NORTHERN EXPOSURE
NBA big man in town for date with Dominican Republic always answers call of the north
Kelly Olynyk (no surprise) and the Canadian national team hope to take pursuit of a World Cup berth to another level when they host the Dominicans at Ricoh Coliseum tonight.
There can be no questioning Kelly Olynyk’s dedication to Canada’s basketball program — “I love the game of basketball, I love my country, simple as that,” he says — and he suits up every summer if it’s at all possible.
But it goes far beyond just wanting to play when one considers Olynyk finds a way to travel to watch his country play even if he can’t get into a game.
That was what it was like last February when the Toronto-born, Kamloops, B.C.-bred Miami Heat forward took a couple of days of downtime to head over to the Bahamas to watch the Canadian senior men’s team in the second qualification window on the journey to the 2019 World Cup in China.
He couldn’t play — it was the middle of the NBA season, with some off-days for the all-star break — and he could have vacationed anywhere in the world, but decided to watch his country’s squad play.
“I think some of his best friends are guys that play on this team, and I think wanting to do something and accept the challenge with those guys is a big thing,” Canadian coach Jay Triano said Friday.
Olynyk, who made his senior team debut with Canada at the 2010 world championship in Turkey, is seen as a key component of the lineup that will face the Dominican Republic on Friday at Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum before playing U.S. Virgin Islands in Ottawa on Monday afternoon to wind up the first round of qualification games.
Even though Canada is already assured of advancing, wins are vital heading into the second round that begins this fall. And the 27-year-old, seven-foot Olynyk has the size, long-range shooting and ball-handling skills to play a vital role.
He’s also got a wealth of experience as the longest serving member of the team after making his debut as a teenager with a Canadian squad that went winless in five first-round games in Turkey.
But that team bears little resemblance, talent-wise, to the one Triano will trot out Friday night.
The coach has five NBAers — Olynyk, Indiana’s Cory Joseph, Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks, Dillon Brooks of the Memphis Grizzlies and Khem Birch of Orlando — to choose from. That’s in addition to international standouts Brady Heslip (who spent last year in Turkey), Russia’s Melvin Ejim and Germany’s Phi Scrubb, along with teenage collegians R.J. Barrett and Andrew Nembhard. Tommy Scrubb (who played last year in Italy) and former NBAer and G-Leaguer Anthony Bennett round out the roster.
It’s a further example of how the depth of talent has grown during Olynyk’s in- ternational career.
“The thing about that (2010) group is that they wanted the young guys to succeed, and I think that’s something they passed along to us. And for me especially, now we’ve got young guys like (teenagers) R.J. (Barrett) and Andrew (Hembhard) in here and you want them to be the best they can be and you always want them to succeed,” Olynyk said. “There’s ... no jealousy. It’s just all about wanting everyone in this country to succeed. That’s the biggest thing, and you can see that here.”
Triano even held out the possibility that he could make moves in the two days between games.
“I think that’s one of the benefits of having a pool of players is, we could change the lineup going into Monday’s game in Ottawa as well,” the coach said. “We’ll name 12 … that we think will help beat this (Dominican Republic) team. But that doesn’t mean you’re not part of the Canadian national team or possibly playing on Monday. This is all about a program win, not an individual win or just a team win.”