I posted this on one of the weekend open forums on the main site and it wasn't well received but I still stand by it. If we can't field a competitive team because our best players don't want to play (which is their prerogative), then we might as well fold the MNT and redirect the funds elsewhere. Been a BBall fan for the last 20 years and it's always the same excuses and underachievement with Canada Basketball every Olympic cycle.
Get rid of the whole thing and just redirect the freed up money into basketball development across the country, at least it will be better spent.
I posted this on one of the weekend open forums on the main site and it wasn't well received but I still stand by it. If we can't field a competitive team because our best players don't want to play (which is their prerogative), then we might as well fold the MNT and redirect the funds elsewhere. Been a BBall fan for the last 20 years and it's always the same excuses and underachievement with Canada Basketball every Olympic cycle.
Get rid of the whole thing and just redirect the freed up money into basketball development across the country, at least it will be better spent.
I mean, I guess I see what you're saying, but what's the point in developing the youth of the nation in a sport if you're not going to have a National Team for them to represent?
I mean, I guess I see what you're saying, but what's the point in developing the youth of the nation in a sport if you're not going to have a National Team for them to represent?
There will always be a national team for every sport in the Olympics or World Cup, even if it's just scrub(b)s representing us.... bless their hearts.
But still, it's kind of sad that even the rest of the world is noticing that Canada's best players never come out to support the country. The real problem here is that nobody seems to have a definitive answer as to "WHY" our best players don't come out en masse, year-after-year, regardless of the circumstances and increasing size of the talent pool. Here's another article from ESPN:
CANADA
Key player: Cory Joseph
Head coach: Nick Nurse
How they qualified: first in Americas group
Previous World Cup best: sixth (twice)
FIBA ranking: 23
Outlook: At full-strength, Canada would have the second-best roster in international hoops. Instead, Nurse is coaching short-handed with Orlando Magic backup Khem Birch inheriting the leadership role, with Joseph only arriving at the last minute. A real opportunity missed.
Wiggins, Alexander, Clarke, Boucher, Brooks, Lyles, Powell, Stauskas, Alexander-Walker.....all these guys should be ashamed of themselves.
The 2015 debacle was the last year we had great representation, which ended with a loss to Venezuela and Jay Triano benching Stauskas and Wiggins. I mean, if those guys still have hurt feelings, they should be way over it by now.
Here's a graphic showing NBA guys who could have played, and who actually did (blue dot), over the years. Steve Nash not playing in his prime set a bad example, IMO.
Yep. I'm not gonna let these things go. All the guys that I mentioned SHOULD be boo'd when they play in Toronto. I also don't want to hear Grange and Doug Smith, TSN guys, all these guys hyping up Wiggins and Gilgeous Alexander and all these guys whenever they're playing in Toronto.
Murray and Barrett are the only ones that gets a pass from me because they're injured.
Wiggins, Alexander, Clarke, Boucher, Brooks, Lyles, Powell, Stauskas, Alexander-Walker.....all these guys should be ashamed of themselves.
For all those players whose excuse was " They wanted to get ready for upcoming season " Watch the tournament and look at the quality of play .. Nothing in any pick up game will even come close to what you will experience in the Worlds .. The Americans had to play overtime to win. You are playing NBA type playoff intensity to start the your NBA season ..
Did we need everyone to say yes ... Hell no ... This team really needed only 3 to 4 guys to say yes ..
Last edited by guyroch; Tue Sep 3, 2019, 11:51 AM.
For all those players whose excuse was " They wanted to get ready for upcoming season " Watch the tournament and look at the quality of play .. Nothing in any pick up game will even come close to what you will experience in the Worlds .. The Americans had to play overtime to win. You are playing NBA type playoff intensity to start the your NBA season ..
Did we need everyone to say yes ... Hell no ... This team really needed only 3 to 4 guys to say yes ..
For all those players whose excuse was " They wanted to get ready for upcoming season " Watch the tournament and look at the quality of play .. Nothing in any pick up game will even come close to what you will experience in the Worlds .. The Americans had to play overtime to win. You are playing NBA type playoff intensity to start the your NBA season ..
Did we need everyone to say yes ... Hell no ... This team really needed only 3 to 4 guys to say yes ..
Exactly! Kyle and Demar played and represented team USA and it helped them in their games and overall chemistry.
And then Bruno with that sick game saving block on Giannis! Those Canadians who said no for non-injury reasons are a disgrace!
Meanwhile.... Bruno with not one, but two clutch defensive plays to win the game for Brazil vs Greece and the reigning NBA MVP. You think that's not going to help Bruno's confidence going into next year? Like you said, you can't simulate this kind of competitive pressure & intensity in an open gym.
Meanwhile.... Bruno with not one, but two clutch defensive plays to win the game for Brazil vs Greece and the reigning NBA MVP. You think that's not going to help Bruno's confidence going into next year? Like you said, you can't simulate this kind of competitive pressure & intensity in an open gym.
There are several, but the guys I find the most puzzling are Boucher, Brooks and Lyles. These are guys that one way or the other are trying to break through in the NBA.
Someone like Boucher for example should be thirsty for minutes (any kind of minutes), to really showcase his game. A televised, high-end tournament like this (compared to pick up games), is the perfect opportunity for that, especially on a post-championship offseason like this when a lot of fans and NBA execs are paying close attention to basketball in Canada. He's the only Canadian player on the Raptors roster, that would be the perfect opportunity for him to ride the champioship wave, do some commercials in Quebec or something, just increase his profile as an NBA player in general. It's a head scratcher.
13th in a row. And JV is a BONAFIDE starter in the NBA unlike most of the Canadian players that I mentioned. Most of those guys are trying to breakthrough in the NBA.
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