Basketball in Canada

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by samne

Would be great to see Canadian U Sports winner get a spot in the NCAA tournament.

It's sad but Canadians still don't value Canadian product unless it gets the US stamp of approval. The more we see Canadian schools playing American schools the more likely we'll get Canadians showing up at U Sports games.

I'd like to see the Canadian champions get an NCAA berth but I doubt the NCAA would ever allow it. We'll have to make do with the annual U Sports vs NCAA games we get at the beginning of the season and the occasional Canada trip that some schools make.

My biggest issue with U Sports is that there's not enough parity at the top. There's Carleton and then there are about 4-5 good teams a rung below them. With coaching getting continually better hopefully we'll have 10-12 teams as good as Carleton each year. Having the Ravens win every year isn't ideal.

[zoomer]

Why do they keep having the national championship in Halifax? Like a lot of Canadian cities it has a basketball tradition, but they need to move it around. Pretty much empty building for the finals with only family and friends left for the trophy presentation - embarrassing. Makes University sports look bush league.

[samne]

Dont think its so much an American stamp of approval if a U Sports winner gets NCAA spot.

More curious how they would do against top colleges in a meaningful tournament.

Actual rooting interest in a team.

Attract more nba or european club scouts for

Team would be way more competitive than lesser small US colleges.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Very confident view for a team that still has a lot of question marks surrounding them. The way Bud has the Bucks set up now is a nightmare matchup for the Raptors. I think a win against them would almost certainly take 7 games.

I've got this gnawing feeling that the Raps are going to follow the script of their previous playoff exits. They started the season going like gangbusters, as per usual, but they've looked lacklustre for the last month save for a couple of inspired wins. Are they going to turn it up a notch eventually? Is Lowry saving himself for the postseason?

For all that Kawhi Leonard means to this team, the Raps don't have a chance without Lowry at his best every game.

The play-by-play guys keep on talking about needing time for things to gel what with all of the personnel changes, but I'm honestly not seeing any progression on that front. At all. And the recent arrivals have been profoundly disappointing.

I honestly don't get the hype with Marc Gasol. At all. He's a big, slow, lumbering guy who sets solid pics, and he's "smart," as they keep on reminding us. Sure, he pokes the odd ball away from an offensive player, but on the whole his defense is lousy because of how slow he is, and he keeps on missing shots that Valanciunas makes. I think the trade for him backfired. I miss Valanciunas and Wright. They were better than Gasol and Jeremy Lin.

Been watching highlights and interviews with Valanciunas in Memphis, and it's never been clearer: he's one of those ineffable glue guys that make a team work. Toronto is going to miss him a lot.

[Denscity]

BC high school provincials wrapped up this past weekend with at least one game drawing 5000 people.

[suburbanite]

I think Gasol is miles better for this team and for the type of basketball that you need to win championships in today's league. He's no slower on defense than JV was, but his iq is way better and he's more often in the right position to not get burned.

You pass JV the ball in the low post and he has complete tunnel vision where the only thing he knows how to do is back down the defender and go for the basket. Gasol hasn't made his shots, but his passing ability from the post is the biggest breath of fresh air after watching the team of the last 5 years. Playoff success now rides so much on your ability to create and make your 3 point shots. How many times did the Raps get destroyed by fringe players like Channing Frye or Richard Jefferson who made their open threes because JV had no ability to shift to the perimeter?

My worry is that Danny Green is the only player on the team to have consistently hit his 3's all year. It's a make or break league and the Raps have shown they can go on extended cold stretches. It doesn't matter how much the offense is clicking when they don't hit the open shots they create. Houston was on the verge of handing Golden State their first non-finals loss in 4 years before going 0-27 from the 3 point line. The Bucks are loaded with consistent shooters now and I haven't seen much to give me confidence we can match that.

[samne]

Marc Gasol's career is the ceiling we thought JV can reach.

JV was the last piece that needed to move to turn the page from previous Raps teams.

That said JV is an amazing team guy. Miss him around.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

I think Gasol is miles better for this team and for the type of basketball that you need to win championships in today's league. He's no slower on defense than JV was, but his iq is way better and he's more often in the right position to not get burned.

I haven't seen that so far, though. And no slower than JV? Opposing players are walking around Gasol, he's so slow. And he doesn't block shots, either, so opposing players are coming into the paint with impunity now. Was he faster when he was younger?

Originally Posted by suburbanite

How many times did the Raps get destroyed by fringe players like Channing Frye or Richard Jefferson who made their open threes because JV had no ability to shift to the perimeter?

But Valanciunas is a lot faster than Gasol is. Valanciunas was improving by leaps and bounds against the pic and roll, too. Gasol isn't threatening anyone on the perimeter.

Originally Posted by suburbanite

My worry is that Danny Green is the only player on the team to have consistently hit his 3's all year. It's a make or break league and the Raps have shown they can go on extended cold stretches. It doesn't matter how much the offense is clicking when they don't hit the open shots they create.

Yep, Danny has really been the only dependable 3-point shooter the team has. Everyone else goes hot and cold. Unless something changes, or unless I'm totally not seeing something, I can't see Toronto getting past the second round this year.

Well, that is unless Kawhi turns in an MVP-calibre performance in the postseason, and Lowry does something he's never done before, which is to play well in every game.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by samne

Dont think its so much an American stamp of approval if a U Sports winner gets NCAA spot.

More curious how they would do against top colleges in a meaningful tournament.

Actual rooting interest in a team.

Attract more nba or european club scouts for

Team would be way more competitive than lesser small US colleges.

Canadian basketball fans have no respect for Carleton basketball. The only way they'd give it the time of day is if Americans deem it worthy of inclusion or worth playing against. I'm not sure how else to see it other than 'an American stamp of approval'. They're just not going to give it a look unless Americans do.

I think Carleton could make it to the round of 16 at the NCAA tournament but they could just as easily bow out in the first round. Carleton can't get fans out to watch Carleton at the Final 8 when its in Ottawa. That said, given an American stamp of approval (inclusion in the NCAA tournament) their fan base would likely increase 10 fold.

Canadians famously don't recognize excellence unless foreigner recognize it first. This is no different.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Denscity

BC high school provincials wrapped up this past weekend with at least one game drawing 5000 people.

BC high school basketball gets the largest crowds in the country. They're the basketball version of NB high school football. Do they broadcast BC provincial championships? In NS they don't so I grew up watching the Maine state championships instead.

[jammer139]

Montreal had a NBLC team called the Jazz 8 years ago and they folded due to lack of support. Could have been the ownership like the Ottawa NBLC team thou. The London Lightning have been the poster franchise for the NBLC and have drawn over 8,000 fans to the Budweiser Gardens in the past.

Last year the London Lightning beat the Raptors 905 G-League team in an exhibition game.

Halifax Hurricanes have been a top team in the NBLC in terms of attendance as well.



http://nblcanada.ca/landing/index

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by jammer139

Montreal had a NBLC team called the Jazz 8 years ago and they folded due to lack of support. Could have been the ownership like the Ottawa NBLC team thou. The London Lightning have been the poster franchise for the NBLC and have drawn over 8,000 fans to the Budweiser Gardens in the past.

Last year the London Lightning beat the Raptors 905 G-League team in an exhibition game.

Halifax Hurricanes have been a top team in the NBLC in terms of attendance as well.



http://nblcanada.ca/landing/index

Yes London and Halifax seem to be the strongest franchises. Regarding Montreal, they're not going to support professional basketball unless its the NBA.

[isaidso]

In other basketball news:

- World Cup draw goes live in 6 hours 44 minutes: http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019/draw
- Nembhart sinks last second 3 pointer to lead Florida past #1 LSU at the SEC tournament.


Courtesy of Andy Lyons/Getty Images


https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...up-group-draw/

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Canadian basketball fans have no respect for Carleton basketball. The only way they'd give it the time of day is if Americans deem it worthy of inclusion or worth playing against. I'm not sure how else to see it other than 'an American stamp of approval'. They're just not going to give it a look unless Americans do.

I think Carleton could make it to the round of 16 at the NCAA tournament but they could just as easily bow out in the first round. Carleton can't get fans out to watch Carleton at the Final 8 when its in Ottawa. That said, given an American stamp of approval (inclusion in the NCAA tournament) their fan base would likely increase 10 fold.

Canadians famously don't recognize excellence unless foreigner recognize it first. This is no different.

Wow, seriously top Canadian college basketball teams barely hold their own against NCAA division 3 US schools!

[SaskScraper]

^^ so true, there is just so much depth in NCAA basketball in American.

It is good to see at least some Canadian content in 2019 March Madness though...




• Video Link

Last weekend, Bradley Braves #22 Ja'shon Henry from Saskatoon locked in his college's automatic qualification for March Madness Tournament with Missouri Valley Conference biggest come back in division title history.


https://youtu.be/M9z3S_Lfpis?t=3m40s
Published on Mar 11, 2019
all rights belong to CBS Sports

[isaidso]

The 2019 FIBA World Cup draw was decided this morning. Group H is insane with 3 teams strong enough to make the final. A few of the other groups are miles easier. :ohno:

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Wow, seriously top Canadian college basketball teams barely hold their own against NCAA division 3 US schools!

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

^^ so true, there is just so much depth in NCAA basketball in American.

U Sports teams play NCAA Division 1 teams every year. They win about 20% of those games. In 2018 Carleton beat 5 of the 6 NCAA Division 1 schools they faced and they weren't the only Canadian school to post wins.

Basketball folk acknowledge the high talent level in U Sports basketball and comment that a few of the top teams wouldn't look out of place in the NCAA tournament. What they think has a ton more weight than your perceptions. You guys have no idea what you're talking about. Just a sampling of some of the wins over the last few years:


Carleton 86, Cincinnati 67
Queen's 93, South Carolina State 88 (OT)
Laval 93, South Carolina State 84
Concordia 80, South Carolina State 72
Carleton 81, Ole Miss 63
Carleton 113, South Dakota State 51

And there have been some close losses. The most notable occurring in 2006 when Louisville scored a basket with 1.2 seconds left to edge Carleton 67-66.


http://usportshoops.ca/history/cisncaaseassum.php

[isaidso]

Some more wins in the past 2-3 years:


Carleton 100 Wichita State 75
Toronto 80 UNLV 79
Carleton 84 Alabama 71
McGill 85 Kent State 79
McGill 66 UTEP 54
Carleton 77 Valparaiso 59
Carleton 79 Baylor 73
Ottawa 109 Indiana 101
Carleton 92 Memphis 60
Ottawa 90 TCU 74
Carleton 95 Wisconsin 82
Alberta 86 Arkansas State 78
McGill 74 Siena 72
McGill 88 Virginia 83

Go look for yourself.


http://usportshoops.ca/history/cisnc...Season=2018-19

[king10]

Tough draw for Canada. Their ranking really put them in a tough spot. They won their qualifying group but it didnt help with their ranking much since its based on an 8 year cycle and overweights major tournaments.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by king10

Tough draw for Canada. Their ranking really put them in a tough spot. They won their qualifying group but it didnt help with their ranking much since its based on an 8 year cycle and overweights major tournaments.

Group H, is by far, the toughest. I was thinking the same thing as you regarding the ranking. It came back to bite us in the ass. Look at the relatively easy groups that Venezuela and Brazil drew. Not making it out of the group stage would be a terrible blow as it would likely mean no appearance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as well.

The wildcard to the 2014 WC was given to Finland over Canada due to a sponsorship agreement with a Finnish company. That was followed up by a 1 point semi-final upset loss to Venezuela at the 2015 FIBA Americas championship, a team Canada crushed just a few days before. That took us out of the 2016 Rio Olympics. Now we have the distinct possibility of bowing out of the WC in the first round and not making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The road back to the international stage was always going to be long and difficult but we've also had unbelievably bad luck so far. At the end of the day we have to win. Canada will just have to muscle its way through. Our first game against Australia, I'll barely be able to watch. It's a must win.