State of the Union. Team Canada Basketball. (FIBA Americas Aug.31-Sep.15)

Mattd97 · Post #1661 » by **Mattd97** » Thu Aug 6, 2015 8:49 pm

NBACommissioner wrote:
Patman wrote:
Mattd97 wrote:
top quality doctors and insurance

This. The players are taken care of like it's an NBA game. The players are taped and stretched by an athletic trainer. And they are iced down after a game.

So then the NBA team should lend National teams their doctors if they care so much.

what? no, i was saying the NTs do have those things, THATS the difference. which is why its actually better for players to be at NT events than pro-am leagues.

NBACommissioner · Post #1662 » by **NBACommissioner** » Fri Aug 7, 2015 3:00 am

Mattd97 wrote:
NBACommissioner wrote:
Patman wrote:
This. The players are taken care of like it's an NBA game. The players are taped and stretched by an athletic trainer. And they are iced down after a game.

So then the NBA team should lend National teams their doctors if they care so much.

what? no, i was saying the NTs do have those things, THATS the difference. which is why its actually better for players to be at NT events than pro-am leagues.

Alright..I thought you were saying the opposite.

mojo13 · Post #1663 » by **mojo13** » Fri Aug 7, 2015 4:53 pm

FIBA meetings are this weekend. On the agenda is the Brazil autobid.
They should announce by Sunday on whether brazil gets it. I'd put my money on "yes".

MixxSRC · Post #1664 » by **MixxSRC** » Sat Aug 8, 2015 4:07 am

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCJVJLnDPpA[/youtube]

mojo13 · Post #1665 » by **mojo13** » Sat Aug 8, 2015 8:12 pm

My update on a roster prediction:
PG Joseph, Cadougan
SGStauskas, Heslip
SF Wiggins, Ejim
PF Nicholson, Bennett
COlynyk, Sacre
English, Powell

Notable absences:
Murray- will be in classes
TT - unsigned contract keeps him out
KP - rookie heading to Spain to acclimate.
rautins - currently has no contract

Saw some back and forth on Twitter that makes me think Sacre and English will be at camp at the very least.
Also tweets leading me to believe pangos will be heading to Spain soon. Thus I don't think he will be participating this summer. Could be wrong. Hoping Jermaine Anderson is around but it has been quiet about him all summer.

frumble · Post #1666 » by **frumble** » Sun Aug 9, 2015 4:28 am

mojo13 wrote:My update on a roster prediction:
PG Joseph, Cadougan
SGStauskas, Heslip
SF Wiggins, Ejim
PF Nicholson, Bennett
COlynyk, Sacre
English, Powell

Notable absences:
Murray- will be in classes
TT - unsigned contract keeps him out
KP - rookie heading to Spain to acclimate.
rautins - currently has no contract

Saw some back and forth on Twitter that makes me think Sacre and English will be at camp at the very least.
Also tweets leading me to believe pangos will be heading to Spain soon. Thus I don't think he will be participating this summer. Could be wrong. Hoping Jermaine Anderson is around but it has been quiet about him all summer.

Yeah, that looks about right.

In an interview with a Spokane TV reporter last week Pangos said he was heading over to Spain on the 20th, and starting training camp shortly thereafter, so he is out.

I agree re Murray.

I am still hoping that it is Anderson rather than Cadougan for back-up point, but I agree Cadougan looks likely. I can't see the Staff preferring Cadougan, but maybe there is a contract or injury issue?

Anyway, I think the 14 in camp will be the 12 you listed plus Doornekamp and Mullings, and I think the 11th and 12th spots will go to Doornekamp and English, but we'll see.

Re playing time, Powell had some good chemistry with Olynyk on the Euro tour last summer, and it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up seeing fairly significant playing time.

mojo13 · Post #1667 » by **mojo13** » Sun Aug 9, 2015 2:17 pm

Good news.
FIBA granted Brazil the autobid as expected.

jonny three time · Post #1668 » by **jonny three time** » Sun Aug 9, 2015 5:17 pm

Still holding out hope that they can find a way around NCAA eligibility rules so Murray can be there. Could care less about him missing school, even Calipari doesn't care about that and wants to see him there. It's just those stupid NCAA rules.

For SG I'd rather have Mullings than English, but would rather have Rautins than both. If there was some way we could have Murray and Rautins coming off the bench it adds a whole new dynamic to our teams offense and lets the team keep their foot on the gas. A bench of Cadougan, Heslip, Doornekamp/ejim would just be trying to hang in there and probably lead to the starters playing too much.

Halftime Show · Post #1669 » by **Halftime Show** » Sun Aug 9, 2015 6:29 pm

Hanlan signed with Zalgris in Lithuania

http://www.sltrib.com/home/2817655-155/draft-pick-olivier-hanlan-signs-in

Good move for him. He wasn't ready but still has potential. I like this move more for him than going to the dleague where he would have continued to be a volume shooting guy.

Hopefully he rounds his game out and we see him again in a couple years

Brazil88 · Post #1670 » by **Brazil88** » Sun Aug 9, 2015 9:14 pm

I gotta be honest, i thought Canada would have a hard time to get a spot in the Olympics. You have good young talent, some already in the NBA, but FIBA basketball is a completely different game and i thought more experienced teams such as Argentina, Dominican Republic and even Puerto Rico and Mexico would be tough opponents. Brazil was also not certain to get in and could've played this tournament needing to qualify.

Anyway, now everything changed in my mind. I'm confident Canada will qualify easily and probably win this tournament.

FIBA finally guaranteed Brazil's spot, and we're going with basically the same team from Pan Am Games. From that roster, only players missing will be Rafael Hettsheimeir (starting center, #11), who apparently has offers from the NBA so he choose not to go and Larry Taylor is injured.

The loss of Hettsheimeir hurts 'cause he was really important offensively shotting 3's at a high percentage, spacing the floor, and also being able to play inside. So, Brazil is gonna be weaker than in Pan Am Games.

Argentina looks like dog ****. Even with Nocioni and Scola i just don't see them being able to beat Canada. I mean, i think in all my life i've never seen their NT so bad. Once Scola retires their NT will be terrible, btw.

Horford is not gonna play, i don't know about KA Towns, but without Horford Domincan Republic don't have much of a chance.

Puerto Rico and Mexico are also without some key players, and they don't have such a big pool of talent to replace them. Even Uruguai is missing a couple of important guys.

With all that said, Canada should qualify easily to Rio 2016. Even without TT and Murray.

mojo13 · Post #1671 » by **mojo13** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 4:15 pm

Brazil88 wrote:I gotta be honest, i thought Canada would have a hard time to get a spot in the Olympics. You have good young talent, some already in the NBA, but FIBA basketball is a completely different game and i thought more experienced teams such as Argentina, Dominican Republic and even Puerto Rico and Mexico would be tough opponents. Brazil was also not certain to get in and could've played this tournament needing to qualify.

Anyway, now everything changed in my mind. I'm confident Canada will qualify easily and probably win this tournament.

FIBA finally guaranteed Brazil's spot, and we're going with basically the same team from Pan Am Games. From that roster, only players missing will be Rafael Hettsheimeir (starting center, #11), who apparently has offers from the NBA so he choose not to go and Larry Taylor is injured.

The loss of Hettsheimeir hurts 'cause he was really important offensively shotting 3's at a high percentage, spacing the floor, and also being able to play inside. So, Brazil is gonna be weaker than in Pan Am Games.

Argentina looks like dog ****. Even with Nocioni and Scola i just don't see them being able to beat Canada. I mean, i think in all my life i've never seen their NT so bad. Once Scola retires their NT will be terrible, btw.

Horford is not gonna play, i don't know about KA Towns, but without Horford Domincan Republic don't have much of a chance.

Puerto Rico and Mexico are also without some key players, and they don't have such a big pool of talent to replace them. Even Uruguai is missing a couple of important guys.

With all that said, Canada should qualify easily to Rio 2016. Even without TT and Murray.

It is interesting that you say this. Is it just that you think the competition weaker than expected? Or did you see something at the PanAm games with Canada's play?

Argentina's losses all seemed very competitive at the PanAms and Scola and Nocioni are a meaningful upgrade. Mexico seems to have some depth with all the U.S. born players they are able to utilize, PR too to some degree. Mo Harkless is a very good addition.

Anyways, Canada seems to struggle too much with the transition to different rules and style of play for me to ever get too confident. I am hoping we can just put so much talent on the floor it compensates for the disadvantage we have with the FIBA style of play. I have strong empathy for our guys when I see them get thrown off their games through the frustration the comes with the grabbing, elbow throwing, moving screens, rough play and usually lopsided officiating. I am not looking forward to seeing our guys play Mexico in Mexico City - it will be 6 men on the floor against five.

mojo13 · Post #1672 » by **mojo13** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 8:13 pm

TT is seemingly out of the FIBA Americas per RealGM

Agent: Tristan Thompson Signing One-Year Qualifying Offer Will Be Last Season With Cavs
AUG 10, 2015 3:06 PM

Tristan Thompson could sign the one-year qualifying offer with the Cleveland Cavaliers, said agent Rich Paul.

"All I know is TT on Qualifying Offer will be his last year with the Cavs," Paul said.

Thompson would become a free agent in 2016.

Thompson also will not play in the FIBA Americas for Canada due to the contract impasse.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/238987/Tristan-Thompson-To-Sign-One-Year-Qualifying-Offer-With-Cavs

F'ing Cavs...

frumble · Post #1673 » by **frumble** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 8:54 pm

I am a little more optimistic than I was a few months ago. I was worried that participation would be lower than it looks like it is going to be. Yes, TT and Ennis would have been nice, but, if reports are correct, we will have pretty much everyone else, including first time in several years for Stauskas and Wiggins.

Brazil news also helps.

That being said, I would not characterize us as heavy favorites. The other teams have more experience with FIBA ball, and have been practicing together for significantly longer (Panama since June 8???). That can help make up for any talent deficiency against Canada.

Moreover, securing an automatic Olympic spot will come down to a sudden death semi. Canada could sweep the round robin, but in a semi-final against Argentina, Mexico, DR or PR for a spot, anything can happen. I especially don't want to draw Mexico in the semis.

Dr Positivity · Post #1674 » by **Dr Positivity** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 10:12 pm

Bennett, Bhullar, Doornekamp, Ejim, English, Hanlan, Heslip, Joseph, Murray, Nicholson, Olynyk, Powell, Sacre, Scrubb, Stauskas, Wiggins are invited to camp via Doug Smith. Players from Pan Am team not on list: Cadougan, Mullings, Wiltjer, Brooks

BilboBanginz · Post #1675 » by **BilboBanginz** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 10:45 pm

Can someone fill me in on how Doornekamp keeps getting these invites? I'm not trying to be snide, legit curious.

Pooh_Jeter · Post #1676 » by **Pooh_Jeter** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 11:01 pm

BilboBanginz wrote:Can someone fill me in on how Doornekamp keeps getting these invites? I'm not trying to be snide, legit curious.

The narrative goes that he is a glue guy who doesn't demand touches or care about his role on the team. He shares the ball and plays a position that is currently lacking depth on the National Team. Basically code for a hard working white guy who is limited athletically. I don't want to get into racial politics or anything like that, but I would love to see how the media labelled Doornekamp if he was black.

For me, he is a guy who is extremely limited offensively and athletically and the reason he shares the ball and makes the right pass is because he can't shoot or dribble. He can play decent man on man defense, but only against guys who don't have a significant athleticism advantage. He is a liability on PNR coverage because he has such slow feet.

He is a SF because he doesn't have the skills/quickness needed to be a guard, nor does he have much of anything you would want from an undersized 4. Triano thinks of Ejim strictly as a big and while I wouldn't necessarily argue that he isn't best suited as a small ball 4, I think when you compare him to Doornekamp he has more of the skills I'd want at the 3. Frankly, I'd play Bennett at the 3 over Doornekamp.

Pooh_Jeter · Post #1677 » by **Pooh_Jeter** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 11:12 pm

As for the invite list, I'm pretty surprised at Mullings not being included. With Cadougan and Anderson not being invited you have to think Jamal Murray is going to be able to play. Can't imagine a combination of Heslip, Hanlan, and Scrubb being relied on as the back-up PG's.

Joseph/Murray
Stauskas/Heslip
Wiggins/Ejim
Nicholson/Bennett/Powell
Olynyk/Sacre

That would leave one more spot for a guard. I would guess that would be a battle between Hanlan and English. I could see Triano going for Doornekamp over Ejim which would be a mistake.

I'm just excited to see that starting 5 in whichever form it takes.

hyper316 · Post #1678 » by **hyper316** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 11:20 pm

Dr Positivity wrote:Bennett, Bhullar, Doornekamp, Ejim, English, Hanlan, Heslip, Joseph, Murray, Nicholson, Olynyk, Powell, Sacre, Scrubb, Stauskas, Wiggins are invited to camp via Doug Smith. Players from Pan Am team not on list: Cadougan, Mullings, Wiltjer, Brooks

That's surprising to me. Why didn't Phil Scrubb play in Pan-am?

Mattd97 · Post #1679 » by **Mattd97** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 11:52 pm

hyper316 wrote:
Dr Positivity wrote:Bennett, Bhullar, Doornekamp, Ejim, English, Hanlan, Heslip, Joseph, Murray, Nicholson, Olynyk, Powell, Sacre, Scrubb, Stauskas, Wiggins are invited to camp via Doug Smith. Players from Pan Am team not on list: Cadougan, Mullings, Wiltjer, Brooks

That's surprising to me. Why didn't Phil Scrubb play in Pan-am?

he was in summer league

frumble · Post #1680 » by **frumble** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 12:04 am

Scrubb didn't play PanAms because he was playing Summer League.

Re the invite list, I am very glad to see Hanlan back with the program, but no true PG to backup Joseph seems odd. They are confident in the ability of Scrubb or Hanlan to run the point for the roughly 10 minutes a game Joseph will be out? Or they have NCAA/Kentucky approval to have Murray?

My best guess:

Olynyk Sacre
Nicholson Powell Bennett
Wiggins Doornekamp
Stauskas Heslip
Joseph Hanlan

That would leave Scrubb and English battling for the last spot, or it going to Murray if he is somehow available.