Hoops homecoming
Jay Triano will chair Under-18 Americas championships taking place in St. Catharines
A man whose name has become synonymous with Canadian basketball on the world stage will enjoy a hoops homecoming next June when St. Catharines hosts a top international tournament.
As chairman of the FIBA Under-18 Men’s Americas Championships 2018, Jay Triano will oversee an competition that will showcase up-and-coming players from Canada, as well as seven teams from the Western Hemisphere.
Set to run June 10 to 16, with all action taking place at Meridian Centre, the tournament is a qualifier for the FIBA Under-19 Men’s Basketball World Cup 2018.
It also marks the first time that Canada has hosted the Americas under-18 championships.
Canada Basketball and the Niagara Sport Commisson announced the selection of former Toronto Raptors head coach and current Phoenix Suns associate coach as the event’s champion in a joint news release Friday.
“We’re thrilled to have Jay as chair of the FIBA U18 Americas,” said Michele O’Keefe, president and chief executive officer of Canada Basketball. “We know he will bring his immense dedication and passion for basketball, this country and Niagara region to this role and help make this tournament a success.”
O’Keefe, a Welland native who like Triano played high school hoops in the region before going on to compete at the university level, wasn’t alone in praising the decision to tap Triano for the role. Niagara Sport Commission chairman Henry D’Angela likewise applauded the choice.
“With Jay’s basketball roots being in Niagara Falls, and his long list of impressive accomplishments in the sport that includes currently serving as the head coach of Canada Basketball’s senior men’s team, he is the perfect choice for this basketball event that will be held in Canada for the very first time.”
“I’m honoured to help bring this exciting international basketball event to Niagara,” Triano said. “I’m extremely proud of our region’s rich basketball history and of the talent Canada continues to produce.”
Triano, 58, was born in Tillsonburg, Ont., and grew up in Niagara Falls. He set or equalled 11 basketball records at Simon Fraser University after graduating from A.N. Myer Secondary School.
I’m extremely proud of our region’s rich basketball history and of the talent Canada continues to produce.” Jay Triano
A multi-sport athlete, Triano was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the eighth round of the 1981 NBA Draft and by the Calgary Stampeders in the sixth round of the Canadian Football League Draft, also in 1981.
He never played in the NBA but was a member of the Canadian national men’s from 1977 until 1988, seeing action in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul.
Triano’s coaching career dates back to 1988 when he began a seven-year stint as head coach of the men’s team at Simon Fraser. After six years coaching the national team, he joined the Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach in 2002 taking over as the team’s head coach six years later.
Triano, the first Canadian-born head coach in NBA history, guided Toronto to an 87-142 record in nearly three seasons as the Raptors bench boss.
He joined the Suns as associate head coach at the start of the 2016-17 season after four years as an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Triano is a member of the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.
Canada’s youth men are currently ranked third in the world and second in the Americas. Players born Jan. 1, 2000 or later will be eligible to compete in the under-18 championships next June in St. Catharines.