Team Canada Basketball Thread

[TooBad]

Jamal Murray and Trey Lyles have been brutal the lately. I don't know what their problem is right now.

[TooBad]

Its possible that Canada won't have Bennett for February at this rate. He has 3 straight double doubles and is averaging 19 pts 11rebs over that period on good shooting. I don't know what his defense is like but statistically he has been playing well and is probably close to getting a 10 day at this rate.

[TooBad]

Khem Birch with career highs in minutes (19), points (12), rebounds (10) and blocks (4). Former records were 7, 4, 3, and 0 respectively. Talk about a career night! Also helped Orlando to a surprising win over the Timberwolves. Should get more chances.

I kinda feel like a proud Papa.
Attaboy Khem, great to see. Keep working hard. He seems like a good fit in today’s NBA as a high efficiency, rim runner, who can protect the hoop and quick enough to switch on everyone on defense. Kind of a Clint Capela type. Maybe a better defensive version of Dwight Powell and TT? I’m still wary of Khem’s ability to defend a bigger post player one on one, but maybe that matters less and less going forward. Plus he has put on allot of muscle the last couple years.

Also good to see the hardcore Magic fans online have been harping on Khem getting minutes all season.

Watch on YouTube

Does he have a shot or is he strictly a dunker? If could develop a 3 he'd be a mini-ibaka.

[mojo13]

Khem Birch with career highs in minutes (19), points (12), rebounds (10) and blocks (4). Former records were 7, 4, 3, and 0 respectively. Talk about a career night! Also helped Orlando to a surprising win over the Timberwolves. Should get more chances.

I kinda feel like a proud Papa.
Attaboy Khem, great to see. Keep working hard. He seems like a good fit in today’s NBA as a high efficiency, rim runner, who can protect the hoop and quick enough to switch on everyone on defense. Kind of a Clint Capela type. Maybe a better defensive version of Dwight Powell and TT? I’m still wary of Khem’s ability to defend a bigger post player one on one, but maybe that matters less and less going forward. Plus he has put on allot of muscle the last couple years.

Also good to see the hardcore Magic fans online have been harping on Khem getting minutes all season.

Watch on YouTube

Does he have a shot or is he strictly a dunker? If could develop a 3 he'd be a mini-ibaka.

You’d struggle mightily to find a highlight of him scoring outside the paint. He has no outside game whatsoever. His development lately is actually adding some post moves and short jumpers. A highlight package I posted a couple days ago in a G league game actauly showed a jumper near the free throw line, which is the deepest range I have ever seen from Khem. Don’t expect a three any time soon (probably never).

He is an elite help defender. 2nd in the G for blocks this year and has always been one of the best rim protectors in any league he has played in. He is only 6’9, but he s extremely quick and has fantastic timing and defensive instincts.

His historical knock has always been that he is little too skinny to defend the post, zero offensive game and an iffy attitude. He has improved immensely on each of those faults the last couple years in Europe and the G. His offense is mostly finishing plays at the rim, rolling hard, put backs and oops. As I said think, Clint Capela.

[TooBad]

I kinda feel like a proud Papa.
Attaboy Khem, great to see. Keep working hard. He seems like a good fit in today’s NBA as a high efficiency, rim runner, who can protect the hoop and quick enough to switch on everyone on defense. Kind of a Clint Capela type. Maybe a better defensive version of Dwight Powell and TT? I’m still wary of Khem’s ability to defend a bigger post player one on one, but maybe that matters less and less going forward. Plus he has put on allot of muscle the last couple years.

Also good to see the hardcore Magic fans online have been harping on Khem getting minutes all season.

Watch on YouTube

Does he have a shot or is he strictly a dunker? If could develop a 3 he'd be a mini-ibaka.

You’d struggle mightily to find a highlight of him scoring outside the paint. He has no outside game whatsoever. His development lately is actually adding some post moves and short jumpers. A highlight package I posted a couple days ago in a G league game actauly showed a jumper near the free throw line, which is the deepest range I have ever seen from Khem. Don’t expect a three any time soon (probably never).

He is an elite help defender. 2nd in the G for blocks this year and has always been one of the best rim protectors in any league he has played in. He is only 6’9, but he s extremely quick and has fantastic timing and defensive instincts.

His historical knock has always been that he is little too skinny to defend the post, zero offensive game and an iffy attitude. He has improved immensely on each of those faults the last couple years in Europe and the G. His offense is mostly finishing plays at the rim, rolling hard, put backs and oops. As I said think, Clint Capela.

Its a shame that his game is still so limited because he was a top prospect back in the day. He had the same rating as Andrew Wiggins on ESPN Recruiting before going to college and was rated higher than RJ Barrett at 97. There are so many examples of top Canadian prospects not living up to the hype its getting embarrassing. We really need some of these guys to change this trend.

None of these guys outside of Birch are in the NBA right now (many didn't even get drafted) despite being top level prospects.

Kyle Wiltjer 97
Kabongo 97
Birch 97
Bennett 97
Sacre 93
Pangos 92

[aminiaturebuddha]

Its a shame that his game is still so limited because he was a top prospect back in the day. He had the same rating as Andrew Wiggins on ESPN Recruiting before going to college and was rated higher than RJ Barrett at 97. There are so many examples of top Canadian prospects not living up to the hype its getting embarrassing. We really need some of these guys to change this trend.

None of these guys outside of Birch are in the NBA right now (many didn't even get drafted) despite being top level prospects.

Kyle Wiltjer 97
Kabongo 97
Birch 97
Bennett 97
Sacre 93
Pangos 92

Those numbers are almost entirely arbitrary and have very little relation to future NBA potential or much else, really. I wouldn't judge prospects by the ESPN recruiting grade without loading up your salt shaker.

Birch was seen as a good prospect, and played in the McDonald's All-America game, but was never thought to be a well rounded player with offensive ability. He wasn't even close to being as hyped as Barrett is now. Wiltjer was the opposite, a good offensive player who was known to have defensive limitations. Far from not living up to the hype, I would say Wiltjer has pretty much become exactly what he was expected to be.

Bennett is a case that we've all gone over a million times. So yes, agreed, he's a big disappointment.

But to say that it's "embarrassing" that Canadian prospects aren't living up to the hype when we have more players in the NBA than any country aside from the US is either a wild exaggeration or simply displays a lack of understanding of how prospect rankings work and how many highly rated prospects ever actually turn into NBA All Star type players (hint: not very many).

[TooBad]

Its a shame that his game is still so limited because he was a top prospect back in the day. He had the same rating as Andrew Wiggins on ESPN Recruiting before going to college and was rated higher than RJ Barrett at 97. There are so many examples of top Canadian prospects not living up to the hype its getting embarrassing. We really need some of these guys to change this trend.

None of these guys outside of Birch are in the NBA right now (many didn't even get drafted) despite being top level prospects.

Kyle Wiltjer 97
Kabongo 97
Birch 97
Bennett 97
Sacre 93
Pangos 92

Those numbers are almost entirely arbitrary and have very little relation to future NBA potential or much else, really. I wouldn't judge prospects by the ESPN recruiting grade without loading up your salt shaker.

Birch was seen as a good prospect, and played in the McDonald's All-America game, but was never thought to be a well rounded player with offensive ability. He wasn't even close to being as hyped as Barrett is now. Wiltjer was the opposite, a good offensive player who was known to have defensive limitations. Far from not living up to the hype, I would say Wiltjer has pretty much become exactly what he was expected to be.

Bennett is a case that we've all gone over a million times. So yes, agreed, he's a big disappointment.

But to say that it's "embarrassing" that Canadian prospects aren't living up to the hype when we have more players in the NBA than any country aside from the US is either a wild exaggeration or simply displays a lack of understanding of how prospect rankings work and how many highly rated prospects ever actually turn into NBA All Star type players (hint: not very many).

Still though I expect these guys to be in the NBA or drafted at the very least. I remember when Wiltjer was coming in he had a high school mix tape with over 100k views (he was slow so I wasn't buying it but still). Myck Kabongo was really hyped up too. Bennett obviously as well. All these guys are no where near what they were expected to be. There were discussions about Gill-Caesar in this thread earlier being a disappointment but ESPN only had him as an 83 (most players rated that never make it). So yeah that ESPN Recruiting site isn't always right but I am willing to bet that most successful players in the NBA had a pretty good rating on their coming in (Paul George is an exception).

[aminiaturebuddha]

Its a shame that his game is still so limited because he was a top prospect back in the day. He had the same rating as Andrew Wiggins on ESPN Recruiting before going to college and was rated higher than RJ Barrett at 97. There are so many examples of top Canadian prospects not living up to the hype its getting embarrassing. We really need some of these guys to change this trend.

None of these guys outside of Birch are in the NBA right now (many didn't even get drafted) despite being top level prospects.

Kyle Wiltjer 97
Kabongo 97
Birch 97
Bennett 97
Sacre 93
Pangos 92

Those numbers are almost entirely arbitrary and have very little relation to future NBA potential or much else, really. I wouldn't judge prospects by the ESPN recruiting grade without loading up your salt shaker.

Birch was seen as a good prospect, and played in the McDonald's All-America game, but was never thought to be a well rounded player with offensive ability. He wasn't even close to being as hyped as Barrett is now. Wiltjer was the opposite, a good offensive player who was known to have defensive limitations. Far from not living up to the hype, I would say Wiltjer has pretty much become exactly what he was expected to be.

Bennett is a case that we've all gone over a million times. So yes, agreed, he's a big disappointment.

But to say that it's "embarrassing" that Canadian prospects aren't living up to the hype when we have more players in the NBA than any country aside from the US is either a wild exaggeration or simply displays a lack of understanding of how prospect rankings work and how many highly rated prospects ever actually turn into NBA All Star type players (hint: not very many).

Still though I expect these guys to be in the NBA or drafted at the very least. I remember when Wiltjer was coming in he had a high school mix tape with over 100k views (he was slow so I wasn't buying it but still). Myck Kabongo was really hyped up too. Bennett obviously as well. All these guys are no where near what they were expected to be. There were discussions about Gill-Caesar in this thread earlier being a disappointment but ESPN only had him as an 83 (most players rated that never make it). So yeah that ESPN Recruiting site isn't always right but I am willing to bet that most successful players in the NBA had a pretty good rating on their coming in (Paul George is an exception).

Sure, we all wish that some of these players would have done better, but there's a big difference between hoping that something happens and expecting that it will happen.

Let's take the first player you mention, Wiltjer, as an example. In ESPN's 2011 Top 100 list, he was ranked #19. Here are the other players that were ranked #19 on those same rankings since 2007 (the extent of the database readily available on their site):

2007 - Jai Lucas
2008 - Sylven Landesberg
2009 - Dominic Cheek
2010 - Joshua Hairston
2012 - Danuel House
2013 - Nigel Williams-Goss
2014 - Rashad Vaughn
2015 - PJ Dozier
2016 - Josh Langford

You say that all the players in your list "are no where near what they were expected to be". If you really "expected" Wiltjer to be much more than he is right now, rather than simply hoping he would become more, I would suggest that the problem is with your expectations and not with Wiltjer's performance or development.

[Mirotic12]

Well Naz Long didn't last long in Utah. Waived today so the Jazz could sign his ex-ISU teammate George Niang.
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865695051/Utah-Jazz-sign-Georges-Niang-to-two-way-deal-after-waiving-college-teammate.html

Well I was a little surprised he was signed in the first place. He is a rook and got good exposure with this, probably learned something of value and probably upped his perceived value. I assume he stays with the Jazz, but back to the G (has to clear waivers though).
Mitrou-Long appeared in one game for the Jazz, logging a 3-pointer in a minute against Denver on Dec. 26. The 24-year-old guard averages 15.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists for the G-League SLC Stars.

Naz could go down as the highest PER of all time for an NBA player (136.97). That there is some infamy.
http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2990968/naz-mitrou-long

Saw that the Lakers signed PG Gary Payton II which likely puts Ennis on more thin ice. With two PGs as two way players, I am pretty sure the Lakers are shopping Ennis. I've heard Belineli for Brewer/Ennis repeatedly. EDIT: It seems Lonzo's knee is still acting up, so maybe this is a real depth add and Ennis will get an extended expanded role. Most Laker fans don't see Ennis as much of a NBA player.


Trey Burke signed with the Knicks - helps XRM a bit I assume.

Also noticed ASVEL (Tony Parker owned team) fired JD Jackson, and promotes TJ Parker (Tony's brother) as head coach. That is some solid nepotism. Anyways Jackson has had a long successful coaching career in Europe - do we ever talk about about him as a one day national team coach? He once played for Team Canada - no idea if he has been involved in the last few years.
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=/sport/2202123-20180115-pro-jd-jackson-limoge-asvel-tony-parker-installe-frere-tj-jusqu-fin-saison&prev=search
After winning the French league championship in 2016 the fans were out for Jackson's head this year. ASVEL is a .500 team with the biggest budget in the French League and looking to move into the EuroLeague next year with EL expansion. From the article it seems the GM recruited a bunch of highly paid, but mismatched talent. Jackson couldn't make the pieces fit and is the fall guy.

Finally - an interesting read on the oddities of the Chinese CBA.
http://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/594178/china-not-perfect-caper-anymore/

I think I read somewhere in European media that EuroLeague's CEO rejected the idea of ASVEL going to EuroLeague next season, because their budget isn't big enough, and their new arena isn't ready yet.

[mojo13]

Those numbers are almost entirely arbitrary and have very little relation to future NBA potential or much else, really. I wouldn't judge prospects by the ESPN recruiting grade without loading up your salt shaker.

Birch was seen as a good prospect, and played in the McDonald's All-America game, but was never thought to be a well rounded player with offensive ability. He wasn't even close to being as hyped as Barrett is now. Wiltjer was the opposite, a good offensive player who was known to have defensive limitations. Far from not living up to the hype, I would say Wiltjer has pretty much become exactly what he was expected to be.

Bennett is a case that we've all gone over a million times. So yes, agreed, he's a big disappointment.

But to say that it's "embarrassing" that Canadian prospects aren't living up to the hype when we have more players in the NBA than any country aside from the US is either a wild exaggeration or simply displays a lack of understanding of how prospect rankings work and how many highly rated prospects ever actually turn into NBA All Star type players (hint: not very many).

Still though I expect these guys to be in the NBA or drafted at the very least. I remember when Wiltjer was coming in he had a high school mix tape with over 100k views (he was slow so I wasn't buying it but still). Myck Kabongo was really hyped up too. Bennett obviously as well. All these guys are no where near what they were expected to be. There were discussions about Gill-Caesar in this thread earlier being a disappointment but ESPN only had him as an 83 (most players rated that never make it). So yeah that ESPN Recruiting site isn't always right but I am willing to bet that most successful players in the NBA had a pretty good rating on their coming in (Paul George is an exception).

Sure, we all wish that some of these players would have done better, but there's a big difference between hoping that something happens and expecting that it will happen.

Let's take the first player you mention, Wiltjer, as an example. In ESPN's 2011 Top 100 list, he was ranked #19. Here are the other players that were ranked #19 on those same rankings since 2007 (the extent of the database readily available on their site):

2007 - Jai Lucas
2008 - Sylven Landesberg
2009 - Dominic Cheek
2010 - Joshua Hairston
2012 - Danuel House
2013 - Nigel Williams-Goss
2014 - Rashad Vaughn
2015 - PJ Dozier
2016 - Josh Langford

You say that all the players in your list "are no where near what they were expected to be". If you really "expected" Wiltjer to be much more than he is right now, rather than simply hoping he would become more, I would suggest that the problem is with your expectations and not with Wiltjer's performance or development.

Agreed. When laying that list out there, it seems more that Wiltjer exceeded expectations.
I think people often don't appreciate how elite the NBA is and how few players make the league. They also don't appreciate how good the top European leagues are and how good those players are. We live in the age of unrealistic hype which too often leads to unnecessary disappointment for those that buy into that hype.

Wiltjer was on the Rockets roster last year and is now playing with Olympiacos - a club widely recognized as one of the top 4 or 5 clubs outside the NBA. He has a fantastic NCAA career culminating in being named an All American. Many of us have watched him since high-school and I can't recall anyone saying they thought he was a surefire NBA player at any point in his career. If he embarrasses you, it likely says something more about you.

Kabongo and Bennett are really the only two that I think we can even discuss as disappointments or not living up to expectations. Even then they are proof positive that you just don't know what you have with 18/19 year olds and there are infinite possible paths ahead of them.


Re: ASVEL - yes, they are likely looking to enter the EuroLeague now in 2019 for the reasons you mention (and likely because they suck this season and don't deserve to be in the EL). I'll be sure to look up Mirotic as my editor when I hit it big.


PS: Chris Boucher set to play his first G-League game today for the Santa Cruz Warriors versus the Reno BigHorns.

[Mirotic12]

Agreed. When laying that list out there, it seems more that Wiltjer exceeded expectations.
I think people often don't appreciate how elite the NBA is and how few players make the league. They also don't appreciate how good the top European leagues are and how good those players are. We live in the age of unrealistic hype which too often leads to unnecessary disappointment for those that buy into that hype.

Wiltjer was on the Rockets roster last year and is now playing with Olympiacos - a club widely recognized as one of the top 4 or 5 clubs outside the NBA. He has a fantastic NCAA career culminating in being named an All American. Many of us have watched him since high-school and I can't recall anyone saying they thought he was a surefire NBA player at any point in his career. If he embarrasses you, it likely says something more about you.

Kabongo and Bennett are really the only two that I think we can even discuss as disappointments or not living up to expectations. Even then they are proof positive that you just don't know what you have with 18/19 year olds and there are infinite possible paths ahead of them.

About 3-4 years ago, I read a story on some sports site that was a study about how many NCAA Division I players actually ever play professionally. They stated they were interested in finding out, since there is a common myth in USA that any American NCAA DI player that cannot make the NBA, plays in G-League or "professionally overseas". The reality is far different though.

They used the criteria of just playing at least one game professionally, in any international league, so that was China, Philippines, Australia, Latin America....anywhere really.

The result was only about 5% of NCAA DI players ever even played a single professional game anywhere.

Then they did it for NBA and EuroLeague, as those were the top leagues in America and internationally. Again with the criteria of only having to play a single game in NBA or EuroLeague to qualify. The result was less than 1% of all NCAA DI players ever managed to play even a single game in NBA or EuroLeague.

So yeah, I think there is a general huge exaggeration about how many players can play professionally, alone how extreme it is when they talk about playing in NBA and/or EuroLeague. The truth is, plenty of top 100 high school prospects (I would say the large majority) won't ever play in NBA or EuroLeague.

Making it as a regular rotation player in either league is pretty much all anyone could hope for from a top high school prospect, unless it is some total outlier of a prospect like LeBron or Doncic.

[Hair Canada]

Agreed. When laying that list out there, it seems more that Wiltjer exceeded expectations.
I think people often don't appreciate how elite the NBA is and how few players make the league. They also don't appreciate how good the top European leagues are and how good those players are. We live in the age of unrealistic hype which too often leads to unnecessary disappointment for those that buy into that hype.

Wiltjer was on the Rockets roster last year and is now playing with Olympiacos - a club widely recognized as one of the top 4 or 5 clubs outside the NBA. He has a fantastic NCAA career culminating in being named an All American. Many of us have watched him since high-school and I can't recall anyone saying they thought he was a surefire NBA player at any point in his career. If he embarrasses you, it likely says something more about you.

Kabongo and Bennett are really the only two that I think we can even discuss as disappointments or not living up to expectations. Even then they are proof positive that you just don't know what you have with 18/19 year olds and there are infinite possible paths ahead of them.

About 3-4 years ago, I read a story on some sports site that was a study about how many NCAA Division I players actually ever play professionally. They stated they were interested in finding out, since there is a common myth in USA that any American NCAA DI player that cannot make the NBA, plays in G-League or "professionally overseas". The reality is far different though.

They used the criteria of just playing at least one game professionally, in any international league, so that was China, Philippines, Australia, Latin America....anywhere really.

The result was only about 5% of NCAA DI players ever even played a single professional game anywhere.

Then they did it for NBA and EuroLeague, as those were the top leagues in America and internationally. Again with the criteria of only having to play a single game in NBA or EuroLeague to qualify. The result was less than 1% of all NCAA DI players ever managed to play even a single game in NBA or EuroLeague.

So yeah, I think there is a general huge exaggeration about how many players can play professionally, alone how extreme it is when they talk about playing in NBA and/or EuroLeague. The truth is, plenty of top 100 high school prospects (I would say the large majority) won't ever play in NBA or EuroLeague.

Making it as a regular rotation player in either league is pretty much all anyone could hope for from a top high school prospect, unless it is some total outlier of a prospect like LeBron or Doncic.

A few thoughts about this interesting discussion:

First, I agree with Buddha and Mojo (and Mirotic) that we can't really treat most of the players on this list as disappointments. The stats that Mirotic brings might at first seem quite staggering, but when considering the number of players in Division 1 (about 6,000?) and the fact that most European players come from Europe (and the same is true for players in most other leagues around the world), they actually make a lot of sense.

Second, I think at best only 30-40 players from each draft actually join the NBA. So it's probably more than fair to say that most of the top-100 of any class will never make it. More specifically, I actually found the ESPN rankings throughout the years to be quite weak -- not very well updated and lacking on good relevant information for really assessing long-term prospects and talent. With the purchase of the draftexpress guys they've been doing better, but I still tend to trust more the composite rankings.

I also agree with buddha that the numbers are nearly arbitrary and really mean very little (similar to the cumulative grade that Draft.net gives prospects). In fact, even the stars system seems quite arbitrary to me and I often can't quite get why one player gets a 5 while another gets a 4. If I understand it correctly, 5 stars are supposed to be clear NBA prospects, the closest thing to a sure bet, but if you look at the final results, many of them do not end up in the league.

Specifically, for some of the names mentioned here, Wiltjer could actually be considered a success story, especially given his very limited athleticism. He actually made it to the NBA, even if he didn't stick for too long, and did very well in the G league. How many Ryan Andersons are there actually in this league? Compare that to the barrage of unathletic 6'10s who can shoot it, but never got/will get a chance in the league. Birch and Sacre also made it to the NBA despite limited talent and Pangos is on the midst of a very nice Euroleague career, which I think is all one might expect from a player of his height and physical limitations (there's a nice book by coach Chris Dooley -- "Can't Miss" -- that tells Pangos' story, showing how it is actually a story of success aginst the odds and due to a very resilient and hard woring character).

[Hair Canada]

Nice to see that Drake and the Raptors are investing in the future of Canadian basketball. With all the new multi-millionaires out there (Wiggins, Thompson, Olynyk and probably more to come), hopefully, this starts a trend of returning to the community.

https://www.thescore.com/nba/news/1463501

[TheFutureMM]

Super nit-picky but can a mod change the title of this thread to, "Team Canada Basketball Thread (FIBA World Cup Qualification Feb 22nd & 25th)" or something to that effect? I figure since we are a month out.

Also, when should we be expecting roster announcements? Two weeks before?

[TheFutureMM]

Also, new ESPN top 100...

18. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
31. Justin Jackson
44. Nickeil Alexander-Walker
48. O'Shae Brissett

[Hair Canada]

Super nit-picky but can a mod change the title of this thread to, "Team Canada Basketball Thread (FIBA World Cup Qualification Feb 22nd & 25th)" or something to that effect? I figure since we are a month out.

Also, when should we be expecting roster announcements? Two weeks before?

I actually asked one of the modifiers to change simply to "Team Canada Basketball Thread", which I think would be most appropriate. Got a response that they'll look into it and maybe should open a new thread because this one is too long (or something to that effect). Then nothing happened.

Maybe someone else can try to write to them?

[mojo13]

Super nit-picky but can a mod change the title of this thread to, "Team Canada Basketball Thread (FIBA World Cup Qualification Feb 22nd & 25th)" or something to that effect? I figure since we are a month out.

Also, when should we be expecting roster announcements? Two weeks before?

Hah. Two weeks out for a player pool seems right. Maybe a week for the actual roster.
Some counties are just starting to announce their player pools - Lithuania just announced theirs.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019/european-qualifiers/news/lithuania-roll-out-33-player-preliminary-squad-for-february-window

I don’t think anyone even knows where the game will be played yet. USVI? Canada? Neutral sight?




Also I am seeing Phil Scrubb’s knee isn’t in good shape. I believe it is the same surgically repaired knee that kept him out all last year.
He hasn’t payed since mid December. They have not decided on surgery yet, opting for a conservative treatment process.
This very likely puts him out for he WC Qualifiers in February. Even if he is back playing for Fraport by then, should he risk it further to play for Canada?

[Hair Canada]

I am seeing Phil Scrubb’s knee isn’t in good shape. I believe it is the same surgically repaired knee that kept him out all last year.
He hasn’t payed since mid December. They have not decided on surgery yet, opting for a conservative treatment process.
This very likely puts him out for he WC Qualifiers in February. Even if he is back playing for Fraport by then, should he risk it further to play for Canada?

That's really too bad about Phill. As I said before, I think he's actually our best guard outside the NBA right now.

On a more positive note, SGA is now ranked 18 in this year's ESPN draft prospects list, as FutureMM noted. They also gave him a big write-up, which is only available for insiders, so I'm pasting it below for those with no access who are interested:


An injury to Quade Green has made Gilgeous-Alexander Kentucky's lone ball handler and point guard the past three games, putting the Canadian freshman under the microscope, accelerating his development and giving NBA scouts a raw and unfiltered look at his strengths and weaknesses as a draft prospect.

Only the ninth highest-rated high school recruit on Kentucky's roster, Gilgeous-Alexander is starting to gain steam as potentially being its best long-term NBA talent. In what is shaping up as somewhat of a disappointing season for Kentucky -- coming into 2017-18 rated as a unanimous top-five team and now falling to 35th in ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI) after a bad loss to South Carolina -- the results might tell us just as much about Kentucky (and this draft class) as it does about Gilgeous-Alexander.

Somewhat of a blank slate of a prospect, Gilgeous-Alexander is intriguing first and foremost due to his outstanding physical tools. He stands a towering 6-6 with a 7-foot wingspan that will allow him to guard any of the wing or backcourt positions as his narrow 182-pound frame fills out. He's more fluid of an athlete than he is explosive but plays the game at a unique speed that has increasingly allowed him to get to different spots on the floor as his comfort level with the college game has grown.

Sporting a high handle and just average decision-making skills, Kentucky's half-court offense has been somewhat of an adventure with him running the show full time. Some of that is due to the team's extreme lack of spacing, as he has been forced to navigate a severely congested floor that often has three, four or even five non-shooters at times, a far cry from how most basketball teams play these days, particularly in the NBA.

Nevertheless, Gilgeous-Alexander's fluidity, creativity and willingness to get others involved has led to some impressive moments at times this season. His ability to change speeds is intriguing, as is his size and unselfishness finding teammates off the dribble or over the top of the defense, using both sides of the floor. He might have some untapped athleticism to grow into as his frame fills out, as he shows some unexpected burst at times accelerating off pick-and-rolls, getting to the rim and finishing acrobatically from different vantage points thanks to his length.

What will really open up Gilgeous-Alexander's offense long-term is improving his ability to make shots consistently off the dribble, as he has converted just 11 of 34 attempts (32 percent) on the season. He has been better shooting with his feet set but clearly has a ways to go still, especially in terms of improving the quickness and fluidity of his release. The fact that he's shooting 82 percent from the free throw line this season, and has done that throughout his career, is a good sign for his long-term projection.

Gilgeous-Alexander won't be asked to carry anywhere near the offensive load in the NBA that he has for a skill and shot-creation deprived Kentucky this season. In fact, it's very likely he will get significant minutes operating off the ball, alongside a more proficient and natural shot-creator and scorer, which is easy to envision with his multipositional defensive versatility.

It's this end of the floor where he really shines, as his length, quick feet and terrific intensity make him an absolute lock-down defender already at the college level. He ranks in the top five among top-100 prospects in steals and would probably rank the same in charges and deflections if we had that data. He has been forced to expend less energy the past few games manning Kentucky's stagnant offense full time, while playing as many minutes as he can handle, causing him to drop off somewhat here.

In what has long been considered a down year for guards, Gilgeous-Alexander is making a strong case to be considered the third-best NCAA prospect in the group after Young and Collin Sexton. Despite his lack of offensive polish, he has moved himself into the late-lottery/mid-first-round conversation, but he will have to show scouts that he can help Kentucky finish the season strong to not be labeled strictly a long-term project.

[mojo13]

Chris Boucher with his first game back after 10 months of recovery.
He showed off his unique ability posting 11 points (4-6), 1 three, (1-2) and couple rebounds and 3 blocks in 15 minutes of action.

Jordan Bell went down badly last night for the Warriors and after some recovery time in the G this could open the door for Boucher with the some time with the Warriors.


Re: Phil's injury.... maybe this forces us to drag Naz Long into the Team Canada system effectively locking him in. Who else is out there? Maybe Aaron Best? Mulder doesnt seem to be doing much with the Windy City Bulls. Andy Rautins would actually be a solid add.

I think XRM and Hanlan have more in them than what we saw in November. Bennett certainly does too. Even Pierre and Scrubb are playing much better in Europe than we saw with Team Canada. Hopefully we can still get some reinforcements in Nicholson, Ejim and/or Long.


Pangos with 10 assists in the first half against Valencia...yeeesh.... Zalgiris up 15 with a couple minutes left in the half. EuroLeague single game records is 15 by the way - he could easily break that.

[frumble]

Chris Boucher with his first game back after 10 months of recovery.
He showed off his unique ability posting 11 points (4-6), 1 three, (1-2) and couple rebounds and 3 blocks in 15 minutes of action.

Jordan Bell went down badly last night for the Warriors and after some recovery time in the G this could open the door for Boucher with the some time with the Warriors.

Strong debut, especially after such a long layoff.

Re: Phil's injury.... maybe this forces us to drag Naz Long into the Team Canada system effectively locking him in. Who else is out there? Maybe Aaron Best? Mulder doesnt seem to be doing much with the Windy City Bulls. Andy Rautins would actually be a solid add.

Long or Rautins to fill in for Scrubb for be great, but both might be alienated from the program.

Maybe Notice or Peter-McNeilly as other candidates?
Other options? Where is Justin Edwards playing this season? Is Cadougan still injured or back in the NBL?