View Single Post
Old 08-11-2015, 01:37 PM   #103
octothorp
Franchise Player
 
octothorp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: not lurking
Exp:
Default

The camp roster for the FIBA Americas has been announced:

Bennett, Anthony F 6’8″ Brampton, ON Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA)
Bhullar, Sim C 7’5″ Mississauga, ON Sacramento Kings (NBA)
Doornekamp, Aaron F 6’7″ Odessa, ON Braunschweig (Germany)
Ejim, Melvin F 6’6″ Toronto, ON Orlando Magic (NBA)
English, Carl SG 6’5″ Paradise, NFLD Athens AEK (Greece)
Hanlan, Olivier G 6’4″ Aylmer, QC BC Zalgiris (Lithuania)
Heslip, Brady G 6’2″ Burlington, ON Pallacanestro Cantù (Italy)
Joseph, Cory PG 6’3″ Pickering, ON Toronto Raptors (NBA)
Murray, Jamal G 6’3″ Kitchener, ON University of Kentucky (NCAA)
Nicholson, Andrew F 6’9″ Mississauga, ON Orlando Magic (NBA)
Olynyk, Kelly C 7’0″ Kamloops, BC Boston Celtics (NBA)
Powell, Dwight F 6’9″ Toronto, ON Dallas Mavericks (NBA)
Sacre, Robert C 7’0″ Vancouver, BC Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
Scrubb, Phil G 6’3″ Richmond, BC AEK Athens (Greece)
Stauskas, Nik SG 6’6″ Mississauga, ON Philadelphia 76ers (NBA)
Wiggins, Andrew F 6’8″ Vaughan, ON Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA)

Without question, this will be the deepest, most talented team that Canada has ever put forward, even if they're somewhat lacking in experience. Thompson is the only significant omission (due to his ongoing contract situation with Cleveland), and that's at Canada's deepest position.

I think the guys who are a lock for the team are:
Olynyk
Powell
Bennett
Nicholson

Wiggins

Joseph
Murray

Stauskas, Sacre and Ejim are near locks, in my opinion. And Heslip should be on the team given his ability to take over games... I think you need that in a format like the FIBA Americas. Plus we aren't really deep at the guard position. Bhullar is a tough call... we saw in the Pan Am games how his presence can completely alter the complexion of a game, but I think that advantage decreases exponentially as competition level increases. I think Sacre is a more likely inclusion than Bhullar, and a roster with both is possible, too. I think Murray's inclusion in the list means that Kentucky is allowing him to participate long enough for it to be worthwhile, although there's a chance Murray must leave the team before the medal round.

Doornekamp and English are the vets, but Doornekamp looks likely to miss given all the other frontcourt options. Hanlan and Scrubb are the two other longshots, though if Murray can't stay for the whole tournament, another guard becomes more important.

I love the perimeter-spacing options on this team. You could in theory go about 8 players deep before you find a guy who is not a good 3-point shooter. Lineups like Olynyk/Nicholson/Wiggins/Stauskas/Joseph and Powell/Bennett/Ejim/Heslip/Murray are going to be matchup nightmares. Throw in Sacre and Bhullar (a matchup nightmare himself) and expectations should be very high.

This team should be able to finish top 2 and qualify directly for the Olympics. Failure to finish top 5 and qualify for next summer's qualifying tournament would be a disaster for the program. That said, this isn't going to be an easy tournament by any means.

Brazil is already guaranteed a spot in the Olympics, and their team that won gold at the Pan Ams is almost identical to the one they'll be fielding here (my understanding is that if they finish top 2, then the third place team would get an Olympic berth). Mexico has home court advantage and a couple solid players in Ayon and Gutierrez. Argentina will also be very strong, missing Ginobili but with Scola and Nocioni, as well as international ball standout Campazzo.

Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic (who finished 4th at the Pan Am games) are both wildcards, capable of upsetting more talented teams. Venezuela also has the potential, but with Vasquez - probably their best player - out this summer, they'll be in tough to even make next summer's qualifier.

The unofficial warmup tournament - the Tuto Marchand Cup - starts on the 18th, and then the FIBA Americas starts August 18 in Puerto Rico, and then the FIBA Americas tournament starts August 31 in Mexico City.

edit: I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that the women's team punched their ticket to Rio in dominating fashion, running roughshod over the opposition at the FIBA Americas. It'll be tough for them to medal as the US, Australia, and several EU teams are likely to be the medal favorites, but they should certainly take a lot of confidence from this.

Last edited by octothorp; 08-17-2015 at 11:22 AM.
octothorp is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to octothorp For This Useful Post: