Vikes coach Beaucamp to lead Canadian U-16 team
It’s no secret hoops is hip across Canada, with Canadians now liberally sprinkled around the NBA.
University of Victoria Vikes men’s head coach, Craig Beaucamp, will be in on the ground floor of developing that talent as the newly-named head coach of the Canadian U-16 boys’ team.
Camp opened Friday in Toronto with Beaucamp conducting a 120-player identification process. That will eventually be whittled to the 12 players who will travel to Argentina for the 2017 FIBA U-16 Championship of the Americas from June 14-18. Canada’s youth team is ranked No. 3 in the world behind the U.S. and Lithuania.
“It’s an exciting time to be in Canadian basketball because there is a ton of talent,” said Beaucamp, from Toronto, as he prepared for camp.
“Every age group in this country has a ton of potential.”
Beaucamp is in charge of the entry level, where much of the formative development occurs.
“[U-16] is the first international step for these players,” he noted.
Much has been made of the West to East shift of hoops in this country. It used to be the likes of Gerald Kazanowski, Howard Kelsey and Karl Tilleman coming out of Nanaimo, Vancouver and Calgary to lead Canada. Even top eastern high school players, such as Eli Pasquale and Jay Triano, migrated to play at the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser, respectively, in the 1980s en route to two Olympic Games. That is what greatly influenced former two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of Victoria.
But now, save for Kamloops’ Kelly Olynyk who plays for the Boston Celtics, most of the Canadian basketball talent is coming out of the Greater Toronto Area.
“The vast majority of the players who [will make the U-16 team for the FIBA Americas] are from the GTA,” said Beaucamp.
“That’s the reality.”
Beaucamp, who has guided the Vikes for 14 seasons, is no stranger to Basketball Canada programs. He was an assistant coach with the U-18 national team in 2006, 2007 and 2016 and with the Canadian team to the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Beaucamp was also a guest coach with the men’s senior national team from 2013 to 2016.
“It’s always an honour to coach Canada,” said Beaucamp, 211-88 all-time at UVic in Canada West regular season and five-time conference coach of the year with two Canada West championships and three consecutive appearances in the U Sports Final 8 from 2012-13 to 2014-15.