Team Canada Basketball Thread V2.0

[Hair Canada]

NBAdraft.net with a new mock 2019 draft out.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2019mock_draft

Barrett still #1
NAW 13 (up from 18)
Shi-ttu 21 (down from 17)
Wigginton 28 (up from 30)
Brandon Clarke 48 (from not listed) (you called it, Mojo)

Brissett not listed (was 26)

This is a full two-round mock, so a little surprising re Brissett. No Dort or any other Canadians either.

Ye, they came out with their first 2020 mock draft and Brissett is there -- early second round. No other Canadian on that mock.

One of the reasons I don't like Draftnet so much is that they are quite unstable, with guys jumping around all over the place, sometimes between two consecutive listings. Brissett is a case in point. At some point in the season, they had him as high as a lottery pick (maybe even top-10). Now he's a second rounder, and in 2020. And it's not like he's done anything differently. If anything, one might argue that his strong post-season should have given him some more credit. And he's certainly not the only one. They tend to be quite erratic, and unlike other rankings, they also don't explain why some guys are ranked where they are and why they drop/soar.

[Hair Canada]

Just to finish up with the National Championship: the U15

Ontario beat Quebec by 20, but the game was actually closer than I expected. QC led at the half and was able to hold it close until ON ran away in the fourth. QC was missing its most talented player, Malik Montero-Francin, who's a 6'4 PG with a good handle and shifty. Its other promising player, Victor Bonsu, tried to step up, but it wasn't enough. Both players should be considered for the FIBA Americas U16 championship next summer.

Ontario was playing without its two best 2022 prospects, Ryan Nembhard (played with the U17s) and Caleb Houstan. They still had a couple of guards in this tournament who could be part of Team Canada for next year's FIBA Americas U16 championship:

DJ Jackson was named tournament MVP and rightfully so. A 6'3 scoring guard, with a very good shooting stroke. For some reason, he didn't shoot well from the line, but I've seen him on other occasions as well, and he can shoot it from both the 3 and mid-range. Also attacks the basket aggressively and is a good rebounder. A bit selfish, but maybe that's what scorers do. Came from the bench, but still finished with 20 points a game and was especially good in the semis (23 points) and the final (30 points).

Josiah Davis (6'3) is someone I mentioned earlier. A very strong and crafty guard, who is a nightmare for opponents in the open court. The problem is that his shooting at this point is awful. Shoots a very flat ball without much touch, and finished the tournament with 18 points a game, but shooting a measly 20% from 3 and 35% from the line (on many shots). If he doesn't manage to improve this aspect of his game substantially, he won't be able to play the modern game.

Jayden Clayton (6'0) is a classic PG, who is not as good as Nembhard, but showed some nice skills, including good defense, unselfishness, and contribution in various categories beyond scoring. Clayton led the tournament in assists, was second in steals, and 6th in rebounds. Also showed a pretty good stroke from 3.

Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow (6'1; another relative of Shai and Nickel), is a short scoring combo guard, with good instincts and handle, but not always the best decision making. More of a scorer than a playmaker. Would take Clayton before him to play behind Nembhard.

Finally, Noah Ngamba is more of a SF than a guard. 6'4 with long arms and wide shoulders. Not very quick and just an okay athlete, but very strong and committed on defense. I think there's a good chance he'll also be on the team next year.

[SharoneWright]

Article: Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke ready to show off after year of hard work following transfer
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/jul/13/gonzagas-brandon-clarke-ready-to-show-off-year-of-/

Watch on YouTube

[BilboBanginz]

Here is the roster for Team Toronto that played in the tournament in the Bahamas featuring Kentucky, Mega Bemax (Serbian pro team), San Lorenzo de Almagro (Argentina pro team), and the Bahamian National Team.

Pretty random group of players. Ryan Wright is a name I haven't heard in a long time. Remember when he was supposed to be the next Canadian hope?

[mojo13]

Anyone noticing the NCAA scalps Carleton is taking right now? Cincy, Ole Miss, South Dakota St (by 60 points!).
Handling NCAA tournament teams.

Eddie Ekiyor is looking like he may have long pro career in front of him. Put up 35 and 11 against SDSU the other night.26 on 13/15 shooting against Cincy. Munis Tutu looking pretty good too.

[Mattd97]

Anyone noticing the NCAA scalps Carleton is taking right now? Cincy, Ole Miss, South Dakota St (by 60 points!).
Handling NCAA tournament teams.

Eddie Ekiyor is looking like he may have long pro career in front of him. Put up 35 and 11 against SDSU the other night.26 on 13/15 shooting against Cincy. Munis Tutu looking pretty good too.

Let's not kid ourselves in to thinking the games mean the same to both programs in these exhibitions

[mojo13]

Why lock the old thread? Load of good content there for new members.

Anyways. Here is the last post again which was somewhat of a summary of the last couple weeks.






Looking for a bit of of bump opportunity as this thread has been buried with all the Kwahi excitement.

Chris Boucher has signed a camp deal with the Raptors. Selfishly I'm hoping this is more of a way to get him some comp bump while planning to have him with the 905 for the year. After this news anyone think he is a roster threat for the Raptors or a possible two-way?

Lakers making a bunch of camp invites that don't include XRM, but they also just waived a two-way player in Malik Newman. With Alex Caruso as the other two-way and not sure they'd sign XRM to one as well. But still something to watch...

Here is an update summary on recent non-NBA signings:

K Pangos - Barcelona, ACB / EuroLeague
T Ennis - Fenerbahce, BSL / EuroLeague
K Wiltjer - Unicaja, ACB / EuroCup
P Scrubb - Zenit, VTB / EuroCup
T Scrubb - Varese, Series A
A Peter-McNeilly - Mitteldeutscher, BBL
J. Berhanemeskel - Zaragoza, ACB
D. Ennis - Andorra, ACB / EuroCup
D. Pierre / M. Ejim resign w/ current teams
Still out there unsigned (I think) Nicholson, Bennett, Best, XRM, Keane, Trasolini, Landry, Hanlan, Chery.

Still early early though.

Just a quick update here with new signings over 5he last few weeks, focusing on guys who may be around the Nov/Feb WC Qualifier teams.

K Pangos - Barcelona, ACB / EuroLeague
T Ennis - Fenerbahce, BSL / EuroLeague
K Wiltjer - Unicaja, ACB / EuroCup
P Scrubb - Zenit, VTB / EuroCup
T Scrubb - Varese, Series A
A Peter-McNeilly - Mitteldeutscher, BBL
J. Berhanemeskel - Zaragoza, ACB
D. Ennis - Andorra, ACB / EuroCup
D. Pierre / M. Ejim resign w/ current teams

Marc Trasolini back to Japan with same team from last year.
Aaron Doornekamp back with Valencia in the ACB. They’re out of EuroLeague this year so he could be available.
XRM signed with AEK ( Greece) and should be available.
Keane signs with Zwolle (Holland) and should be available.
Heslip sign with Frankfurt in Germany and should be available.
Nicholson signs in China and could be available.
Owen Klassen signs in Germany, should be available.

No news on Bennett, Best, Landry or Hanlan yet.

Only Pangos and Ennis will likely be unavailable from all names above (Dylan Ennis until further notice too)

[Hair Canada]

Thanks for the thorough update mojo.

I'm wondering about this coming window though. Murray again said he's not going to play and Brooks is questionable. I think RJs status is also unclear since he already started practicing with Duke and has a critical year ahead of him. Same goes for Nembhard. And most likely also SGA before his rookie NBA season. Wiggins is probably also not coming.

So that leaves us quite thin in the backcourt for the game against Brazil in Laval three weeks from now. Really hope CoJo can make it as he always does and maybe one or more of the guys playing in Europe (Pangos, Scrubb, Enis). It's crunch time.

[mojo13]

Thanks for the thorough update mojo.

I'm wondering about this coming window though. Murray again said he's not going to play and Brooks is questionable. I think RJs status is also unclear since he already started practicing with Duke and has a critical year ahead of him. Same goes for Nembhard. And most likely also SGA before his rookie NBA season. Wiggins is probably also not coming.

So that leaves us quite thin in the backcourt for the game against Brazil in Laval three weeks from now. Really hope CoJo can make it as he always does and maybe one or more of the guys playing in Europe (Pangos, Scrubb, Enis). It's crunch time.

I have high confidence in CoJo and I still believe Dillon Brooks will be there. I think we have a good shot at Phil Scrubb and Kevin Pangos too. I really think Pangos is in the plans, committed to playing this summer (was on the prelim roster) but his July wedding just got in the way (he was also technically unsigned as well in July). Tyler Ennis has historic ties as well and I think is a possibility. I doubt we get all these guys but I would bet on 3 of the 5.
Nik Stuaskas could be a possibility too - he seems to be hanging around in Canada quite a bit and not someone I think looks like he has "abandoned" the program. I just think his thin ice status in the NBA has kept him out the last couple years. He was a FA in July and it was totally understandable (and expected) that he didn't play. He is signed now with the Blazers, so I think there is a shot he plays.

I agree that Wiggins, SGA, Barrett and Murray are all very unlikely for reasons stated above. But any one could surprise us.
I also don't think any other NCAA guys would play either - but you never know.

We need maybe three of the guys listed above - with maybe some solid support depth from 1 or 2 guys like XRM, Heslip, Hanlan or maybe even Naz Long.

[howlin mad axer]

Is Barrett expected to be better than Wiggins?

[mojo13]

Is Barrett expected to be better than Wiggins?

Right now? Yes..I think most expect him to be better than Wiggins, but that might be more of a post hype deflation knock at Wiggins.
I think Wiggins, as he entered Kansas was hyped up way more and had higher peak expectations than what I think we see with Barrett right now. Wiggins was all about elite potential - Barrett seems more tangibly "good", but without that hyped upside.
Maybe it is just me but I see Barrett more likely as above average starter and maybe sometime allstar (depend on what conference he ends up in). I am not seeing a future elite/top 5 player. When Wiggins was a freshman, I think alott of people were saying he was destined to be a top 5 player. Or at least he had top 5 potential - I don't think people see that with Barrett, but he seems to have a higher floor.

[Gday_eh]

Pretty strange Tournament setup in the Bahamas mentioned above.

Team Toronto only played one game and lost 93-60 against Kentucky. That was Kentucky's fourth game....

http://www.fibalivestats.com/u/BBFN/880627/bs.html

Looking at the box score Duane Notice and Ryan Wright were the only two players in double figures for the Toronto team and I would be a bit worried about Nicholson's current form as he got dominated by Reid Travis (going 1/13). Dyshawn Pierre was the only other player who seemed to have a good game with 7 rebounds.

[Gday_eh]

Is Barrett expected to be better than Wiggins?

I think the thing I like most about RJ is his BBIQ and willingness to make others around him better. He has already shown that he can play second fiddle for the sake of a team.

[Scott Hall]

Alex Paquin from McGill was really impressive in that Duke game... he's got a little Steve Nash in him minus
the high level passing (not sure about the 3 point shooting).

Wouldn't him being an end of bench guy on Team Canada in the future or at least getting a tryout you need those
scrappy pest like players for International ball.

[Patman]

Alex Paquin from McGill was really impressive in that Duke game... he's got a little Steve Nash in him minus
the high level passing (not sure about the 3 point shooting).

Wouldn't him being an end of bench guy on Team Canada in the future or at least getting a tryout you need those
scrappy pest like players for International ball.

Soooo, not like Steve Nash at all?

[Scott Hall]

Alex Paquin from McGill was really impressive in that Duke game... he's got a little Steve Nash in him minus
the high level passing (not sure about the 3 point shooting).

Wouldn't him being an end of bench guy on Team Canada in the future or at least getting a tryout you need those
scrappy pest like players for International ball.

Soooo, not like Steve Nash at all?

Well I don't know if he's a good 3 point shooter based off of one game and he made some good passes
but not gonna compare him to one of the best passers of all time he's just a kid

[mojo13]

Why lock the old thread? Load of good content there for new members.

Anyways. Here is the last post again which was somewhat of a summary of the last couple weeks.






Looking for a bit of of bump opportunity as this thread has been buried with all the Kwahi excitement.

Chris Boucher has signed a camp deal with the Raptors. Selfishly I'm hoping this is more of a way to get him some comp bump while planning to have him with the 905 for the year. After this news anyone think he is a roster threat for the Raptors or a possible two-way?

Lakers making a bunch of camp invites that don't include XRM, but they also just waived a two-way player in Malik Newman. With Alex Caruso as the other two-way and not sure they'd sign XRM to one as well. But still something to watch...

Here is an update summary on recent non-NBA signings:

K Pangos - Barcelona, ACB / EuroLeague
T Ennis - Fenerbahce, BSL / EuroLeague
K Wiltjer - Unicaja, ACB / EuroCup
P Scrubb - Zenit, VTB / EuroCup
T Scrubb - Varese, Series A
A Peter-McNeilly - Mitteldeutscher, BBL
J. Berhanemeskel - Zaragoza, ACB
D. Ennis - Andorra, ACB / EuroCup
D. Pierre / M. Ejim resign w/ current teams
Still out there unsigned (I think) Nicholson, Bennett, Best, XRM, Keane, Trasolini, Landry, Hanlan, Chery.

Still early early though.

Just a quick update here with new signings over 5he last few weeks, focusing on guys who may be around the Nov/Feb WC Qualifier teams.

K Pangos - Barcelona, ACB / EuroLeague
T Ennis - Fenerbahce, BSL / EuroLeague
K Wiltjer - Unicaja, ACB / EuroCup
P Scrubb - Zenit, VTB / EuroCup
T Scrubb - Varese, Series A
A Peter-McNeilly - Mitteldeutscher, BBL
J. Berhanemeskel - Zaragoza, ACB
D. Ennis - Andorra, ACB / EuroCup
D. Pierre / M. Ejim resign w/ current teams

Marc Trasolini back to Japan with same team from last year.
Aaron Doornekamp back with Valencia in the ACB. They’re out of EuroLeague this year so he could be available.
XRM signed with AEK ( Greece) and should be available.
Keane signs with Zwolle (Holland) and should be available.
Heslip sign with Frankfurt in Germany and should be available.
Nicholson signs in China and could be available.
Owen Klassen signs in Germany, should be available.

No news on Bennett, Best, Landry or Hanlan yet.

Only Pangos and Ennis will likely be unavailable from all names above (Dylan Ennis until further notice too)

Still loads and loads of Canadian pro signings going on.
Here is the best place to keep tabs if anyone cares.
https://www.usbasket.com/Canada/basketball.asp
I will try to keep posting the more interesting ones (from my perspective ).
Of note, just so many guys I am not too familiar with signing pro contracts in 2nd divisions of top countries like Spain or secondary countries top divisions. The shear volume is amazing to see - never seen anything like this over the years and anyone one of these guys could grow into future regulars to the national team. Of note recently:

Kassius Robertson to the BBL (Germany) - actually this was back in July and I never pointed it out. The BBL is a pretty solid start to a pro career.
Trae Bell Haynes (Vermont) to the BBL with Fraport Skyliners to be a team mate of Heslip and Coach Hebert.
https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/sports/college/2018/08/21/trae-bell-haynes-latest-uvm-basketball-alum-sign-pro-deal/1051380002/
Kris Joseph to Portuguese league (Benfica) - he seems to be on a continuous drop since cracking the NBA. And I think should be well off the radar of the NT.
MiKyle Mcintosh (Oregon) to South Korea top division.
Jevohn Sheppard the Pro-B (France 2nd division) - I point this out as a once Canadian NT stalwart and often starter. And there are dozens of Canadian wings player in better leagues now.
Mulcom Duvivier (Akron) to the Israeli 2nd division
Myck Kabongo in the Spanish 3rd division (LEB Silver) - always seems to be a lingering interest in Kabongo, but he has never really played at a decent pro level. He also switched his allegiance to the DR Congo and there is no coming back.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Kassius Robertson to the BBL (Germany) - actually this was back in July and I never pointed it out. The BBL is a pretty solid start to a pro career.
Trae Bell Haynes (Vermont) to the BBL with Fraport Skyliners to be a team mate of Heslip and Coach Hebert.
https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/sports/college/2018/08/21/trae-bell-haynes-latest-uvm-basketball-alum-sign-pro-deal/1051380002/

Thanks for these updates, mojo. I think the Trae Bell-Haynes signing could be good news. The roster possibilities without the NBA and Euroleague guys sometimes leave us a little shorthanded in the backcourt in some of the qualifying windows. Bell-Haynes played very well at Vermont last year. Hopefully Heslip can give him a little push to get involved in the National Team should we need some point guard depth during any of these windows going forward.

[Hair Canada]

Yes, nice review mojo. I have to admit I'm a bit surprised by MiKyle McIntosh going to Korea. He was considered a fringe late-second-round selection in this draft. Would have thought he could have landed in a more lucrative league (one of the European ones) if not in the G-League.

Speaking on the G-League, I think it's interesting (and not at all bad) that it seems like few of our players seem to have considered it this year. Players like Robertson, Haynes, McIntosh, XRM, and a few others (Dylan Ennis last year), who had a very good end to their college career all chose to go overseas to play in competitive leagues for good money rather than chase the unlikely NBA dream. I like this choice, especially considering that even if you somehow manage to get to the NBA, the chances of becoming a significant rotation player are quite slim.

[mojo13]

I’ll try to do more digging but my understanding is the Korean league pays pretty good and this likely was a better money choice for McIntosh. But the competition is likely worse. He likely could have gotten a job in a solid domestic league in Europe. Keep in mind Juston Edwards was bought by a Korean team from a Italian first division team his rookie season, mid season when he was playing really well for the Italian club.

Japan pays pretty good too and we have seen guys like Trasolini who really excelled in the Italian and French first division choose to play there instead.

And of course the Chinese CBA, I believe is the highest paying league outside of the NBA eclipsing the EL in many ways. At the very least they are paying really big money for guys who may not be getting big offers from the EL which has very specific players in mind. I don’t know if the Chinese teams budgets are bigger than the top EL clubs or if they are just paying big dollars to 1 or 2 stars when the EL is spreading it deeper. But I believe the CBA is regularly outbidding the EL for top NBA players. There are certainly bigger household names in the CBA now than the EL.