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

[azorian]

I thought bhullar has been fantastic as well. He's quite mobile for his size. If he had his head on right he could be have been on a rookie contract by now. Either way. He's had so many timely blocks and rebounds. I doubt we would be at the gold medal game without him. He's made me eat crow and I'll cheer him as long as he makes an effort to get his **** together. He's made for international ball though. This tourney reminded me how badly the nba messed up big men.

[Fairview4Life]

Bobby Brown would be the national player of the year in the NCAA. Reminds me of the dumb 'Kentucky is better than the Sixers' stuff from last year.

[OakleyDokely]

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

[thunderforce]

Games like this are priceless . Can't wait to see some of this next month . Games like this will do a lot to change the hockey only mentality around here .

[DUNPHY]

This gonna be on live TV?

[baulderdash77]

Jamal Murray is getting some serious exposure from this tournament. It's going to really help his draft stock. The FIBA America's tournament and the Champions Classic are going to improve his stock even further I think. He's up to #6 on DraftExpress and #10 on NBADraft.net. It wouldn't shock me if he ends up going top 5 next year with his play.

[MEDIC]

This tourney reminded me how badly the nba messed up big men.

Yup. I absolutely hate 3 in the key.

FIBA rules are so much better. More similar to traditional basketball.

[MEDIC]

Jamal Murray is getting some serious exposure from this tournament. It's going to really help his draft stock. The FIBA America's tournament and the Champions Classic are going to improve his stock even further I think. He's up to #6 on DraftExpress and #10 on NBADraft.net. It wouldn't shock me if he ends up going top 5 next year with his play.

Thing is, it shouldn't have taken this tournament to properly assess his draft stock. He'd already proven what kind of player he is before this.

People were afraid to commit to a kid playing in Orangeville Ontario for some reason.

This should help legitimize Athlete Institute as a program to be taken seriously.

Thon Maker had a lot more press simply because he played in the US (crappier program than AI)

I bet Maker is jelly right now.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Goes to show how flimsy these draft sites really are. A couple of good performances can swing stock 10 spots? He's looked this good since he was 16, IMO.

[Young_Buc]

Goes to show how flimsy these draft sites really are. A couple of good performances can swing stock 10 spots? He's looked this good since he was 16, IMO.

People didn't want to co sign him because he played his hs ball in Canada. But now in a tourney with teams that are better than ncaa teams (if you think about it, it's true) he looks like the best player it's crazy. Players like mudiay and Jennings did nothing vs international competition and both went top 10. Murray is scorching them. He goes to any other school and he'd average over 20 next year. He'll probably score 10-15 and still go lotto though.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Goes to show how flimsy these draft sites really are. A couple of good performances can swing stock 10 spots? He's looked this good since he was 16, IMO.

People didn't want to co sign him because he played his hs ball in Canada. But now in a tourney with teams that are better than ncaa teams (if you think about it, it's true) he looks like the best player it's crazy. Players like mudiay and Jennings did nothing vs international competition and both went top 10. Murray is scorching them. He goes to any other school and he'd average over 20 next year. He'll probably score 10-15 and still go lotto though.

But their stock did take a bit of a hit, and it was over a year's worth of analysis. We're talking about a few games, all of them in a row. How much scouting and prep is really going into these games? I'm not discounting Jamal's performance, because like I said I saw this kind of potential several years ago and didn't get why he wasn't hyped more, but a couple of games on any stage shouldn't impact opinion that greatly. Going from mid 1st to near top lotto is like being considered a possible role player to being considered a future all-star. And if he struggles his first few months at Kentucky are they going to slide him right back down?

[EastBayBoy]

Have a feeling Murray is just going to keep rising. I think he put himself in top 5 consideration for this tournament alone.

I was just joking around with that quote, and I too agree he will go too high for the Raps to have a chance at drafting him, but I don't think it will be because of this tournament. The talent level is just not good enough to evaluate (increase) draft status for any player.

Seriously? I know its not a bunch of marquee names, but that US team is better (talent, experience, skill) than almost all NCAA Div 1 squads. The Argentina guards play in the second best league in Europe and, again, are better than the majority of NCAA guards.

Marquee names or not, the talent level isn't there. For example, Ryan Hollins is getting a lot of playing time/makes an impact, a guy who rarely if ever makes any kind of impact on NBA games. That alone speaks volumes.

Bobby Brown is the starting PG for team USA averaged something like 30+ points in the chineese Baskerball Association, Manny Mudiay went over seas and some believe his draft status dropped because of the talent/league he played against. He would have been a top 3-5 pick in this past draft if he went to college.

FIBA doesnt award any points to/for winning teams/countries ( which effects overall world seeding) beause its a nothing tournemnt.


I'm not trying to down play Murray's game, I think he is going to be a stud and be drafted high in the nba, but it's not because of this tournment its going to be due to how he performs at UK next year.

[curryking3]

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Bro that's only like half the anthem

[OakleyDokely]

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Bro that's only like half the anthem

I will finish once we win gold

[Double Bubble]

I guess anyone who does not celebrate beating up a bunch of scrubs (which is what this US team was) like it was the NBA finals and whooping it up while doing it, does not have that "killer instinct" either. NBA history is littered with washouts who acted like they were the biggest thing in the game because that's what they were in high school or college.

Look at this year's draft and the top 10 picks and the only one which comes over like a dick is Russell and he is also who I think has the greatest bust potential of all. Acting like a moron does not make you a better player than other players, talent, opportunity and dedication is what separates players and I think Murray is lacking in the first area.

Yes, everyone knows that celebrating = talentless scrub. Even Steve Nash was fired up, what a hack he was!

[wtfbosh]

Jamal Murray is getting some serious exposure from this tournament. It's going to really help his draft stock. The FIBA America's tournament and the Champions Classic are going to improve his stock even further I think. He's up to #6 on DraftExpress and #10 on NBADraft.net. It wouldn't shock me if he ends up going top 5 next year with his play.

Thing is, it shouldn't have taken this tournament to properly assess his draft stock. He'd already proven what kind of player he is before this.

People were afraid to commit to a kid playing in Orangeville Ontario for some reason.

This should help legitimize Athlete Institute as a program to be taken seriously.

Thon Maker had a lot more press simply because he played in the US (crappier program than AI)

I bet Maker is jelly right now.

Thon Maker has been killing this summer ever since he flopped at the Hoop Summit. I talked to a guy who was at the Under Armour tournament and Maker looked way better than anyone there

[LLJ]

Let us take a moment now to appreciate the 5 days of entertainment this wacky, lovable basketball team has given us. They have been far from the best executing offensive team and their attitude to defense is about the same as my attitude to pineapple on pizza. You can't make this team up, we'll probably never see another team like this competing for a gold medal ever again. How could you not love the cast of characters:

1. A world class jumpshooter who's too small and can't guard a signpost but is still all kinds of awesome because of his 80s haircut
2. Our most dependable big man is a completely average NBA backup
3. A talented but underconfident former #1 pick who is dangerously close to an all-time bust
4. An overweight 7'5 Indian dude who's surprisingly quick at blocking shots
5. A supporting cast of scrappy but infuriating who-dats with names like Cadougan Doornekamp and Mullings

All led by an 18 year old local kid who hasn't played a single college game yet but is still the best player on the team.

A great basketball team? **** no. One of the most entertaining? Hell YES.

You can't make this **** up! I really want this team to win a gold medal so that someone can make the inevitable Hollywood movie about this team. Or at least a cheap made-for-CBC tv movie starring Eric Colantoni as Jay Triano.

[dalton749]

If they win it should start to make a name for us come the Olympics.
Joseph
Murray
Wiggins
Bennett
Thompson
Should be really good a few years from now

[Hendrix]

Is the final game on TV?

[Hendrix]

If they win it should start to make a name for us come the Olympics.
Joseph
Murray
Wiggins
Bennett
Thompson
Should be really good a few years from now

Bennett over Olynyk?