Aussies, Canadians have lot in common
CANADA Commonwealth Games coach Kirby Schepp can see many similarities between his and the Australian Boomers’ basketball programs.
Canada and Australia have seen their respective number of athletes in the NBA rise over the last decade, helping grow the game at a grassroots level in both nations.
Just as Australia are without stars like Aron Baynes and Patty Mills, Canada travel to Cairns without their biggest names, including experienced NBA players Kelly Olynyk, Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson and Jamal Murray.
Schepp, who will be making his head coaching debut for Canada at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, can see growth in his squad in Cairns because of the NBA talent the country has produced recently.
“We have brought a nextgeneration group of guys who will hope to play in FIBA qualifiers, mostly made up of Canadian college players,” Schepp said.
“Culturally, we can see the rise of international basketball, and Canada and Australia are the two prime examples.
“We have got more NBA guys now, as do Australia.
“It has been a by-product and just the buzz of the sport overall, and that can only help us at every single level of the game.”
Schepp, who has spent the past eight summers representing his country on a variety of teams, said the hosts would be the team to beat over the next few weeks.