Though he is only a month away from his comeback to professional basketball with the South Dragons in the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL), Heal has kept a close eye on the FIBA World Championships.

The man they call 'The Hammer' has been kind enough to share his thoughts on the World Championships, as well as giving an insight into the South Dragons inaugural coach, former NBA All-Star and Team USA point guard Mark Price.

Has watching all the great players at the FIBA World Championships made you even keener to get back to top form?

I have always prided myself on trying to be the best I can, I am pretty competitive, so when the first game comes around you want to compete and do pretty well. With (watching) the World Championships it has probably been a little bit frustrating actually.

Which teams have impressed you the most, and who do you foresee winning the medals?

I think Argentina and the USA were always my two favourites, and I can’t really see anyone getting them except Spain, who could cause an upset. But I still see Argentina getting through and playing the USA.

We saw Nigeria and Angola progress past the first round, being more than competitive against some traditionally powerful teams, as were the Chinese. What does this say to you about the state of international basketball compared to ten years ago?

I think we have seen over the last ten years that has continued to happen. You didn’t even see Argentina and those sorts of teams, and over the last 5 years they have become a powerhouse.

Its has gone away from the Russians, and the Yugoslavians or Serbia and Montenegro, and all these other teams are coming into it with the American influence of playing in the NBA.

Definitely the talent is spread a lot more widely around the world and it makes for a more competitive environment.

Can you see teams from Africa and Asia competing for medals in the future?

I think Angola and the African nations have always had a whole lot of talent, they have always been very dangerous, just because of their athleticism and their ability to score.

Now they are learning the game a little bit more and getting a little bit more strategy and they are able to compete at this level.

Depending on what sort of money is put into those programs over the next period of time, they could do anything. The Chinese they are pumping a whole lot of money in trying to get the best coaches to give themselves that opportunity (to win a medal).

The best teams in the FIBA World Championships seem to be very good at getting the ball into the hands of their most dangerous players and feeding from what that creates. Yet in Australia, from juniors all the way up we teach team oriented offence, fitting players into the structure rather than building the structure to the talent we have. Is this something we can learn from the rest of the world?

Definitely. I think exactly what you said is right. Most of the time in Europe the offences are run for specific players and as you say, when (the defence) cheat against it you do certain things.

It is a little bit like the way the (ANBL Champions) Tigers would run to their strengths, and everyone else would take their little piece out of the puzzle.

I think playing over there (in Europe), there are a lot of things I bring back to Australia. And even commentating on Foxsports (Australia’s basketball network) it is frustrating for me seeing everyone play the same type of game and not have a different understanding of basketball.

I think a lot of our views in Australia are quite insular because we haven’t seen a lot of world basketball.

What did you think of the Australian Boomers performance in Japan?

I think the team did pretty well with the team that was sent. Having Anstey, Andersen and Saville out certainly hurt us.

You can’t teach people to have experience, you can only go there and have that experience. We used guys that needed to be there at 10, 11, 12, to see what it is all about at that level. But those guys were actually asked to perform and take us to the next level, and I think that is a very difficult thing to expect.

I think from the team that was sent we actually did extremely well to come as close as we did to those nations who were at full strength.

Where do you feel they could have improved?

I guess the biggest frustration I have got, I don’t feel like there was a big enough effort made to sign probably Australia's best player, and that is Matt Nielsen (because of insurance issues).

With all his experience he probably would have been the captain of the team. I feel like Basketball Australia and everyone involved put their hands in the air too early, and just said no we can’t sign him, and he is sitting in Perth devastated and wanting to represent his country.

When you look at the results knowing that we probably could have beaten Greece and Turkey and finished in the top two in our pool, and then anything can happen.

Who are Australia’s best youngsters coming through?

We certainly need to be able to develop some players in the 2-3 spot who can create their own shot. I think (Brad) Newley has had a pretty solid tournament, I think he is someone that can do pretty well down the track.

We have got a young kid on the Dragons team that I have been unbelievably impressed by, Joe Ingles. He is only 18 but he will play for Australia for sure. I have got no doubt in the world that he will represent Australia. I haven’t seen an 18 year old kid with the sort of poise that he has got for a long, long time.

The ANBL and the NBA are known for their high scoring and free flowing style, which is great to watch, but do the players who face the half court grind each week in Europe have a better preparation for international competition?

Definitely. I think a lot of the times in our league, all the mentality is about scoring, and we don’t understand about grinding it out in the half court.

It wasn’t until I had 3 years in Greece and a stint in Italy as well, that you start to understand it from the way they look at it. And you get that experience playing at a world event.

The best team is one that can mix it up. They can score but also know how to grind it out and play against that tempo where they just won’t let you fast break at all.

We even see the Americans struggle, with all the talent they have had over the years. They can’t dominate despite the talent levels they have got because they just don’t understand the European game.

What style of basketball do you think is best suited for the international game?

Europe is totally different to Asia, which is different to America which is different to Australia. America is all about the one on one and throwing it in to the post and waiting for the double team to come.

Europe is about grinding it out and Asia is about up faking, and driving and dishing and shooting a lot of threes.

So I think you need to know all styles and be able to combat all styles, and know what is good for your team and have a good understanding of being able to mix up the tempo.

There has been a lot of discussion about intentional fouls at the World Championships. Would you like to see the open court fouls punished more severely?

Not necessarily. If you can do it in a way that helps the team and it doesn’t look intentional I think it is a good strategic move. I don’t think that we (Australia) use those sort of tactics enough.

You certainly have to learn how to play against that and how to move the ball quicker so you don’t get fouled.

It is going to take me some time to get back to where I was at, after not playing for two years. I have spent three months getting my body right and putting a lot of time into my legs, and feel like I am just where I need to be.

Lastly, what sort of coach is former Team USA guard Mark Price? What are the main principles he is instilling in the team?

Mark has been really good. He is very quietly spoken, and pretty reserved. You are not going to see him ranting and raving on the sidelines, but the points he is making have been really well received.

He is certainly a players coach and he is great from a point guard’s point of view. He certainly gives you the freedom to get into the lane and try to create some problems for the opposing team.

I think any good team has to have a number of different strengths. He is certainly a coach that wants to get it inside, but he is a coach that likes to be able to run as well. He hasn’t been bashful about guys shooting the ball.

I think depending on what our strengths are on a particular night, he is all about what the other teams strengths and weaknesses are and exploiting those. I think he is going to be pretty versatile about what he wants us to be able to do.

Shane Heal, thankyou for your time.

Article courtsy Paul Kennedy, FIBA Official Correspondent in Australia.