TRYING TO GET TO NEXT LEVEL
Hurdles await for local hoop stars
On the Monday after the Carleton Ravens won another national championship, Thomas Scrubb completed a course assignment that was due the next day.
Before he starts putting his MBA to good use, though, Scrubb wants a shot at professional basketball. The only question is where, just as it's a question for Johnny Berhanemeskel of the University of Ottawa Gee- Gees and particularly so for Scrubb's younger brother, Philip.
Their resumés sparkle. With the Ravens, the Scrubbs won five Canadian Interuniversity Sport titles while Thomas was twice named top defensive player and Philip is the only three-time winner of the player of the year award. Berhanemeskel received that same honour for his final season, when he became just the third Ontario university basketball player to reach 2,000 career points.
“I want to play, that's for sure,” Philip Scrubb says. “I don't know exactly where. It's tough to know now since we haven't talked to anyone. Obviously I want to play in the highest league I can, so, if it means NBA or Europe or whatever, I guess the best league I can play in is where I would like to play.”
The mere mention of “NBA” will start some eyes rolling and heads shaking given that 32 seasons have passed since former Lakehead University centre Jim Zoet became the last CIS alumnus to play in that league and 20 drafts have been conducted since St. Mary's' Will Njoku was selected in the second round by the Detroit Pistons. All of the dozen or so Canadians in the NBA this season came through U.S. college programs.
Even so, Philip Scrubb held his own as the Ravens went 15-17 against U.S. opponents in nonconference games over the past five years.
“I have talked with multiple (NBA) teams about their interest in him playing on their summerleague team,” Ravens head coach Dave Smart says. “I wouldn't say it's going to be pick-and-choose by any means, but there's enough interest that he's going to find a roster.”
To warrant even a free-agent contract offer, Scrubb would have to perform well during a “tryout” during the summer league, said Smart, who is also an assistant to national team head coach Jay Triano. He added that Scrubb could certainly play in the affiliated NBA D-League, but that may not be a great option “unless the NBA team has plans of bringing you up as soon as possible.”
Leo Rautins, a TV analyst for Toronto Raptors games and former NBA player, agrees the 6-3 guard from Richmond, B.C., could be invited to summer league or training camp, but doesn't expect him to make a roster.
“A lot of guys who are stars or key players in small-college situations struggle when they don't have the ball in their hands as much,” Rautins says.
Triano is also an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers, so NBA rules prohibit him from
They’ve played against NBA type players, and they have represented Canada extremely well.
commenting on where drafteligible players might go, but he gives the Scrubbs credit for their efforts with the national team.
They've received great coaching at Carleton, Triano says, “but they also have the experience of playing internationally themselves. They have seen some of the top players in the world, played against some of the top players in the world, who are in a lot of cases NBA players.
“We played Slovenia, who had Goran Dragic (of the Miami Heat) on their team, and we played Serbia, who had (Phoenix Suns firstround pick Bogdan) Bogdanovic. They've played against NBA-type players, and they have represented Canada extremely well.”
Triano says the Scrubbs should be part of the national program for years to come and are among four or five current or past CIS players in a pool of 25-30 athletes under consideration for the Canadian basketball team for this summer's Pan Am Games. That number is fairly large because contract situations and summer league commitments may make some NBA players unavailable.
There are more pro basketball leagues in the world than just the NBA or NBA D-League, of course, which is where the fact Lloyd Scrubb was born in Britain could benefit his sons: Philip and Thomas have dual citizenship and wouldn't be subject to the import restrictions of European leagues.
“That helps,” says Thomas, a 6-6 forward who turns 24 in April. “We won't be up against all the other Americans and other Canadian guys.”
Berhanemeskel's ancestry is African, but the 6-2 shooting guard's passport reads “Canadian,” so he would be subject to those import rules.
“Several agencies have messaged me during the year and wanted to talk to me about my future, and I kind of just pushed it away until the end of the season,” says Berhanemeskel, whose Gee-Gees lost the past two CIS finals to the Ravens. “Now that the season is done, we're going to get into things and start dealing with that. I'm hoping that (the Moser award) will help the resumé a little bit.”
Over the past decade or so, several ex-Ravens and a smaller number of former Gee-Gees have played pro basketball in Europe and elsewhere. Smart says the key is what each player brings to the table in style of play and “fit”.
“Tommy has been that 'do everything' guy for us for six years, and both of them have been with the national program and have shown they can help a team in a number of ways,” Smart says. “I think they're both set up to be successful pros right away.”
Rowan Barrett, Canada Basketball's executive vice-president and assistant general manager of the senior men's national team, says Philip Scrubb has the skill, basketball IQ, competitive instinct and physical length NBA teams seek in point guards, but he'd have to prove his worth in summer league and pre-draft workouts.
Barrett describes Thomas Scrubb as “a late bloomer” who will find work in professional basketball.
“As with Phil,” Barrett says, "you just do not want to limit players like that and tell them they can't play in the NBA or tell them they're going to have to play in Europe.
“Everything is possible.”