Everyone knows that basketball is all about US and it's players. But as of the past 5+ years, the international scene has kicked in more than ever. With that said, I think of James A. Naismith. The founder of this thing we call basketball. And with Naismith being Canadian and all, I think we should make this thread about Canadian basketball and hold our heads high about the future of this game in Canada.
Obviously a big prospect in Canada is Andrew Wiggins. He might be one of the biggest prospects to come out of Canada and the biggest hopes we have. So talk, be proud!
Canada Basketball has seen a huge improvement in development and looks to be on the rise.
Myck Kabongo is this years top point guard prospect in the US. He is headed to Texas this upcoming year. He'll likely see a lot of minutes with Rick Barnes and the Texas team.
Cory Joseph joins the Spurs. A great organization that will likely develop him well. I think he'll be a good role player for them.
Tristan Thompson is a top 5 pick and will likely be getting major minutes with Kyrie Irving. He'll be a crucial part of the Cavs rebuilding project.
Kris Joseph is staying at Syracuse. He'll likely be the leader of the team this upcoming year because of his experience.
Andy Rautins, Leo's son. Hoping that he doesn't warm the bench in New York anymore, but for Canada he'll be a good shooter.
Under current CBA rules, Wiggins will be eligible for the draft in 2014, and is currently rated as the #1 prospect for his draft class. He has great size and athleticism, and the sky it literally the limit for this kid.
Myck Kabongo is the prospect I'm mainly focused on for now. He's going to have the opportunity to have a HUGE year with Texas as Thompson, Joseph, and Hamilton have all moved on to the pro ranks. He may instantly be the teams best player on Day One, and as a PG he'll be in almost complete control of his draft stock.
Kris Joseph, I'm losing faith in, but I still think he can be a solid role player for a team in the league. There were such high hopes for him as a freshman, but it seems like every year he fails to live up to the hype. He'll be the man at Syracuse this year, and I sincerely hope he steps up his game.
Another player to keep your eyes on is Sim Bhullar, a 17 year old kid who has orally committed to play at Xavier. His parents are Indian, but he (and his equally large brother) were born and raised in Canada.
Bhullar is 7'4, 330~ pounds, with a 7'11 wingspan. He doesn't look like the most athletic kid in the world, but he's strong as hell and has the potential to be an NBA player. Scouts don't believe (at this point) that he'll be a high lottery pick, but a lot can change in two years.
Quote:
Another year at Huntington could allow him to lose weight and to polish his post game. Bhullar could model himself after Xavier’s 7-foot center, Kenny Frease, who became a top-flight Atlantic 10 player by tightening his body and developing his post game. Bhullar said Xavier coaches had chatted with Yao’s trainer about techniques and drills, but they cannot comment on Bhullar because he has not signed a letter of intent.
“Within the last year and a half, he’s had one of the biggest improvements or jumps I’ve ever seen in a kid,” said Mike George, the coach of Bhullar’s summer team, CIA Bounce, based in Toronto. “Xavier has proven they can get guys in proper conditioning and proven that they’ll use big guys. He’s a different type of guy for the Atlantic 10.”
Under current CBA rules, Wiggins will be eligible for the draft in 2014, and is currently rated as the #1 prospect for his draft class. He has great size and athleticism, and the sky it literally the limit for this kid.
Myck Kabongo is the prospect I'm mainly focused on for now. He's going to have the opportunity to have a HUGE year with Texas as Thompson, Joseph, and Hamilton have all moved on to the pro ranks. He may instantly be the teams best player on Day One, and as a PG he'll be in almost complete control of his draft stock.
Kris Joseph, I'm losing faith in, but I still think he can be a solid role player for a team in the league. There were such high hopes for him as a freshman, but it seems like every year he fails to live up to the hype. He'll be the man at Syracuse this year, and I sincerely hope he steps up his game.
I think Kris Joseph made a good decision by staying back and playing ball another year at Syracuse. He can show what he can do while he is the man. He needed this. Don't lose faith, for he is Canadian so he can do anything!
I think Kris Joseph made a good decision by staying back and playing ball another year at Syracuse. He can show what he can do while he is the man. He needed this. Don't lose faith, for he is Canadian so he can do anything!
Absolutely agree it was a smart decision. At the start of last season he was predicted to be a lottery pick, and the year before that he was expected to go in the top 20, but my mid season he basically disapeared from the first round.
Going back to school was definitely the best move for him, and hopefully this year he can improve his shot and his consistency.
Real shame that Thompson couldn't play with the team right now, for all their faults, the Canadian bigs do a pretty good job with their help-side rotations and it would be helpful for his development playing with them. Thompson and Anthony in the same front court would be fun to watch.
Canada is now 2-1 after losing to Brazil, and beating Dominican Republic and Cuba. They automatically advance to the next round of the tournament, but have one game left this round against Venezuala.
The top two teams in this tournament automatically qualify for the Olympics (expected to be Argentina and Brazil), and teams 3-4-5 will qualify for the last Olympic qualifier which will be held next summer, and includes teams from all over the world (who have not yet qualified).
Anyone who's home and has TSN2 should be watching this Canada/Venezuala game. Back and forth action, currently tied at 58.
Greivis Vasquez is absolutely killing it for Venezuala, and Canada is attacking with a great team effort. Andy Rautins is shooting the lights out, and Shepherd is taking it to the rim with authority.
The initial ranking of the nation's top high school sophomores goes 25 deep and is sure to see plenty of change over the years. However, the decision to rank Andrew Wiggins at the top of the class was an easy one.
Andrew Wiggins starts out at No. 1 in the 2014 class.
Wiggins, who hails from Canada, is an athletically gifted 6-foot-7 small forward who has just begun his sophomore year at Huntington (W.V.) Prep.
Dr. James A. Naismith's Canadian Basketball
Re: Dr. James A. Naismith's Canadian Basketball
