Team Canada Basketball Thread V3.0

[aminiaturebuddha]

Official early entry candidates for NBA Draft 2022. Canadians include:
Fardaws Aimaq
Emmanuel Akot
Quincy Guerrier
Caleb Houstan
Noah Kirkwood
Bennedict Mathurin
Andrew Nembhard
Shaedon Sharpe

They have until June 1st to remove themselves and return to school.

I'll be watching for Houstan's name closely on June 1st. His teammate Hunter Dickinson made the decision to go back to Michigan for another year, so maybe that'll be some incentive for Houstan to do the same thing. He really needs to.

[mojo13]

A couple other Canadians on the list that I missed:

Maurice Calloo
Emmanuel Bandoumel
Nick Ongenda

[aminiaturebuddha]

Interesting development for Fardaws Aimaq. While he's still considering the jump to the next level after putting his name in as an early entry candidate for the NBA draft, he's committed to a transfer to Texas Tech.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/33827194/fardaws-aimaq-commits-texas-tech-mulling-nba-draft

[BilboBanginz]

Read on Twitter

?s=20&t=pINBh9tX4I7obXt732vaEA

[mojo13]

Interesting development for Fardaws Aimaq. While he's still considering the jump to the next level after putting his name in as an early entry candidate for the NBA draft, he's committed to a transfer to Texas Tech.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/33827194/fardaws-aimaq-commits-texas-tech-mulling-nba-draft

Texas Tech is forecasted as the leading candidate to land Elijah Fisher. That could get interesting if they both end up there.

[mojo13]

Sam Vecenie's NBA Draft Big Board 4.0 is out:
#6 Bennedict Mathurin
#7 Shaedon Sharpe
#45 Leonard Miller
#54 Caleb Houstan
#69 Andrew Nembhard

Great write up on Miller which should temper lottery expectations - highly recommend.

https://theathletic.com/3277809/2022/05/02/2022-nba-draft-big-board-jabari-smith-chet-holmgren/

[Crazy-Canuck]

We might not see brooks, clarke, and wiggins ever share the floor for canada. Stuff getting personal in that series.

Read on Twitter

Never seen wiggs mean mug anyone like that before.

[mojo13]

Lots of good reads out there on Andrew Wiggins under the radar contributions tot he Warriors
https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2022/5/10/23064908/warriors-grizzlies-game-4-andrew-wiggins-otto-porter-jr-film-breakdown



and Dillon Brooks's struggles and why the Grizz need him so badly:

https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/2022/5/10/23064996/explaining-the-dillon-brooks-experience-memphis-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-golden-state-warriors-morant?utm_campaign=joemullinax&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

[mojo13]

Some SMNT news out there:
Looks like July 1 vs DR will be held in Hamilton and USVI will be in USVI. Seems offcial as it is posted on the FIBA website, but Mike Bartlett (new CEO of Basketball Canada) has been making the rounds on radio saying they are trying to get the USVI game at home too. Look for an announcement from Basketball Canada this week (or next). He also keep teasing about announcing a "summer core" team but I remain skeptical on that.



Bartlett is also relentlassly pumping up the Globl Jam and U23 tournment so I thought it worth throwing a U23 player pool out there for the U23s.

Research tells me that Eligible players must be 23 or younger on January 1st this year***. So....

NBA Players:
Shai Gilgeous Alexander
RJ Barrett
Luguentz Dort
Josh Primo
Oshae Brissett
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Dalano Banton
Ignas Brazdeikis

I expect most NBA and June drafted players don't participate. Maybe a couple will (Banton? NAW? Primo? More?). I don't see the SMNT conflicting as they could easily do both and likely the plan is to have one big camp.

G-League and Foreign Pros:
Nate Darling
Karim Mane
AJ Lawson
Simi Shittu
Danilo Djuricic
Lindell Wigginton ***

A fantastic showcase for these players.

NBA Draft Candidates:
Shaedon Sharpe
Bennedict Mathurin
Andrew Nembhard
Leonard Miller
Fardaws Aimaq
Emmanuel Akot

I currently expect Aimaq and Akot to withdraw from the draft and would be good candidates for U23. The rest I think will be unavailable (perhaps Nembhard but doubtful as Summer League conflicts).

NCAA Players:
Zach Edey
Caleb Houstan
Ryan Nembhard
Abu Kigab
Quincy Guerrier
Jaelin Llewellyn
Noah Kirkwood
Marcus Carr
Emmanuel Miller
Tyrese Samuel
Josip Vranik
Ben Krikke
Keeshawn Barthelemy
Charles Bediako

Many, many others....

Probably some USports guys like Llyod Pandi? Who else might be at that level? Maybe a high schooler like Elijah Fisher, but he may be focused on the FIBA u18s.

I'm sure missed many players in various categories. Let me know who else you'd think we may see....


*** Note: I just looked for players who are 23 (and under) currently. Technically it seems eligibily includes 24 year olds born between now and Jan1 2022, so I may have missed some guys. For example Lindell Wigginton is born in March 1998 and should be included. Perhaps someone can double check eligibilty to be sure I understand it correctly.

[anj]

Sam Vecenie's NBA Draft Big Board 4.0 is out:
#6 Bennedict Mathurin
#7 Shaedon Sharpe
#45 Leonard Miller
#54 Caleb Houstan
#69 Andrew Nembhard

Great write up on Miller which should temper lottery expectations - highly recommend.

https://theathletic.com/3277809/2022/05/02/2022-nba-draft-big-board-jabari-smith-chet-holmgren/

Thanks for this! Because Leonard Miller seems to be such a curiosity on this board, here's an excerpt for non-subscribers.

His shot prep is among the worst in this draft class. Every time he rises, it looks different from the previous shot ... As a prospect, the thing that worries me most about Miller is the intersection of strength and explosiveness. He’s extremely skinny but also isn’t particularly explosive as an athlete ... He’s so polarizing for scouts at this point that I think anywhere from No. 20 to 60 is the range.

[mojo13]

Note that Sharpe, Miller, Mathurin and Nembhard will be attending the NBA draft combine.

Aimaq and Akot were not invited.

And most interesting is that Caleb Houstan received an invite and turned it down, fueling plenty of speculation that he has a guarantee in hand.

I'm skeptical at first, but based on his tools and pre-NCAA resume/footage I could see someone with a good development system and multiple picks take him late 1st (Spurs, OKC, Grizz?). Maybe even the Raps?

No injury apparent (seen recent footage of him working out) and no word of him returning to UM. Those would seemingly be the other reasons to turn down an invite. Or perhaps his athleticism and measurements are so bad the combine would only expose him (but that seems a stretch).

Plenty of fun storylines this draft with Miller, Sharpe and now Houstan.

[Hair Canada]

Dillon Brooks has been dragged through the mud over the last week, first for his contribution to the injury of Gary Payton II (which cost him two games out), and then for his offensive inefficiency and murky shot selection, which may have cost the Grizzlies game 4 of the serious against the Warriors. Many have wondered why he got so many minutes and blamed Jenkins for keeping him on the court. Others fantasized about what Memphis would look like with a different, more efficient perimeter player, and many of them were quick to suggest trading Brooks at the first chance.

Here's another perspective, from an excellent article by John Hollinger in the Athletic on why the Grizzlies seem to be looking better without Morant:

https://theathletic.com/3309223/2022/05/13/the-grizzlies-keep-winning-without-ja-morant-whats-going-on/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983

The entire piece is certainly worth reading, but for those with no access, here's the part about Brooks:

"One player, in particular, impacts Memphis’ data a lot, and it’s not who you think. Believe it or not, Memphis’ numbers this season — both in the regular season and, yes, in the playoffs — are markedly better with Brooks on the court... Memphis allowed just 105.9 points per 100 with Brooks on the floor and had a plus-11.0 net rating in his minutes... Tyus Jones is benefiting from having played significantly more minutes with the Grizzlies’ best wing defender (532, in which the Grizzlies were plus-8.3 per 100) than Morant did (215, in which the Grizzlies were an even better plus-12.2). And that 21-6 record without Morant? That breaks down to 18-4 when Brooks plays and 3-2 when he doesn’t. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies’ “Core 4” unit of Morant, Bane, Brooks and Jackson played only 125 minutes together this year but smoked opponents by 20.2 points per 100, including a 97.0 defensive rating. In the playoffs, it’s been more of the same, with a plus-9.4 net rating in 109 minutes."

And now me: Brooks is a tremendous, still underrated defender. Sure, I'd love for him to improve his offensive efficiency (not having a season with more than 51.5% true shooting is really not good), take fewer of these terrible long-2s with a hand in his face, and become more stable and reliable. And I think he can gradually get there, at least in part. But even with that, he's an important part of this Grizzlies unit, an improved passer, and a tremendous fighter. Team Canada with all its talent desperately needs this kind of pesky disruptive defense and overall energy, and I'd gladly have him on the team and live with the consequences.

[mojo13]

Boys U17 World Champions is in Spain July 2-10 and the prelim roster has been posted:

Taj Au-Duke, Arden Begaj, Marodama Benjamin, Ayob Daniel, Eternity Eguagie, Keenan Emmanuel, Oliver Faubert, Kuach Gajak, Noah George, Austin Goode, Justus Haseley, Luke Huddlestone, Stefan Jiminez Vojnic, Felix Kossaras, Mohamed Mahadhi, Jovan Milicevic, Malique Moss, Christian Nitu, Onyx Nnani, Ramogi Nyagudi, Baraka Okojie, Efeosa Oliogu, Stephen Osei, Abraham Osman, Jaion Pitt, Olivier Rioux, Ishan Sharma, Jacob Theodosiou, Ludovic Tournier, Mikkel Tyne, Hudson Ward, Char Yeiy


I wont step into this too much as it is not my wheelhouse but:
Efeosa Oliogu 6'5 SG/SF perhaps the likely centrepiece. Lots out there on him doing really well playing up in the 17U AAU circuit right now. Perhaps the primary NBA prospect of this group?
Mikkel Tyne (PG) starting Pg?
Jovan Milicevic - 6'9 PF/SF. Really good shooter getting some good recruiting attention right now. Excelling on the u16 EYBL.
Ishan Sharma - 6'5 SG. supposedly the best shooter in his Canadian class.
Olivier Rioux - now 7'6 and seemingly filling out his body a bit.
Christian Nitu - 6'10 PF is someone I'm vey interested to see. dribbling skills and good shooting touch for his size. Very good on the defensive end, good length and mobility, very quick and a great rim protector too.


There are 6 Canadians going to the Basketball Without Borders Camp Latin America - so I assume these are some of the better players. More here on:
https://basketballbuzz.ca/hs/six-canadians-selected-to-2022-basketball-without-borders-americas-camp/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=six-canadians-bwb-americas

Jovan Millicevic -
Keenan Emmanuel - PG or is he better than Tyne?
Christian Nitu
Ishan Sharma
Stephen Osei - raw 6'11 big?
Chris Tadjo - I know nothing here



Anyone else to enlighten us? I'm expecting Hair to maybe give us a detailed run down closer to the torunament? So maybe this is enough for now....

[BilboBanginz]

Andrew Nembhard 26 & 11 in his first combine scrimmage. Leonard Miller looked better today after a rough Day 1

Watch on YouTube

;t=1s

[mojo13]

Canada Basketball press conference tomorrow morning (10am ET?). Among the announcements they may be finally telling us the 12 man "summer core". Next step is to see if they actually show up camp a month from now.


Also likely announce stuff in conjunction with the CEBL. Maybe a exhibition game vs CEBL All Stars or something (they tried to do that last year, but were nexed by covid).

Still so many questions about a "summer core".

Right now guys like Dort, Murray maybe Brich and maybe SGA have injury concerns. Boucher is a RFA.
Powell and Wiggins still playing. Extention time for Barrett, Clarke, NAW. and Maybe for Brooks, Brissett and Dort.

Would these guys be out for later in the summer or next years WC or the following years Olympics if they can't play now? Absolutely not is my guess.

So why announce a "core" then? I guess if they can keep 4-5 guys consistant that might be good enough.
But if it is guys like CoJo, Lyles, TT or whatever other inconsequential players then it is going to be tough to get excited. We need some stars. Need to have 2 or 3 of SGA, Murray, Wiggins, Barrett and Olynyk (the crucial big).

[duppyy]

I hope Zach Edey can improve next year, I thought he'd enter the draft and get picked in the 2nd round. Maybe he thinks he can squeak into the first round next year.

[TheFutureMM]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ESAbPNOrHXY

Remember Addison Patterson? Here is a clip of him playing in Toronto. Is he done? Seems like he's reaching Myck Kabongo level's of flame-out.

[Snowwy]

I hope Zach Edey can improve next year, I thought he'd enter the draft and get picked in the 2nd round. Maybe he thinks he can squeak into the first round next year.

Do you think he is a NBA player? He can barely run up the court. To me, he projects as a solid international player. Very slow, very methodical. Does not fit in the NBA playoffs, that is for sure. Sadly.

[Bruin]

2023 5 star Elijah Fisher is committing tonight. Texas Tech is the favorite

[Snowwy]

2023 5 star Elijah Fisher is committing tonight. Texas Tech is the favorite

Hope it isn't Texas Tech. Not a good school for developing NBA players. Total cowards when it comes to scheduling. Their non-conference schedule was 347th out of 358 in terms of difficulty last year. Below average in terms of pace. But they do seem to pay their players (NIL). Certainly Kansas or Kentucky would be better and Ok St seems to have helped Cade (although I'm not as all in on Cade as some people)