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

[Mr Gametime]

I think all five starters have played very well and are locks for next summer, provided they are healthy and available.

I think the other seven spots are all up for grabs.

Among the guards, although Scrubb and Heslip have played o.k., I can see Ennis and Murray definitely challenging for spots, and possibly Pangos, Hanlan and Rautins being in the mix as well.

At the 3, I am hoping that a viable alternative to Doornekamp emerges. The most likely option is the Staff seeing Ejim as a 3, and it is also possible that K. Joseph returns to the program, Pierre has a strong senior season and is available, or maybe another guy emerges.

As for the bigs, if TT is available, and if they go with 5 bigs instead of 6, it could mean two of Nicholson, Ejim, Powell, and Sacre get cut.

Anyway, its nice to have decent depth for a change.

Dillon Brooks is SF out of Oregon who is an NBA prospect and born in Mississauga Ontario, he's 6' 6" 225 lbs.

His NCAA Freshman Stats 11.5PPG, 4.9RPG, 0.6 blk, 0.5 stl, FG 456%, 3PFG 337%

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3155526/dillon-brooks

[Alfred]

Havent been able to catch a second of this tourney ....

Anyone mind giving a bit of an update on how CoJo has looked so far

He's looked good. His playmaking has been good, his defence is great, but he still can't really shoot the 3.

[duppyy]

I think all five starters have played very well and are locks for next summer, provided they are healthy and available.

I think the other seven spots are all up for grabs.

Among the guards, although Scrubb and Heslip have played o.k., I can see Ennis and Murray definitely challenging for spots, and possibly Pangos, Hanlan and Rautins being in the mix as well.

At the 3, I am hoping that a viable alternative to Doornekamp emerges. The most likely option is the Staff seeing Ejim as a 3, and it is also possible that K. Joseph returns to the program, Pierre has a strong senior season and is available, or maybe another guy emerges.

As for the bigs, if TT is available, and if they go with 5 bigs instead of 6, it could mean two of Nicholson, Ejim, Powell, and Sacre get cut.

Anyway, its nice to have decent depth for a change.

Dillon Brooks is SF out of Oregon who is an NBA prospect and born in Mississauga Ontario, he's 6' 6" 225 lbs.

His NCAA Freshman Stats 11.5PPG, 4.9RPG, 0.6 blk, 0.5 stl, FG 456%, 3PFG 337%

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3155526/dillon-brooks

Dillion Brooks didn't do much at the Pan Am games but it didn't seem like he was getting the minutes(maybe had a minor injury?)

Hope he does well this year in the NCAA.

[Valard]

Count me in the minority ... but I think AD hasn't been that bad. I have no issue with him being on this team; Very unselfish, one of the better passers on the team, extremely active, knows and plays his role.

Yup you are in the minority:
" Very unselfish, one of the better passers on the team, extremely active, knows and plays his role. "

He does NOTHING that Ejim doesn't do. Ejim had a slightly better assist rate, double the rebound rate, he's way more athletic /just as or more active,
As for "knowing their role" that role is a bench energy guy Ejim does that stays within his role and shot 49%. AD wants to shoot 3s which he can't make so he ended up shooting 38% overall.

Point is that there is no need for 2 guys whole play that Sf/PF end of the bench energy role . Its not a big minute role. Ejim is much better at the role and is perfectly capable of playing all the minutes the role requires. That spot AD takes up should be used for a 3rd PG because there is no one to fill that roil.

I was unaware that this was a debate about Ejim being better than AD.

I am curious as to when Ejim became an end of the bench energy guy. I could have sworn he was the 1st or second guy off of the bench. The last guys off the bench have been AD, Sacre, and Powell.

[Too Late Crew]

Count me in the minority ... but I think AD hasn't been that bad. I have no issue with him being on this team; Very unselfish, one of the better passers on the team, extremely active, knows and plays his role.

Yup you are in the minority:
" Very unselfish, one of the better passers on the team, extremely active, knows and plays his role. "

He does NOTHING that Ejim doesn't do. Ejim had a slightly better assist rate, double the rebound rate, he's way more athletic /just as or more active,
As for "knowing their role" that role is a bench energy guy Ejim does that stays within his role and shot 49%. AD wants to shoot 3s which he can't make so he ended up shooting 38% overall.

Point is that there is no need for 2 guys whole play that Sf/PF end of the bench energy role . Its not a big minute role. Ejim is much better at the role and is perfectly capable of playing all the minutes the role requires. That spot AD takes up should be used for a 3rd PG because there is no one to fill that roil.

I was unaware that this was a debate about Ejim being better than AD.

I am curious as to when Ejim became an end of the bench energy guy. I could have sworn he was the 1st or second guy off of the bench. The last guys off the bench have been AD, Sacre, and Powell.

Powell has been used less due to injury.
The only players (other than the injured Powell) who played less minutes than Ejim was Sacre. That makes him an end of the bench guy.

The debate seemed to be that AD was OK on the team because he's active and plays his role. I'd argue there are others that play his role much better than he does. AD just doesn't provide much to the team to justify taking up a sport that could be better used for a 3rd PG. I'd argue that the outcome of every game would have been exactly the same without him.

[Mattd97]

things like effort and knowing your role shouldnt get you on a team, those should be mandatory things for anyone on the team and if you dont show those traits you shouldnt be on the team. but at this level you should bring much more to the table. hell, if i were out there id know my role and just give any ball i come across right back to cojo/wiggins -- and i suck

[mojo13]

things like effort and knowing your role shouldnt get you on a team, those should be mandatory things for anyone on the team and if you dont show those traits you shouldnt be on the team. but at this level you should bring much more to the table. hell, if i were out there id know my role and just give any ball i come across right back to cojo/wiggins -- and i suck

Hah...I favor this being Doornekamps swan song for our top "A" team. Ejim more than proved he can fill that hard-nosed roll (and more). There are too many CIS apologists still advocating for Doornekamp. He is so limited and easy the least important guy to this team. One can easily argue Sacre is needed as he has a defined role (although less frequently needed). Powell has good upside too and his versatility is important - He just needs to strengthen up. I would advocate for the 3 PG/SG in there for Doornekamp as well. Pangos/Hanlan/Murray - any of them would seem to be a better choice.

Scrubb on the other hand has won me over and I would be fine seeing him back on this team.

I am still not sure TT will be available next season as his contract could still be in limbo. If he is available, my guess is one other big will be questionable due to contract / insurance or injury (it always happens). I doubt we end up cutting someone like Nicholson / Powell / Ejim / Sacre for TT.

Edit: Let's not let the door hit AD on the way out - as many have mentioned we are going to need a deep pool of of players to draw from once 2017 rolls on. We may happily see AD once again as the best we may be able to put together for qualifiers is a PanAm games-like "B" team.

[Patman]

I think all five starters have played very well and are locks for next summer, provided they are healthy and available.

I think the other seven spots are all up for grabs.

Among the guards, although Scrubb and Heslip have played o.k., I can see Ennis and Murray definitely challenging for spots, and possibly Pangos, Hanlan and Rautins being in the mix as well.

At the 3, I am hoping that a viable alternative to Doornekamp emerges. The most likely option is the Staff seeing Ejim as a 3, and it is also possible that K. Joseph returns to the program, Pierre has a strong senior season and is available, or maybe another guy emerges.

As for the bigs, if TT is available, and if they go with 5 bigs instead of 6, it could mean two of Nicholson, Ejim, Powell, and Sacre get cut.

Anyway, its nice to have decent depth for a change.

Dillon Brooks is SF out of Oregon who is an NBA prospect and born in Mississauga Ontario, he's 6' 6" 225 lbs.

His NCAA Freshman Stats 11.5PPG, 4.9RPG, 0.6 blk, 0.5 stl, FG 456%, 3PFG 337%

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3155526/dillon-brooks

Dillion Brooks didn't do much at the Pan Am games but it didn't seem like he was getting the minutes(maybe had a minor injury?)

Hope he does well this year in the NCAA.

He didn't put up a lot of stats in his limited playing time, but from watching him in action, he looked very comfortable out there, which is a good start. He doesn't try do too much, nor does he look like he's passive. He looks engaged when he's playing, unlike someone like T-Ross.

[Pooh_Jeter]

Ejim was essentially the 11th man before Powell got hurt. After Powell got hurt Ejim has been elevated to the 7th or 8th man on this team. I'm glad Ejim is getting more playing time, he deserves it, but Doornekamp being elevated over Powell is a joke.

Scrubb, Heslip, Ejim, Powell, Nicholson > Scrubb, Heslip, Doornekamp, Ejim, Nicholson

The bench as it stands right now is very limited defensively, but replacing Doornekamp with Powell adds some interior defense and the offensive rebounding of Ejim/Powell would be pretty ridiculous. Powell has been utilized strictly as an energy guy, but he actually has a lot more to offer offensively than he has been able to show IMO. That line-up is better offensively and defensively.

Doornekamp is a decent passer for a guy his size, but he also makes some ill advised turnovers which mitigate that to a degree. It's not like he is a point forward, he just generally makes the right pass. He is a complete zero offensively and he does more to limit spacing than every player on the team save Sacre. He is a competent rebounder and I'm still dumbfounded that people see him as any sort of defensive player. He is hopeless against anyone with any ounce of athleticism and while he can play decent one on one defense in certain match-ups he fouls a lot. He certainly doesn't provide any sort of rim protection.

He works hard and plays his role is such an ambiguous statement and really just shows that he doesn't offer much to the team. Sure, he does play hard, no question about that, but when you are so limited as a basketball player how much does that matter? He isn't a player who puts in fake hustle, but considering how limited he is athletically it's going to be a lot more obvious when he is putting in work than say an Andrew Wiggins who is so damn smooth athletically.

What is his role on this team? The glue guy who does what exactly? His role is basically to not take touches away from anyone and give a good effort. I'm not saying I'm a better basketball player than Doornekamp and as much as I'm ranting about him I'm not saying he is the worst player ever or something like that, but if Team Canada picked me out of the stands my role on the team would literally be the same as Doornekamp's.

People keep saying that CIS guys are unfairly judged and to a certain extent they are right. But, I think being CIS guys has worked in the favour of Doornekamp and Scrubb. The Canadian media is eating up that they were born and bred in Canada. It's largely been a good thing that Team Canada has been turned over to a new generation of players, but why is Doornekamp the last link to the old guard? What valuable experience is he providing? It would be like if Canada Soccer was experiencing a renaissance and Dwayne De Rosario was kept around.

"Hey, these young guys need the experience of someone who lost 8-1 to Honduras."

Carl English was kind of given a send off, but what about guys like Kendall, Shepherd, Anthony and Anderson? What does Doornekamp provide that none of these guys could match?

[DreamTeam09]

Sidenote. I think Powell is better than both Ejim & DoorneKamp.

[Too Late Crew]

He works hard and plays his role is such an ambiguous statement and really just shows that he doesn't offer much to the team.

This is the basketball equivalent of someone saying "Well she has a great personality and loves cats" when they are trying to set you up on a blind date.

[Alfred]

He works hard and plays his role is such an ambiguous statement and really just shows that he doesn't offer much to the team.

This is the basketball equivalent of someone saying "Well she has a great personality and loves cats" when they are trying to set you up on a blind date.

Hahaha

[Undefeated]

I'll probably publish all of CB's sets with diagrams once I can get all the videos, but here's a clip I found that I said before was Canada's money set. Also, Nash's favorite set called "Fist Up Short".

[tweet]https://twitter.com/CoachGregUC/status/641773540652548096[/tweet]

[Risk101]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFVXHqx1I3A[/youtube]

[Morse Code]

I'll probably publish all of CB's sets with diagrams once I can get all the videos, but here's a clip I found that I said before was Canada's money set. Also, Nash's favorite set called "Fist Up Short".

[tweet]https://twitter.com/CoachGregUC/status/641773540652548096[/tweet]

I could see us using this with Delon, Scloa, with Biz rolling.

[Rapcity_11]

People advocating for Ejim playing over Doornekamp gotta realize that Ejim is way better at the 4. Ejim could still be better than AD at the 3 though, that is true.

[jeffya2]

What time is the game tomorrow, PLEASE

[Rapcity_11]

What time is the game tomorrow, PLEASE

http://bfy.tw/1jrR

[PoundTown]

I can't wait to see what we look like with Jamal Murray.

No kidding, the next 5 years and beyond are going to be a lot of fun to watch. I'm interested to see where Murray, Lyles and Ennis' career takes them. I think they have a shot to medal next year, definitely a tough task though with the lack of experience.

[Pooh_Jeter]

Sidenote. I think Powell is better than both Ejim & DoorneKamp.

I agree. Powell was the best bench player on the team before he got hurt. Nicholson has started to up his game and Scrubb has been shooting well, but I still take Powell over both. He is athletic, can protect the rim a bit and he is more than an energy guy on offense. I think he is going to be a very useful player for the Mavs this season.

People advocating for Ejim playing over Doornekamp gotta realize that Ejim is way better at the 4. Ejim could still be better than AD at the 3 though, that is true.

I don't think many would argue he isn't better suited as a small ball 4 rather than a full time 3, but as you said in terms of who can be more effective as a 3 I can't buy any argument that Doornekamp is better suited. He might be a slightly better passer, but beyond that Ejim has him beat everywhere.

If it were just Ejim VS Doornekamp this would be bad enough, but playing Doornekamp at the 3 instead of Ejim has moved Powell out of the rotation. Just having Doornekamp on the team meant Canada didn't bring a 3rd PG in Hanlan. It's poor use of the personnel you have available.

I still think Canada wins the tournament (probably handily), but why handicap yourself? The starters have basically killed everyone, while the bench has been up and down, particularly defensively. Taking Doornekamp out of the equation doesn't solve every problem, but I bet it solves a lot of them.

Given the new qualifaction schedule going into effect for FIBA it is absolutely true you need to have depth, particularly from players outside of the NBA, but in my eyes Doornekamp isn't even one of the top non-NBA players Canada has at their disposal. I'm not saying tell the guy to piss off and that he will never ever be apart of Team Canada again, but it isn't as though he will be an integral part of a team that hopes to do anything meaningful.