Joseph taking a pass
Canada’s cohesion grows, as source says NBA guard isn’t coming
There is a large measure of confidence and togetherness growing on the Canadian basketball team as it prepares for the World Cup.
And that’s good because what they have now appears to be what they’ll take to China next week.
According to an NBA source, veteran guard Cory Joseph is going to take a pass on Canada’s first World Cup appearance since 2010, leaving the national team woefully short of backcourt experience. The source was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the roster.
Joseph, who turned 28 Tuesday, played in Canada’s two domestic exhibition games against Nigeria but did not travel to Australia, where Canada continued its preparation by crushing New Zealand 122-88 on Tuesday.
Team officials say they still hold out hope that the Sacramento Kings guard would rejoin the team and have not had any final word on his decision. But with fewer than two weeks until the World Cup begins and with no time for Joseph to play more than one more game with Canada, the team will have to settle on its roster at some point and build from there.
Canada general manager Rowan Barrett said earlier that the team would not allow players to avoid much of the summer schedule and join the team at the last minute, so it would be interesting see how officials would explain a lastminute arrival, in the unlikely event it occurs.
Joseph’s withdrawal would be another shot to a roster that has somehow come together under coach Nick Nurse and surpassed early expectations in its exhibition series. The guard’s departure leaves just one NBA player on the team — Orlando’s Khem Birch — but Canada has somehow morphed into a cohesive unit in a very short time. The team has played hard every game, has shared the ball on offence and has been aggressive on defence.
It is a group of players that wants to wear the Canadian jersey and did not have to be talked into spending six weeks together.
“It’s the best feeling,” said Aaron Best, who led Canada with 20 points Tuesday. “Any time you play sports, the highest honour is to represent your country.”
Joseph’s loss will be a blow but perhaps not as a big one as it could have been thanks to the stellar backcourt play of Kevin Pangos and Andrew Nembhard in the exhibition games. The two combined for 27 points and 10 assists against New Zealand.
Before the team even left for Winnipeg and its first road game, Nurse said he was cautiously optimistic that Canada would have enough shooting and enough roster maturity to put things together as quickly as was necessary.
Canada made 16 of 36 threepoint attempts in Tuesday’s win, seven of those while jumping out to a 35-12 lead after one quarter. The Canadians have been drilled to move the ball and find the open shooter and play with a vitally important unselfishness. Without a roster that is star-dominated — and Joseph would have been the most accomplished player on the team — Canada has to be greater than the sum of its parts.
“I think the team’s been meshing really well these last couple of weeks, I think we’re just bringing it all together,” Nembhard said after the game.
“Just sticking to the process (knowing) we have to get better every day. We’re just working on us.”
The win came with a cost. Guard Kaza Kajami-Keane took a misstep and crumpled to the court in the first half with what appeared to be a painful ankle injury. He did not return.
Canada also played without Brady Heslip but team officials are still expecting the veteran shooter to rejoin the team before the Australian tour ends. Kyle Wiltjer also had Tuesday off.
Best led the balanced Canadian attack, with Nembhard adding 17 points and Oshae Brissett 16. Everyone who played scored at least four points and no one played more than Nembhard’s 28 minutes.
“It was a great team effort,” Best said. “Guys are sharing the ball, we’re getting up and down and getting after it on defence.”
Canada plays New Zealand again Wednesday and finishes its World Cup preparation with a game Monday against the United States.
“We can always get better, there’s always things we can clean up,” Best said. “We’re going to go back, watch the film, we’re gonna touch up on those things and come back and get at it.”
Canada’s first-round World Cup group includes Australia, Lithuania and Senegal and they will need at least two wins to have a chance at moving to the second round.