Team Canada Basketball Thread V4.0

[Tor_Raps]

He just dropped 23/9 in 18 frigging minutes today against Indiana. I really wish we could have seen him develop here. Will be cheering for him throughout his career.

That's awesome.

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I still think there is a good chance he becomes the most impactful player from this draft.

He’s in a great position in Memphis, with good guard play and JJJ there to finish games if he doesn’t immediately get adjusted defensively. But, you see, he can basically play a style similar to shaq offensively, and haven’t seen anyone be able to stop him any way yet. Excited to see wemby vs Zach.

Still don't get why the Spurs didn't just select Zach to form a terrifying twin tower instead of going for a random pick in 2031 lol.

[Merit]

That's awesome.

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I still think there is a good chance he becomes the most impactful player from this draft.

He’s in a great position in Memphis, with good guard play and JJJ there to finish games if he doesn’t immediately get adjusted defensively. But, you see, he can basically play a style similar to shaq offensively, and haven’t seen anyone be able to stop him any way yet. Excited to see wemby vs Zach.

Still don't get why the Spurs didn't just select Zach to form a terrifying twin tower instead of going for a random pick in 2031 lol.

I’m a big fan of Edey and hoped he’d drop to us.

[BilboBanginz]

Some interesting names here! Glad to see Aimaq and Darling on the list

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[mojo13]

Great group of names here.
I think Tyler Ennis is still injured so I doubt he plays.

So maybe a starting line up of?
TBH
Darling
Best
Rowe
Kabengele

A belnd of SMNT vets TBH, Best, Rowe and the more dynamic newbies in Darling and Kabengele?

Kabengele is likely the biggest difference maker here. Playing at the a very high level in Europe and the biggest positional need. I really hope he plays. Aimaq, Vrankic and Kennedy all playing well too, so they should be able to hold the fort if no Kabengele.

I'm excited to see Darling in FIBA.

[WaltFrazier]

I saw Oshae Brissett postgame at the Grey Cup with his Argonaut brother. I kind of forgot about him. Got a ring with Boston last spring, now a free agent. I guess he's a free agent now, no prospects? Was he a candidate for our Olympic team this summer, I can't remember. I wonder if he'll go to Europe?

[vi3t]

I saw Oshae Brissett postgame at the Grey Cup with his Argonaut brother. I kind of forgot about him. Got a ring with Boston last spring, now a free agent. I guess he's a free agent now, no prospects? Was he a candidate for our Olympic team this summer, I can't remember. I wonder if he'll go to Europe?

he declined his 2.5 mill player option, thought it was a huge mistake at the time, looks like he skipped the Olympic camp to focus on free agency

[BilboBanginz]

Rest in peace Chad. Only 33..

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[aminiaturebuddha]

The roster for tonight's game against the DR has been announced.

https://www.basketball.ca/news/senior-mens-national-team-roster-announced-ahead-of-fiba-mens-americup-2025-qualifiers

Overall a pretty good roster. I'm happy to see both Kabengele and Aimaq on the team. For once there's a bit of big man depth. The roster seems a bit light on wings, but with the guards and centers that are there, they should be able to compete and hopefully nail down a couple of wins this week.

Here's the list:

Fardaws Aimaq, Vancouver, B.C.
Trae Bell-Haynes, Toronto, Ont.
Aaron Best, Scarborough, Ont.
Jahvon Blair, Brampton, Ont.
Marcus Carr, Toronto, Ont.
Nate Darling, Sackville, N.S.
Quincy Guerrier, Montreal, Que.
Mfiondu Kabengele, Burlington, Ont.
Thomas Kennedy, Windsor, Ont.
Lloyd Pandi, Ottawa, Ont.
Jackson Rowe, Toronto, Ont.
Josip Vrankic, Etobicoke, Ont.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Good win for Team Canada tonight over the DR, 88-71. They've now got a 3-0 record in their group and a +104 point differential (but they've already played their 2 games against the worst team in the group).

Kabengele is a real difference maker for this group. He looked like the best player on the court for Canada most of the time he was out there. He was one of the last cuts for the national team this summer, and if he keeps playing like this, it'll be hard to keep him off of a main squad going forward. Going into the next World Cup and Olympic cycle with an Edey-Kabengele center combo would be just fine by me.

Quincy Guerrier is another guy that it's good to have in the fold for these qualifying games. He did some good things out there, and his combination of size and athleticism is going to give him an advantage against a lot of international teams.

The other guy who impressed me (who I haven't seen play much) was Jackson Rowe. He was really involved in the play at both ends whenever he was on the court. Good game from him.

Canada now plays Mexico on Sunday. If they can win that game, they'd be in really good shape to qualify for the 2025 AmeriCup. And in case people aren't aware, if they qualify for the AmeriCup, they'll automatically be in the qualifier games for the 7 Americas spots for the 2027 World Cup.

[aminiaturebuddha]

We don't often talk about women's basketball in here, and I'll admit that I've never really followed it very closely. The women's team also had a pretty bad showing at the Olympics this past summer.

But for anyone who hasn't noticed, there is a ton of high end Canadian talent coming up through NCAA Women's basketball at the moment.

In particular, there are 4 freshmen (freshwomen?) who are absolutely killing it right now!

Syla Swords is leading Michigan in scoring and averaging 18.8 pts, 7.8 rbds, 3.4 asts, and 2.2 stls
Delaney Gibb is leading BYU in scoring and averaging 19.6 pts, 5.2 rbds, 4.2 asts, and shooting .412 from 3
Jasmine Bascoe is leading Villanova in scoring and averaging 17 pts, 4.8 rbds, and 4.3 asts
Toby Fournier is leading Duke in scoring and averaging 14.5 pts, 5.2 rbs, and 1.3blks

There are also a few non-freshman having good years:
Yvonne Ejim (sis of Melvin) is leading Gonzaga in scoring as a senior and averaging 18.2 pts, 9.6 rbds, and 2 asts - she'll probably be a WNBA draft pick next year
Mary-Anna Asare is having a great junior season at VCU, averaging 16 pts, 6 rbds, 2.8 asts, 1.8 stls, and shooting 50% from 3
And Cassandre Prosper (sis of O-Max) is doing well as a sophomore, averaging 10.8 pts, 5.5 rbds, and 1.3 blks

Safe to say Canada's women's program has a very bright future!

[MEDIC]

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Awesome start to the season for this guy. Nice to see Will's game translating easily to the NCAA. Impressive.

Also had 18 against Alabama.

Overall after 7 games:

15.4 pts
4.6 Reb
1.9 Asst
47.4% FG
50% 3PT

He had a couple of tough games, but he is a freshman. To be expected. It will be interesting to see his growth by seasons end.

[SuperSant]

How did Canada do vs Mexico?

[aminiaturebuddha]

How did Canada do vs Mexico?

Canada won, and are still undefeated so far in the group stage of the AmeriCup qualifying.

[aminiaturebuddha]

I want to highlight a couple of Canadian NCAA players doing well right now.

Xaivian Lee had a big breakout as a soph last year at Princeton. This year it seems as though his numbers haven't taken a big jump, and at times the boxscore is underwhelming, but if you watch him play it's clear he's focusing of his point guard play. I think that's smart, as he'll probably have to play PG at the next level if he wants to stick in the NBA.

Overall he's doing pretty well. His reads on the court look like they've improved. And he's gone from 3.7 apg to 5.5 apg. Also, he just had the first ever triple double in Princeton history last night, so that's pretty cool. I think there's a chance he's an early 2nd round pick this year.

Bubu Benjamin is the other guy I want to highlight, as he's having a Lee-type sophomore leap. Sure he only plays at Tarleton State, so the competition isn't great (against the best team they'll play all year they got blown out by an inconsistent Baylor team), and the team itself isn't very good (3-7 record so far), but Bubu has been by far their best player.

He's upped his scoring from 2.8 ppg last year to 17.6 this year, along with averaging 5.1 rpg. And despite playing on a bad team, he's doing it with very good efficiency. He's currently shooting .545 overall, as well as .463 from 3, and .787 from the FT line. Pretty impressive stuff so far. I wonder if it'll get to the point where it seems he's too good for his team and league and uses the transfer portal to get himself to a team in a better conference next year.

[TheLP]

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;ab_channel=Ballislife2.0

So... Are giants just going to be a thing for Canada now? This kid already looks way ahead of Zach Edey when he first hit the scene and Edey was older. Definitely better hand-eye coordination than Olivier Rioux has ever had. Waiting to hear he's heading to IMG Academy

[MEDIC]

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;ab_channel=Ballislife2.0

So... Are giants just going to be a thing for Canada now? This kid already looks way ahead of Zach Edey when he first hit the scene and Edey was older. Definitely better hand-eye coordination than Olivier Rioux has ever had. Waiting to hear he's heading to IMG Academy

Yeah. This kid looks like a legit prospect. Very athletic/ coordinated for his size. Nothing like Rioux.

You almost hope he doesn't grow much taller & just keeps working on his game.

Maybe we will have twin towers at the next Olympics.

[bozothepope]

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Invite list for the u19 world cup team is out. Any thoughts? First time seeing Hakeem Olajuwon’s kids on such a list — I know nothing about them, but it would be cool to see Hakeem around the team. Is their mother Canadian? 15 years from now, we can all look forward to seeing Kawhi Leonard Jr too.

Any predictions on what the final roster will be? I’d like to see Miles Sadler join the older guys from last year’s FIBA Americas team. Will there be a spot for Paul Osaruyi too? Godson Okokoh?

Biggest snub might be Rokiem Green.

[MEDIC]

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?s=46

Invite list for the u19 world cup team is out. Any thoughts? First time seeing Hakeem Olajuwon’s kids on such a list — I know nothing about them, but it would be cool to see Hakeem around the team. Is their mother Canadian? 15 years from now, we can all look forward to seeing Kawhi Leonard Jr too.

Any predictions on what the final roster will be? I’d like to see Miles Sadler join the older guys from last year’s FIBA Americas team. Will there be a spot for Paul Osaruyi too? Godson Okokoh?

Biggest snub might be Rokiem Green.

I agree with you on Green. I liked what I saw from.him at the All Canadian.

[bozothepope]

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The invite list for the u16 team is also out. Any future NBAers among this bunch? I’ve heard good things about Isaiah Hamilton, and Elijah’s brother Jordan Fisher gives me young Anthony Bennett vibes with his bulk and abilities. I know Gohier is our next tall king after Edey and Rioux. Anyone else we should be looking out for?

[Hair Canada]

I like the pro potential of Hamilton (6'7 SF with elite athleticism) and Liam Mitakaro (6'4 PG from Alberta). Kenyon St. Louis and Kingston Montague are two very good PGs for their age, but not sure about NBA potential (also based on size). Grady Kapuanya (6'9 SF with shooting) also interesting, though he's quite raw. Of the younger guys (2010), Praise Badejo is an athletic scoring combo guard with good shooting. We'll see if he makes the team. Gohier should make it even based on sheer size (7'4 now) but he's also much more impressive, fluid, and coordinated than Rioux when he was that age.

I'll hold other thoughts till the final roster is decided.