“We are working to get on the top step of the podium, we are going to this competition in Paris to win. This is what we are supposed to do,” thundered Canada Basketball general manager Rowan Barrett.
Canada qualified for the Olympics with a quarter-final victory over Spain at the 2023 World Cup before winning the bronze medal at the expense of the United States. This will be the North American team’s first participation in the Olympics since Sydney in 2000.
The Canadians are in Group A with Australia and the winners of the Olympic qualifying tournaments in Spain and Greece. This will be the “group of death”.
“As we evaluated ourselves after the World Cup last year, we could see that there are still some areas where we need to improve,” Barrett told a news conference. “We’re going to try to get on the top step of the podium. It looks like two small steps, but it’s not. They’re two big steps that need to be taken.”
Andrew Wiggins did not participate in the World Cup in Asia. The 10-year NBA veteran whose scoring average has dropped this season (13.2 from 18.5 in his career) last played for Canada in the 2021 TQO. He has been criticized in the past for not always being committed to the national team, but he expressed interest in being present at these Games. On the other hand, Cory Joseph and Kevin Pangos are the only players in the group of 14 who have made a long-term commitment to the national team who were not invited to camp.
The pre-selection:
Kyle Alexander (Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C.); Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves); RJ Barrett (Toronto Raptors); Trae Bell-Haynes (Casademont Zaragoza); Khem Birch (Bàsquet Girona); Oshae Brissett (Boston Celtics); Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets); Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder); Zach Edey (Purdue); Melvin Ejim (Unicaja Malaga); Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder); Mfiondu Kabengele (Venise); Trey Lyles (Sacramento Kings); Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets); Andrew Nembhard (Indiana Pacers); Kelly Olynyk (Toronto Raptors); Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks); Phil Scrubb (Bahçeşehir Koleji); Thomas Scrubb (Monbus Obradoiro); Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors).
2024-06-20 05:55:47
#NBA #players #Canadas #preselection
