He's desperate to don the green and gold again and now Canberra product Jesse Wagstaff has his foot in the door of the Australian Boomers dressing room.
The Perth Wildcats forward has been named in a 24-man squad for the second window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, to be played against the Philippines and the Chinese Taipei in Melbourne in February.
The four-time NBL champion is one of five Wildcats stars in the squad, with every Australian NBL club represented.
Wagstaff was named in a 20-man squad for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup but missed the final 12-man cut, leaving the 31-year-old even more hungry for a return to the national team.
The NBA won't release players for in-season qualifying windows but they will be available for the World Cup and Olympics.
It means Boomers head coach Andrej Lemanis has been forced to leave out the increasing number of NBA stars at his disposal including Canberra's Patty Mills.
Non-NBA players have been entrusted with the duties of securing a spot in major tournaments, but the Boomers are on top of Group B after two matches.
Australian squad: David Andersen - Melbourne United, Todd Blanchfield - Sydney Kings, Angus Brandt - Perth Wildcats, Jason Cadee - Sydney Kings, Mitch Creek - Adelaide 36ers, Anthony Drmic - Adelaide 36ers, Adam Gibson - Brisbane Bullets, Cameron Gliddon - Cairns Taipans, Chris Goulding - Melbourne United, Matt Hodgson - Adelaide 36ers, Isaac Humphries - Sydney Kings, Daniel Johnson - Adelaide 36ers, Nick Kay - Illawarra Hawks, Daniel Kickert - Brisbane Bullets, Kevin Lisch - Sydney Kings, Alex Loughton - Cairns Taipans, Damian Martin - Perth Wildcats, Mitch McCarron - Cairns Taipans, Brad Newley - Sydney Kings, Mitch Norton - Illawarra Hawks, Nathan Sobey - Adelaide 36ers, Clint Steindl - Perth Wildcats, Jesse Wagstaff - Perth Wildcats, Lucas Walker - Perth Wildcats
