 vs. Lithuania (11:30 p.m. CST Aug. 22)
Aug. 24 vs. Qatar (11:30 p.m. CST Aug. 23)
CURRENT U.S. COLLEGE PLAYERS AT 2006 FIBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Craig Bradshaw, Sr., F/C, Winthrop (NEW ZEALAND)
Aaron Bruce, Jr., G, Baylor (AUSTRALIA)
Chamberlain Oguchi, Jr., G, Oregon (NIGERIA)
