Australia will field one of its least experienced teams ever in a major international tournament in the World Championships in Japan, which starts on August 19.

Of the 12-man team named by Boomers coach Brian Goorjian, only skipper Jason Smith, NBA player Andrew Bogut, returning veteran CJ Bruton and Brisbane Bullet Sam Mackinnon have experienced the taste of world championship or Olympic basketball.

The Boomers were dealt a massive blow last week when start centre Chris Anstey was ruled out of the championships after succumbing to a knee injury.

But Goorjian, who would be feeling the pressure after Australia lost the Ramsay Shield to the Tall Blacks last month, remains upbeat that the Boomers can make progress to the knockout phase of the tournament.

"This squad is the best combination of players we have available currently and we are excited about the challenges in the first round," Goorjian said. "Once you're into the second round, anything is possible."

"We look a completely different unit from the one that played New Zealand a few weeks ago. Our Gold Coast training camp (which finished on Wednesday) was great for us and has really helped us finish off what we started to work on against the Tall Blacks."

The inclusion of Bruton - who missed the games against New Zealand while in America trying to force his way onto an NBA roster - to the squad is a major boost for the Boomers, as the Tall Blacks exploited Australia's lack of a quality point guard in the 2-2 drawn series in July.

"The camp helped the pieces of the puzzle fall in to place. Bogut has grown into his role with the team a lot better and the addition of Bruton has given us the on-court leadership that can only come with an experienced player like CJ."

One thing is for certain, Goorjian will get a glimpse of the future of Australian basketball, with young guns Mark Worthington (Sydney Kings), Brad Newley (Townsville Crocodiles), David Barlow (Sydney Kings) and Luke Kendall (Sydney Kings) all selected in the team.

Also named were college stars Aaron Bruce (Baylor University) and Daniel Kickert (formerly St Mary's College) as well as experienced big men Wade Helliwell (Lottomatica Virtus Roma) and Russell Hinder (Sydney Kings).

Boomers Team:
David Barlow, Andrew Bogut, Aaron Bruce, CJ Bruton, Wade Helliwell, Russell Hinder, Luke Kendall, Daniel Kickert, Sam Mackinnon, Brad Newley, Jason Smith (captain) Mark Worthington.