Team Canada Basketball Thread V2.0

[casoldi]

Does anyone have any info/recap/highlights of the Signature All Canadian Showcase? I thought that was supposed to be today. Their website is terrible btw.

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[Hair Canada]

Anybody know anything about 6’5'' 2020 PG Karim Mane from Montreal? Apparently he's racking up offers (Kansas, Oregon, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Maryland to name a few) and he has a 7-foot wingspan.

Edit: I just did some research and apparently he moved to Canada from Senegal when he was 7, but he's likely a Canadian citizen, no?

Ye, Mane is an interesting prospect. Great physical tools and athleticism. Played for Vanier CEGEP this year and from the little I've seen of him there, he's still figuring out the PG position. Not quite a natural PG at this point. Creates more for himself than for others and the handle and passing are not yet elite. Outside shooting is also inconsistent. This was also apparent in the minutes he played at the BioSteel game. But with these physical tools, he's clearly a next level talent and it seems like he's breaking forward this summer. Wouldn't hurt our class of 2020 to have some more talent, as right now it's not very strong. I wonder if we'll Karim at the U19 WC this summer. Could be interesting if he gets a chance to show how he's progressed (hasn't played for any of our national youth team in the past).

[Hair Canada]

Does anyone have any info/recap/highlights of the Signature All Canadian Showcase? I thought that was supposed to be today. Their website is terrible btw.

Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

[Hair Canada]

Does anyone have any info/recap/highlights of the Signature All Canadian Showcase? I thought that was supposed to be today. Their website is terrible btw.

Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

[Hair Canada]

Does anyone have any info/recap/highlights of the Signature All Canadian Showcase? I thought that was supposed to be today. Their website is terrible btw.

Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

Yes, they are pretty horrible. You'd think a game like this, which is supposed to be all about the exposure, would be much better publicized, promoted, and covered. No streaming, no stats, not even reporting on their own website or Twitter account. What's the point of it all then? Last year they seemed to be in cahoots with NPH and Uplay, so the coverage was fair (still not anything close to the BioSteel game). They also had the fortune of Barrett, Nembhard, Dort, and AJ Lawson playing in that game, so that drew some interest (Barrett did not play at the BioSteel). This year, it almost seems like they went underground. Go figure.

Anyway, from the little I was able to gather from here and there, Team White (Joel Brown, Eman Miller, Shak Price, Tarin Todd, Jaden Bediako, Tre Edwards and Moncrieff, among others) beat Team Black (Jahcobi Neath, Ambrose-Hylton, Keeshawn Barthelemee, Tyrese Samuel, and Josh Hemmings, among others) in a game that was fairly tight toward the end. Game MVP was Sammy Hunter. In case you're wondering, he is not a Canadian. He's from the Bahamas but played his high school basketball for a BC prep school.

In other high school news, a guy who has made some noise at the Nike EYBL this weekend is Tarin Todd (6'4 guard; class of 2020). He's always been an excellent athlete but was lacking in decision making and shooting. Made some strides this year playing at a US high school, and although he's still not consistent from the 3, he's been able to score 20 per game for Uplay in 4 games this session. Addison Patterson is also playing EYBL (not with a Canadian program) and in the two games that I've seen, he was quite mediocre, although he seems to be making more of a defensive effort these days.

[TrueNorth31]

The Athletic has their new draft board up ( subscribers only )

Barrett -3
Clarke - 10
Naw -19
Dort -31
Kabengele -40

https://theathletic.com/951461/2019/04/30/vecenie-2019-nba-mock-draft-3-0-post-early-entry-deadline-edition/

[TrueNorth31]

Grunwald on Winnipeg sports radio - Murray first NBA name he mentions. He seems to think the player turn out will be quite good. Given that he is trying to market the event this is to be expected.

No word on the Hamilton game. I imagine it'll be before the Winnipeg match ( why back track unless flight connections ?) I think it should be pointed out that local promoters approach Canada Basketball - I believe C.B. gets a set fee - and then it's up to the local's to run the event. Canada Basketball is not the event promoter.

https://twitter.com/TSN1290Radio?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

[mojo13]

Grunwald on Winnipeg sports radio - Murray first NBA name he mentions. He seems to think the player turn out will be quite good. Given that he is trying to market the event this is to be expected.

No word on the Hamilton game. I imagine it'll be before the Winnipeg match ( why back track unless flight connections ?) I think it should be pointed out that local promoters approach Canada Basketball - I believe C.B. gets a set fee - and then it's up to the local's to run the event. Canada Basketball is not the event promoter.

https://twitter.com/TSN1290Radio?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Thanks for the link - good to hear he is excited about the turnout. He also mentioned he thought 7-8 guys get drafted in June, but then dialed it back later in the broadcast to 5-8. Suspiciously there was not a word about the coaching search.

Supposedly the Nigeria game in Hamilton is on the 11th. Not official word yet though.


Watching the Nuggets game last night I couldn't stop picturing Murray and Olynyk running that PnR. KO is no Jokic for sure, but he has much of the same general skillset - almost Jokic-lite. It will be very interesting if they capture any of that Murray/Jokic magic. If they do, it will be deadly. Murray has gotten so much better with his decision making out of the PnR (still makes some dumb ones from time to time). I'd love to see a team centered on those two offensively with the right support structure around them. I like the picture of SGA, CoJo, Powell, Birch, TT, Stuaskas, Brooks, Ejim, Pangos in the mix. But both Wiggins and Barrett still make me nervous - still allot of questions with how fit into a role.

[Hair Canada]

The Athletic has their new draft board up ( subscribers only )

Barrett -3
Clarke - 10
Naw -19
Dort -31
Kabengele -40

https://theathletic.com/951461/2019/04/30/vecenie-2019-nba-mock-draft-3-0-post-early-entry-deadline-edition/

And Iggy at 50.

[mojo13]

Games vs NZ and USA announced today:

So this is what we have so far....

Canada Basketball's FIBA WC exhibition schedule so far:

Aug 9: Canada vs Nigeria @ Winnipeg
Aug 11: Canada vs Nigeria @ Hamilton*
Aug 16: Australia vs CAN@ Perth
Aug 17: Australia vs CAN @ Perth
Aug 20: CAN vs NZ @ Sydney
Aug 21: CAN vs NZ @ Sydney
Aug 26: CAN vs USA @ Sydney

*Hamilton not officially announced.


Was hoping for a game or two against a decent European team to help us better prepare for Lithuania.

[casoldi]

Does anyone here keep a tracking sheet of all Canadian prospects (2020, 2021...) and their commitments/offers? I find it very hard sometimes to gather that information as some recruiting sites (247) don't always display the nationality of the prospects and others (rivals, espn) don't even scout north of the border. I feel like NPH probably has all that info but I can't find it on their site.

If no one has anything I'm thinking of doing one myself.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Does anyone here keep a tracking sheet of all Canadian prospects (2020, 2021...) and their commitments/offers? I find it very hard sometimes to gather that information as some recruiting sites (247) don't always display the nationality of the prospects and others (rivals, espn) don't even scout north of the border. I feel like NPH probably has all that info but I can't find it on their site.

If no one has anything I'm thinking of doing one myself.

Hair Canada has usually been the one here producing the best prospect lists (although I'm not sure if the list of commitments is exhaustive). You might want to reach out to him first if you're thinking of doing one so you guys don't duplicate your efforts.

[TrueNorth31]

Games vs NZ and USA announced today:

So this is what we have so far....

Canada Basketball's FIBA WC exhibition schedule so far:

Aug 9: Canada vs Nigeria @ Winnipeg
Aug 11: Canada vs Nigeria @ Hamilton*
Aug 16: Australia vs CAN@ Perth
Aug 17: Australia vs CAN @ Perth
Aug 20: CAN vs NZ @ Sydney
Aug 21: CAN vs NZ @ Sydney
Aug 26: CAN vs USA @ Sydney

*Hamilton not officially announced.


Was hoping for a game or two against a decent European team to help us better prepare for Lithuania.

I imagine the appearance fee for the Canada/U.S. game will be rather substantial. I'm a little surprised they are not playing N.Z. in Auckland - given that it's only a 3 hour flight from Sydney. I'm fine with New Zealand as an opponent ( they gave us a strong game in 2016 in the Philippines ) - you take what you can get when your Canada Basketball and have next to no money.

Hopefully getting 7 exhibition games as well as acclimatizing to the general time zone will help Team Canada get prepared. I wonder what other countries are doing?

[aminiaturebuddha]

Watching the Nuggets game last night I couldn't stop picturing Murray and Olynyk running that PnR. KO is no Jokic for sure, but he has much of the same general skillset - almost Jokic-lite. It will be very interesting if they capture any of that Murray/Jokic magic. If they do, it will be deadly. Murray has gotten so much better with his decision making out of the PnR (still makes some dumb ones from time to time). I'd love to see a team centered on those two offensively with the right support structure around them. I like the picture of SGA, CoJo, Powell, Birch, TT, Stuaskas, Brooks, Ejim, Pangos in the mix. But both Wiggins and Barrett still make me nervous - still allot of questions with how fit into a role.

Totally agree on Murray and Olynyk. That could be a deadly foundation for our offence.

I understand the hesitation on Barrett fitting in after some of the issues this past season at Duke, but based upon his play from last summer, I don't think we need to worry about him too much. In his games with Team Canada last summer I thought he fit in almost seamlessly. He deferred to the more experienced guys when necessary, didn't try to do too much, but stepped forward with his offence where needed. I think if he ends up playing with guys like Murray, Olynyk, Powell, Joseph, etc. we'll see more of the same.

[TrueNorth31]

Here's the answer to why they are playing all these games in Australia and not New Zealand. It seems the Aussies are funding our stay down under.

"Most importantly all those games, including camps in Japan and Australia, will be funded by their hosts."

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/basketball/112368033/tall-blacks-confirm-world-cup-preparation-with-matchups-v-canada-serbia-france

[mojo13]

I imagine the appearance fee for the Canada/U.S. game will be rather substantial. I'm a little surprised they are not playing N.Z. in Auckland - given that it's only a 3 hour flight from Sydney. I'm fine with New Zealand as an opponent ( they gave us a strong game in 2016 in the Philippines ) - you take what you can get when your Canada Basketball and have next to no money.

Hopefully getting 7 exhibition games as well as acclimatizing to the general time zone will help Team Canada get prepared. I wonder what other countries are doing?

You can find some of the other schedules here:
https://www.interbasket.net/forums/showthread.php?58801-2019-Pre-World-Cup-friendlies
I'll post a few below.


Not perfectly up to date - but will get you a decent view. Most of the Euro teams are well ahead of us in scheduling, so allot of their schedules were set last month.

Spain has a weird schedule flying from Spain to USA back to Spain then to China.
Team Spain 2019
August 2 Spain-Lithuania (Pamplona)
August 16 USA-Spain (Anaheim)
August 22 Spain-Republic Dominicana (Madrid)
August 27 Spain-Argentina (Ningbo)
August 28 Spain-Russia (Ningbo)



Team Lithuania 2019
Friendly Games
02 August vs. Spain in Palompa, Spain
10 August vs. Serbia in Belgrade
12 August vs. Serbia in Kaunas
14 August vs. Finland in Klaipeda

Friendly Tournament-Finland
16 August vs. Finland
17 August vs. Russia

KBA 4-Nations Tournament -South Korea
(SOUTH KOREA, LITHUANIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, ANGOLA)
24 August vs.
25 August vs.
27 August vs.


Team Argentina 2019
* Friendly tournament, from August 15 to 17, in France, Lyon, with Brazil, Montenegro and France (in that order, consecutive days).
* Friendly against Japan, where they will face Julio Lamas's team, on 22 August , in Saitama.
* Two Friendlies, already in China (specifically in Nangbo), against Russia and Spain (August 26 and 27).

Team Brazil 2019
Training Camp 25 July - 7 August
Friendly Games - Brazil
08 August vs. Puerto Rico
10 August vs. Puerto Rico

Friendly Tournament- Lyon -France
15 August vs. Argentina
16 August vs. France
17 August vs. Montenegro

Friendly Games - China
23 August vs. China
25 August vs. China
27 August vs. Lithuania or Serbia


Team France 2019
Home and away with Tunisia - Aug 5/7
Tournament in Lyon France - Aug 15-17 (Montenegro, Brazil, Argentina)
Tournament in China - Aug 24-27 (NZ, Italy, Serbia)

Team New Zealand
Tall Blacks 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup preparation schedule:
August 1-4: Selection camp, Auckland.
August 5-14: Japan camp, inc games v Japan national team Aug 12 & 14.
August 15-21: Australian camp and games v Canada Aug 20 & 21 (both Sydney).
August 22-26: China tournament, v France (Shenyang, Aug 24), Serbia (Anshan, Aug 25) & Italy (Anshan, Aug 26).


Team Australia
August 16: Australia vs Canada @ RAC Arena, Perth
August 17: Australia vs Canada @ RAC Arena, Perth
August 22: USA vs Australia @ Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
August 24: USA vs Australia @ Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Maybe some others I am not seeing yet.

[TrueNorth31]

Good find Mojo - some teams appear to be opening camp even earlier than us with slightly more game competition as well. I imagine some federations are a little better funded than ours. Still I think we have a decent schedule although it would have been nice to get into the big tournament in China. I wonder if the current political climate precluded such considerations?

[frumble]

Watching the Nuggets game last night I couldn't stop picturing Murray and Olynyk running that PnR. KO is no Jokic for sure, but he has much of the same general skillset - almost Jokic-lite. It will be very interesting if they capture any of that Murray/Jokic magic. If they do, it will be deadly. Murray has gotten so much better with his decision making out of the PnR (still makes some dumb ones from time to time). I'd love to see a team centered on those two offensively with the right support structure around them. I like the picture of SGA, CoJo, Powell, Birch, TT, Stuaskas, Brooks, Ejim, Pangos in the mix. But both Wiggins and Barrett still make me nervous - still allot of questions with how fit into a role.

That is a great picture.
Any word on Brooks' health?

I understand the hesitation on Barrett fitting in after some of the issues this past season at Duke, but based upon his play from last summer, I don't think we need to worry about him too much. In his games with Team Canada last summer I thought he fit in almost seamlessly. He deferred to the more experienced guys when necessary, didn't try to do too much, but stepped forward with his offence where needed. I think if he ends up playing with guys like Murray, Olynyk, Powell, Joseph, etc. we'll see more of the same.

I agree that Barrett is more likely to be a good fit than Wiggins.

Barrett rounding out the 11 Mojo listed is a very nice scenario. Perhaps absolute best case.

[mojo13]

Last news on Brooks is from March 12:
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/nba/grizzlies/2019/03/12/grizzlies-dillon-brooks-recovering-ruptured-toe-ligament/3112354002/

Brooks said it's too early to know whether he'll be ready to play in July's summer league.

"When it comes up, it’s a decision between me and the front office," Brooks said. "If it looks good, then I’ll do it. If not, I can get a little break.”

No target date has been set for Brooks' return, but he said he will be ready for next season's training camp "and just trying to prove again that I can still play and contribute to this team."

The fact that he could be ready for summer league is very encouraging and the first news I have seen as such. I still think he is a coin toss at best.

[frumble]

Last news on Brooks is from March 12:
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/nba/grizzlies/2019/03/12/grizzlies-dillon-brooks-recovering-ruptured-toe-ligament/3112354002/

Brooks said it's too early to know whether he'll be ready to play in July's summer league.

"When it comes up, it’s a decision between me and the front office," Brooks said. "If it looks good, then I’ll do it. If not, I can get a little break.”

No target date has been set for Brooks' return, but he said he will be ready for next season's training camp "and just trying to prove again that I can still play and contribute to this team."

The fact that he could be ready for summer league is very encouraging and the first news I have seen as such. I still think he is a coin toss at best.

Thanks for the update.
I would put him at doubtful.
If he is healthy enough for summer league I can see he and the Grizzlies wanting him to rest after rather than playing FIBA.
And if he is not healthy enough for summer league I think he is unlikely to play FIBA.

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Any news or rumors re our U16 team for the upcoming FIBA Americas?