At a time when Australian basketball is searching for an identity on local shores, it's a shame that this week's three-match series between the Boomers and Argentina does not boast its frontline talent.

Australia will be without arguably its greatest basketball export of all time in Andrew Bogut because of the serious elbow injury he recently suffered with the Milwaukee Bucks (check out youtube), while fellow NBA bigman David Andersen (Houston) and senior Boomers Matt Nielsen and CJ Bruton will also be absent. Captain Mark Worthington is also in doubt because his German team has unexpectedly gone deep into the play-offs there.

Argentina, the world's No.1 ranked team (four points ahead of the US), will also be without its NBA stars, Manu Ginobili (San Antonio) and Luis Scola (Houston), who have understandably opted to rest after draining seasons.

The dashing Ginobili, destructive from the perimeter or when driving to the hoop, would have been worth the price of admission alone but injury has started to take a serious toll on the man who has helped key the Spurs' dominance in the past decade.

While the star power has faded somewhat, Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze says the series, beginning in Perth on Friday night, in Melbourne on Sunday and Adelaide on Tuesday, will be intriguing.

"It's not the full-blown Argentina we know but my understanding is they have some players in the NBA in the making. They are going to be formidable and a good test," he said.

"They are similar to us because they have some younger players on the bubble of making the team, trying to identify some players that are going to make it to Turkey."

Turkey, of course, is where the world championships will be held, beginning late August.

A few of the faces coach Brett Brown, now a long-time assistant coach with the Spurs, hopes can play a prominent role are forward Joe Ingles and guards Patty Mills and Brad Newley.

The athletic Ingles and sharp-shooting Newley have attempted to fast-track their basketball education in Europe, while Mills finds himself in an uncertain situation having played 13 games in his rookie year with NBA side Portland but has yet to be offered a new contract.

Playmaker Mills should benefit from working with former point guard Shane Heal, now an assistant to Brown, with a focus on his decision making and shot selection.

"He is developing and emerging. He missed a lot of basketball last season because of injury, so he will be itching to get out there and play some significant minutes," Gaze said.

The affable Brown will also be keen to impress, at least tactically, just months away from his first major test as coach, having replaced Brian Goorjian last year.

Goorjian was head coach of the Boomers for 120 games between 2002 and 2008 (77 wins, 43 losses), guiding the team to the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games and the 2006 world championship.

He wanted to retain the top job but Basketball Australia opted to head in a "fresh direction" after treading water at the Beijing Olympics. Brown, an assistant coach with the Boomers between 1995 and 2003, was recalled into the fold.

A former coach of the North Melbourne Giants, including their 1994 championship year, and Sydney Kings, the American-born Brown has spent the past eight years as an assistant with the NBA Spurs, earning praise in a development role and now as a key assistant alongside four-time championship coach, Greg Popovich.

"He is very familiar with all the players but he will be learning and improving as he goes on as well," Gaze says.

Gaze says Brown may face a rough ride in Turkey, with the Boomers a lineball bet to even advance through a pool group featuring Serbia, Argentina, Jordan, Germany and Angola.

"It's tough. They really need to finish in the top three because when they cross over, the last thing they want is to meet the US which will finish top in its group," he said.

"You have to finish higher in your group to give yourself a legitimate chance. But it's that tight and that evenly balanced, you just don't know."