Team Canada Basketball Thread V3.0

[UcanUwill]

Pride

Will USA even participate, they only saw Americup as a qualifying tournament, and when they were qualified already, they didnt even participate in the past. Which I find crazy, because I dont get how teams from AMericas dont care for their continental award. I mean in Europe everyone cares about Eurobasket and being a champion of Europe, why dont you westerns dont care about that? Thats weird to me.

Why do Europeans care? That's weird to me....
Maybe the South Americans care about the AmeriCup. But USA/Canada really don't. I don't know why - perhaps because everyone knows who the best at bball is around here. The champ is already settled if the USA took the tournament seriously. Maybe there is limited intra country bball rivalries in the Americas. Less regional nationalism maybe? Europe still holds on to centuries long grudges...


The USA played the last AmeriCup (I think FIBA makes it mandatory now). They just fielded a squad of G-League players like they did for the WC Qualifiers. Those guys still enjoy putting on a Team USA jersey when they get a chance.
USA still went undefeated and won gold over Argentina - so whatever....

It wouldn't take Canada much to show up with a decent team and win the Americup if they want to kick things off right.

You find weird that fans and players care for continental championship? Come on... You raise a good point that in AMericas, everyone knows who is best, but I think sport culture is just different. In America basketball is NBA, and thats it. In Europe basketball is niche yes, but it has far more stand alone culture. A lot of European basketball fans arent even NBA fans, Euros learn to care about their local teams and national teams, where even in Canada I imagine if someone asked what you rather have, Raptors win NBA or Canada win gold, most people would choose NBA championship, and NBA technically is not even Canadian league. Everything outside NBA and college in Americas is beyond niche, most basketball fans aren't even aware Americup is a thing, everyones just busy watching NBA free agency at that time, where in Europe people wait all year to see their national team clash with other teams, it is just a different fandom of the game. Nikos Galis never came to the NBA, because he knew NBA team wouldn't allow him to play for Greece, he threw away NBA star career, and to American that would sound completely insane, but in Europe most people get it and would even do the similar thing.

[Boselecta]

Pride

Will USA even participate, they only saw Americup as a qualifying tournament, and when they were qualified already, they didnt even participate in the past. Which I find crazy, because I dont get how teams from AMericas dont care for their continental award. I mean in Europe everyone cares about Eurobasket and being a champion of Europe, why dont you westerns dont care about that? Thats weird to me.

Why do Europeans care? That's weird to me....
Maybe the South Americans care about the AmeriCup. But USA/Canada really don't. I don't know why - perhaps because everyone knows who the best at bball is around here. The champ is already settled if the USA took the tournament seriously. Maybe there is limited intra country bball rivalries in the Americas. Less regional nationalism maybe? Europe still holds on to centuries long grudges...


The USA played the last AmeriCup (I think FIBA makes it mandatory now). They just fielded a squad of G-League players like they did for the WC Qualifiers. Those guys still enjoy putting on a Team USA jersey when they get a chance.
USA still went undefeated and won gold over Argentina - so whatever....

It wouldn't take Canada much to show up with a decent team and win the Americup if they want to kick things off right.

Yeah I don't understand why Europeans care maybe if it was state vs state or province vs province we would care more. I think like you said we already know USA is number 1 if they take it seriously and its not even close.

In my eyes this is like a 3rd class trophy just for FIBA to make some money. If pride is the argument we have to win the world cup or on the Olympic stage. Very few people will even know who wins the Americup.

But I guess there is a huge opportunity if the USA comes with G-League players and we take the gold from them.

[mojo13]

Will USA even participate, they only saw Americup as a qualifying tournament, and when they were qualified already, they didnt even participate in the past. Which I find crazy, because I dont get how teams from AMericas dont care for their continental award. I mean in Europe everyone cares about Eurobasket and being a champion of Europe, why dont you westerns dont care about that? Thats weird to me.

Why do Europeans care? That's weird to me....
Maybe the South Americans care about the AmeriCup. But USA/Canada really don't. I don't know why - perhaps because everyone knows who the best at bball is around here. The champ is already settled if the USA took the tournament seriously. Maybe there is limited intra country bball rivalries in the Americas. Less regional nationalism maybe? Europe still holds on to centuries long grudges...


The USA played the last AmeriCup (I think FIBA makes it mandatory now). They just fielded a squad of G-League players like they did for the WC Qualifiers. Those guys still enjoy putting on a Team USA jersey when they get a chance.
USA still went undefeated and won gold over Argentina - so whatever....

It wouldn't take Canada much to show up with a decent team and win the Americup if they want to kick things off right.

You find weird that fans and players care for continental championship? Come on... You raise a good point that in AMericas, everyone knows who is best, but I think sport culture is just different. In America basketball is NBA, and thats it. In Europe basketball is niche yes, but it has far more stand alone culture. A lot of European basketball fans arent even NBA fans, Euros learn to care about their local teams and national teams, where even in Canada I imagine if someone asked what you rather have, Raptors win NBA or Canada win gold, most people would choose NBA championship, and NBA technically is not even Canadian league. Everything outside NBA and college in Americas is beyond niche, most basketball fans aren't even aware Americup is a thing, everyones just busy watching NBA free agency at that time, where in Europe people wait all year to see their national team clash with other teams, it is just a different fandom of the game. Nikos Galis never came to the NBA, because he knew NBA team wouldn't allow him to play for Greece, he threw away NBA star career, and to American that would sound completely insane, but in Europe most people get it and would even do the similar thing.

I was being sarcastic but I'm glad you answered, s you are right about all of it.






On another note - my previous post reminded me just how bad CoJo was at the Qualifiers and now that Pangos is in Cleveland that should help to shore up our PG problems. Nurse gave KP the lead PG duties over CoJo in the 2019 WC and it seems even more clear today that Pangos is a better lead PG. So what is our PG depth right now?

With SGA, Murray, NAW all more combo guards I guess if you have to ask you could only have one on your team what order do you pick? I think I'm SGA > Murray > Pangos > NAW > CoJo > P Scrubb > Keane > TBH at the moment.

I'd stick both Ennis brothers between CoJo and Scrubb if they were in the mix and Kenny Chery maybe between Scrubb and Keane.

[mojo13]

Anthony Bennett fills up the boxscore in his debut game in Israel at that league kicks off its pre-season tournament.
16 points, 4 of 8 from downtown & 7 boards in just 18 minutes. And the win.

Highlights here:

Read on Twitter

?s=20


Some criticism out there of his defense and lack of inside presence - but what do you expect at this point?
I look at him as a scoring stretch 4 at this point in the Kyle Wiltjer / Andrew Nicholson mode.

He is a finisher and should hit a tonne of threes on 40%+ shooting along with decent scoring in the paint. He'll take some ill advised threes, but the coach should be able to work that out of him and get him going better inside.
He has super long arms and can rebound decently and will block a few shots - but he will routinely get lost defensively. Perhaps as he gets in shape, he can put more effort in on D.

This was his first pro game since early 2019 - so a pretty good showing from my perspective.

[Hair Canada]

Bleacher Report redraft of 2019. 4 Canadians in the lottery. Barret still in 3, but NAW, Clarke, and Dort all moving up. Is Dort still too low?

1. Zion Williamson
2. Ja Morant
3. RJ Barrett
4. Matisse Thybulle
5. Tyler Herro
6. Darius Garland
7. DeAndre Hunter
8. Talen Horton-Tucker
9. Nickeil Alexander-Walker
10. Cam Johnson
11. Brandon Clarke
12. PJ Washington
13. Rui Hachimura
14. Lu Dort

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2948039-2019-nba-re-draft-who-follows-zion-williamson

[BilboBanginz]

The Box and One released a preseason top-200 prospects list. This is the guy known as Adam Spinella on Youtube. He makes good content and has some good analysis in his videos. He only ranks the top-40, the rest of the 200 are grouped into different tiers.

https://theboxand1.weebly.com/2022-draft-profiles/the-big-one-preseason-top-200

Canadians in his top-40:

9. Caleb Houstan - W, Michigan
Age on draft night: 19
Skimming Thoughts: Unbelievably confident wing shooter who lets it fly deep behind the 3-point line; really good length offsets the slightly slow nature of his shot; started to show some glimpses of creation off-the-bounce for others to aid his game if he's run off the line; in desperate need of additional strength to his frame; stands out as an elite help defender who will gain greater understanding on that end at Michigan; length means he can guard 2s or 3s and, if he adds bulk, smaller 4s; more a complimentary piece but an offensively and defensively balanced and high-level piece.

13. Bennedict Mathurin - W, Arizona
Age on draft night: 19
Skimming Thoughts: Will turn 20 right around draft day; really good shooter who got hot at the right times for Canada in FIBA U-19 games; good physical profile with length and solid frame to handle contact; got to the line a lot with Canada and more than 3 times a game at Arizona as a freshman; showed some defensive chops and toughness to be the quintessential 3-and-D prospect; has more off-the-bounce upside than most guys with that mantle, making him a top-15 guy.

"Names others are higher on" Tier:

Andrew Nembhard - CG, Gonzaga
Age on draft night: 22
Skimming Thoughts: Great role player last year w/ Gonzaga that has some potential to blossom in larger role; absolutely superb passer who might be best in the nation; shows glimpses of impressive self-creation; worried his shot release is a tad low; not the most explosive athlete but is highly skilled; uses both hands well as a passer and a finisher; the flashes out of PNR are real but only shooting 32.6% from 3 over three years has me slightly down on him for next level in either on-ball or off-ball role.

"The Raw Athletes" Tier:

Quincy Guerrier - ATH, Oregon
Age on draft night: 23
Skimming Thoughts: Supremely high-upside athlete with erratic shooting splits; got to 31% last year on solid volume; elite rebounder and leaper; NBA role will be as a slasher on offense who can space the floor... needs to get above 35% from 3 to show me enough progress there; tons of defensive upside and capability; want to see him in man-to-man scheme now that he's transferred out of Syracuse; physical profile could get him drafted and put him high on sleeper radars but age keeps him to a late-2nd round era.

"Big Men: The Skilled Guys" Tier:

Zach Edey - P, Purdue
Age on draft night: 20
Skimming Thoughts: Absolutely massive big at 7'4"; really skilled for that size with great footwork and defensive discipline; plays in tough system at Purdue; was fantastic in FIBA U-19 World Cup; nice touch as free throw shooter; will be exclusively a Drop PNR big; worry about someone his size staying durable over the long run; not mobile enough to get up and down and needs a half-court game to play his style; think he's a poor fit stylistically for the league.

"Backcourt Scorers" Tier:

Marcus Carr - PG, Texas
Age on draft night: 23
Skimming Thoughts: Transfer from Minnesota coming off electric season; made dozens of tough shots and scored out of PNR in various ways last year; needs to be better from 3 (31.7%); solid athlete but not outstanding; great through contact and has solid A:TO numbers; think he's going to play off-ball more than ever before with Longhorns, an interesting development within a Chris Beard offense; might be a tad too old for draft stock unless he blows up at Texas.

[Hair Canada]

Good thoughts. Thanks for sharing, Bilbo. I agree with pretty much all of it, but might be a bit higher on Edey than him as I think he still has substantial room for growth. Shooting will be the key for quite a few of these guys who are fringe NBA players.

[Mattd97]

Bleacher Report redraft of 2019. 4 Canadians in the lottery. Barret still in 3, but NAW, Clarke, and Dort all moving up. Is Dort still too low?

1. Zion Williamson
2. Ja Morant
3. RJ Barrett
4. Matisse Thybulle
5. Tyler Herro
6. Darius Garland
7. DeAndre Hunter
8. Talen Horton-Tucker
9. Nickeil Alexander-Walker
10. Cam Johnson
11. Brandon Clarke
12. PJ Washington
13. Rui Hachimura
14. Lu Dort

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2948039-2019-nba-re-draft-who-follows-zion-williamson

If Dort played in LA/NYC/Boston/philly he'd be 4th

[mojo13]

Throwing this out there as it is a name I have never heard before yesterday.
Ethan Butler (2021) will be joining Oregon for this season. I hate the SnoopDog "Who?" meme as it is usually a self-own, but if there was ever a time for it....

Read on Twitter

?s=20




Oregon is a big program (Top 10 NCAA in my opinion) - so to hear them speak so glowingly about a Canadian kid joining them this season that is so under the radar is intriguing.

[frumble]

Here is an article re his out-of-nowhere recruitment.

https://sports.yahoo.com/surprise-journey-lands-canadian-wing-201130579.html

[Kenter16]

https://ca.nba.com/news/josh-primo-canadian-rookie-sets-playing-for-team-canada-at-2024-olympics-as-a-future-goal/1vsvsnwhmrt771t6ux1wzpauut


Well, he has three seasons to establish himself. So, who knows. Maybe he will be good enough to make the team.
Some positive things in their about the Canadian Basketball community, specific to the NBA players.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[mojo13]

Some observations with the first couple weeks of the European leagues:

No surprise to HairCanada but things are not looking good for Anthony Bennett in Jerusalem and some expect AB and the club to part ways this week. Not sure if he got a fair shake there nor was utilized properly, but he was only on a 1 month trial contract. Maybe Hair can expand if he saw some games.


Marial Shayok seems to be acclimating well to Fenerbahce. He and Pierre make a versatile 1-2 punch on the wing and are both starting and looking good defensively. Going into the season I was thinking Shayok needed to dial back his aggressiveness on offense and figured out his role. Last season he looked a little trigger happy and out of control at times and but seemed like if channeled he can be a very efficient two-way player. Pierre looks to be taking the step into being on of the leaders of Fener which is great to see.

Only 4 games in but Trae Bell Haynes is looking good in the ACB. Looking like he will be among the league assist leaders (11 assist game yesterday) and will be up there in scoring as well. The promoted Breogan is sitting at 3-1 to start the season which is very unexpected. Kassius Robertson off a good start in the ACB as well (dropped 21 yesterday) - team mate Tommy Scrubb has looked good too.

Kyle Wilter has been pretty quiet to start - not sure if he is hurt, but he is coming off the bench and in limited minutes. That seems surprising to me. Kyle Alexander has had a unexpectedly quiet start as well.

Less than two month until the first window of World Cup Qualifying. It will be interesting to see who shows up this time around...


I'm still thinking Pierre and Shayok won't participate (EuroLeague) and a solid line up hopefully will look something like this.

TBH / Keane
Robertson / P. Scrubb
Tommy Scrubb / Isiaha Mike
Melvin Ejim / Wiltjer
Alexander / Klassen

Dylan Ennis would be a great addition if he shows. And we likely see some of Aaron Best, Anthony Bennett, Johnny B., Conor Morgan, Kadre Grey, Doornekamp?

This is a best case and wishful thinking that all these guys will show and we might see some fresh blood in there (jehvon Blair? CEBL guys? Potential G-legauers like Shittu?). Heck - what's Stauskas up to?

[frumble]

I'm still thinking Pierre and Shayok won't participate (EuroLeague) and a solid line up hopefully will look something like this.

TBH / Keane
Robertson / P. Scrubb
Tommy Scrubb / Isiaha Mike
Melvin Ejim / Wiltjer
Alexander / Klassen

Dylan Ennis would be a great addition if he shows. And we likely see some of Aaron Best, Anthony Bennett, Johnny B., Conor Morgan, Kadre Grey, Doornekamp?

This is a best case and wishful thinking that all these guys will show and we might see some fresh blood in there (jehvon Blair? CEBL guys? Potential G-legauers like Shittu?). Heck - what's Stauskas up to?

That would be a great turnout for the first window.
I'd like to see Hanlan in the mix as well, especially if any of the four guards listed above aren't available.

[duppyy]

Here is an article re his out-of-nowhere recruitment.

https://sports.yahoo.com/surprise-journey-lands-canadian-wing-201130579.html

The six-foot-six, 205 pounder with a seven foot wingspan

Sounds like a future Raptor

[BilboBanginz]

Former 4-star prospect Eddie Ekiyor acquitted of 2019 sexual assault charges.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/former-carleton-university-basketball-star-acquitted-of-sexual-assault

I wonder if he'll pursue his basketball career now that this is behind him. He was pretty dominant at the USports level, and is still only 24. Perhaps he'll get an opportunity overseas or in the CEBL.

[Hair Canada]

Here is an article re his out-of-nowhere recruitment.

https://sports.yahoo.com/surprise-journey-lands-canadian-wing-201130579.html

The six-foot-six, 205 pounder with a seven foot wingspan

Sounds like a future Raptor

Speaking of Hanlan, how about his 35 points in an upset win against Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos?

https://www.eurohoops.net/en/heba/1253034/aris-beats-panathinaikos-81-71/

[mojo13]

Here is an article re his out-of-nowhere recruitment.

https://sports.yahoo.com/surprise-journey-lands-canadian-wing-201130579.html

The six-foot-six, 205 pounder with a seven foot wingspan

Sounds like a future Raptor

Speaking of Hanlan, how about his 35 points in an upset win against Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos?

https://www.eurohoops.net/en/heba/1253034/aris-beats-panathinaikos-81-71/

Hanlan has always been prone to scoring outbursts like this. Curious if his game has evolved much over the years or is he a still a ball dominant shoot-first PG with efficiency issues. He has never been much of an outside shooter or a facilitator. He has never really been tied to winning teams or moved up the European hierarchy much. Unless he has changed he's not someone I'd be too excited about to see in a Team Canada jersey. Long list of Euro guards I'd have ahead of him. Ennis, Ennis, Scrubb, Keane, Chery, TBH, Robertson, Johnny B...more?



By the way - I think Isiaha Mike is one to watch closely this year in the second tier leagues. He has started with a couple really efficient games. Very small sample size but 16p/6r/2.5a/2.5s/1b on 57 FG%, 57 3pt%, 2 made threes a game. Another year of simmering in Germany and I could see him getting am NBA camp invite. He still has a nice NBA profile. At the very least he will move up to a better European league/club.

[mojo13]

The Anthony Bennett story in Israel isn't over yet. He just put up 22 pts on 3/4 2pts and 5/8 3pts and 8 reb… in 23 minutes in his BCL debut. The parting of ways was rumored to be after this game....but perhaps he won himself more time.


Sounds like some weird stuff going on behind the scenes.

https://sportsrabbi.com/en/we-want-ab-here-jerusalem-players-and-fans-have-their-say-about-anthony-bennett-after-stellar-performance-in-heartbreaking-loss/

[Gday_eh]

Great to see two great buddies,Kelly and Cory playing together again after all of these years.

The Pistons will get great value out of both of their contracts.

[BilboBanginz]

AJ Lawson waived by the Hawks after not playing any minutes in pre-season