State of the Union. Team Canada Basketball. (FIBA Americas Aug.31-Sep.15)

[frumble]

So they should announce the 12 man roster today since the tournament is starting, right?

They announced on Saturday - Hanlan was the last cut.

3rd place game also matters if we lose in the semis and Brazil makes it to the Finals. Best case scenario is we face Brazil in the semis. We win, we're in the Olympics. We lose, we have one more chance.

Yup, all else equal, better to face Brazil in the semis, so you have two chances to win and get spot. But I think there is a decent chance Brazil doesn't make semis. My guess is Canada, Argentina, Mexico, and PR.

[Patman]

So they should announce the 12 man roster today since the tournament is starting, right?

They announced on Saturday - Hanlan was the last cut.

3rd place game also matters if we lose in the semis and Brazil makes it to the Finals. Best case scenario is we face Brazil in the semis. We win, we're in the Olympics. We lose, we have one more chance.

Yup, all else equal, better to face Brazil in the semis, so you have two chances to win and get spot. But I think there is a decent chance Brazil doesn't make semis. My guess is Canada, Argentina, Mexico, and PR.

PR ain't what they used to be. Canada and Argentina are the clear top two IMO. Mexico is good enough and will have home advantage to take one of the other semis spots, but I really think the last one if up for grabs between 3 or 4 countries.

[frumble]

I took a quick glance through the final rosters. As expected, Canada has more NBA guys (9) than the other teams combined (4).

Of course, Scola has more NBA experience than our nine guys have in aggregate, and Barea is close.

There are also fewer top Euro league guys on the Latin American teams than I remember them usually having. A lot of domestic leaguers.


The other thing I noticed is two NCAA players. Patricio Garino for Argentina (incoming senior at GWU who has a shot at being drafted) and Juan Toscano for Mexico (incoming senior at Marquette). Not sure how they were able to get school/NCAA approval to miss time.

[mojo13]

My suspicion all along as it was never a NCAA thing but always a Cal/Kentucky thing. Cal is too slick to ever get any blame though so he always played along that they wanted Murray to play (bullcrap). Murray was never going to play in the FIBA Americas as it was too important to UK to get him on campus as soon as possible. You always follow the money to see where the power lays. UK has far more money; ergo sway and influence on a player than Team Canada.
We don't need murray at this point anyways.

Edit: it looks like there are some ncaa guys about to play in the Eurobasket as well. Gonzaga's Sabonis for Lithuania and Karnowski for Poland are two for sure. Proabably lots of others. This isn't an NCAA issue.

[DreamTeam09]

Oliver Hanlan is a better player than phill scrub. He's a better prospect n fit for this group going forward. I'm so confused how they have scrubb ahead of him on the depth chart.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Oliver Hanlan is a better player than phill scrub. He's a better prospect n fit for this group going forward. I'm so confused how they have scrubb ahead of him on the depth chart.

It doesn't even need to be a Hanlan vs Scrubb thing. I think most people are confused that they are going into the tournament with only 4 guards when these tournaments back back-to-back-to-back-to-back games often, and especially when Stauskas hasn't been playing particularly well.

I hope that Hanlan at least stays with the program going forward, as others have pointed out, we'll need him when it comes to qualifying games for 2020.

[Wally West]

Is tomorrow's game going to be on tv? If not, where can you watch it online?

[arbsn]

http://espn.go.com/blog/onenacion/post/_/id/1258/the-north-clouds-pitinos-olympic-dreams

Great tournament primer + Lots of Canada talk

[frumble]

http://espn.go.com/blog/onenacion/post/_/id/1258/the-north-clouds-pitinos-olympic-dreams

Great tournament primer + Lots of Canada talk

Thanks for posting.

A couple things from the article that caught my eye:

However, pressure defenses and matchup zones are easily dealt with in FIBA; teams can place four and sometimes five outstanding ball handlers and shooters on the court at the same time.

Yes, and most will. Canada will lots of shooters on the floor most times, but not lots of ball handlers (yes, I am still bitter about the decision to cut Hanlan).

Magnano wisely understood that in FIBA’s new qualifying system for its World Cup of Basketball and the Olympics, NBA players will not be available before the major tournaments take place. So when Raulzinho Neto signed his NBA deal with the Utah Jazz, he was instantly off the national team (for the time being). Magnano is focused on creating a select team out of 40-odd players who would be available to compete in the six qualifying windows for the Olympics or the World Cup.

Very smart. Of course Brazil has the luxury of planning for 2017 and beyond knowing they already have a spot for 2016, but still smart.


Triano played in two Olympics and has assembled a staff led by Carleton University’s Dave Smart, who is in charge of the defense and who has developed a young point guard named Philip Scrubb, the first top player with NBA potential shaped by the Canadian equivalent of the NCAA, the CIS. Carleton, in Ottawa, has won 11 of the last 13 CIS championships, and Scrubb could become living proof to Canadian youngsters that they do not have to leave the country to reach the NBA.


The first top player with NBA potential shaped by the Canadian equivalent of the NCAA? No. Eli Pasquale, Greg WIltjer, Kart Tillman, Will Njoku, and several other players from Canadian universities had NBA potential - so much so that, unlike Scrubb, they were drafted.

[slothrop8]

On the eve of Canada's first game of the FIBA's - any predictions on how the tournament is going go? For me, it's a homer pick - but I think the right pick - Canada wins the tournament.

[JPHolling]

On the eve of Canada's first game of the FIBA's - any predictions on how the tournament is going go? For me, it's a homer pick - but I think the right pick - Canada wins the tournament.

Id say Canada is the favorite, but they will have some tough games. Excited for tomorrow

[mojo13]

On the eve of Canada's first game of the FIBA's - any predictions on how the tournament is going go? For me, it's a homer pick - but I think the right pick - Canada wins the tournament.

Id say Canada is the favorite, but they will have some tough games. Excited for tomorrow

Mexico already smoked DR by 20. They have their best team ever and are playing at home. They make me a little nervous. We have shown we should be favoured against the other top teams.

Interesting Uraguay beat Brazil convincingly today as well.

[SharoneWright]

Argentina is probably one of the better teams in this tournament, so Canada starts off immediately with a tough test. If they can beat Argentina convincingly I think it's a safe bet Canada is qualifying for Rio 2016.

Disagree... I think the first few games don't matter since 8/10 teams make it to the elimination round. The only 2 games that matter are Q finals and Semi finals

3rd place game also matters if we lose in the semis and Brazil makes it to the Finals. Best case scenario is we face Brazil in the semis. We win, we're in the Olympics. We lose, we have one more chance.

Is this true? Two Olympic-births no matter what? Including 3rd place if Brazil is top-2? I wouldn't have guessed that. Great news though.

[UcanUwill]

Disagree... I think the first few games don't matter since 8/10 teams make it to the elimination round. The only 2 games that matter are Q finals and Semi finals

3rd place game also matters if we lose in the semis and Brazil makes it to the Finals. Best case scenario is we face Brazil in the semis. We win, we're in the Olympics. We lose, we have one more chance.

Is this true? Two Olympic-births no matter what? Including 3rd place if Brazil is top-2? I wouldn't have guessed that. Great news though.

Havent check, but i am ptetty sure it is true.

[orbesnet]

Game day, right?

need a fix.

[bokbok]

Is the lineup for Argentina any different from the last time Canada beat them down? I know Scola was playing, who is their best player.

[mojo13]

At the very least they were playing without what was their starting PG due to a slight injury. He played yesterday but didn't start, so he may not be 100%. Facundo Campazzo may be only 5'11 but he shredded Canada in the PanAms (23 pts) and also in the 2013 FIBA Americas (10pts/8asts). Very good, crafty player. Back-up PG for Real Madrid.

[Left Side Drive]

So we're pretty much a lock for the Olympics in 2016?

[LLJ]

So we're pretty much a lock for the Olympics in 2016?

You have to play the games first.

I feel like FIBA tournaments in general are too long. Those bunch of tune-up games a week ago were nothing but pointless risk to NBA bodies IMO.

[Patman]

So we're pretty much a lock for the Olympics in 2016?

No. If Brazil doesn't make it to the Finals (which they probably won't), all it takes is one upset loss in the semis.

We'd still have a chance to get in through the last-chance tourney, but the competition will likely be even tougher there, with possibly some big-name countries who are just not healthy or lacking best-player participation this summer.