CIS players prove they belong on world stage

Basketball’s chattering classes seemed almost apoplectic at the recent selection of two players, who toiled in Canadian university ranks, to the senior men’s national team.

Even TSN commentators suggested the selections smacked of nepotism, as the two players in question — Philip Scrubb and Aaron Doornekamp — played for national team assistant coach Dave Smart’s Carleton Ravens.

But the high level of play demonstrated by the pair at the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Mexico City has silenced the grumbling, and even has some skeptics acknowledging that Canadian Interuniversity Sport basketball has, as the adage goes, come a long way, baby.

Scrubb has been revelation to all but those who closely follow CIS basketball, many of whom believe the creative point guard and threetime winner of the Moser Trophy as the national player of the year is the finest to have ever played in CIS ranks. There’s been nary a drop-off when he’s subbed in for Toronto Raptor playmaker Cory Joseph. Scrubb has run the offence with aplomb, protected the ball, created easy scoring opportunities for his teammates and generally shutdown the opponent’s point guard, including Puerto Rican bullet José Barea Mora.

Doornekamp, meanwhile, has rebounded with ferocity and continues to be a defender par excellence. For basketball purists, he’s an utter marvel, as he’s often asked to defend players from positions 2-5, from shooting guard to post, and does so with considerable savvy. He’ll also play the role of team enforcer, or as TSN commentator and ex-national coach Leo Rautins noted in one telecast, he’ll tug a jersey here, or deliver an elbow to the throat there.

“You do what you gotta do,” Doornekamp said in a telephone interview from Mexico City.

“You try to help the team in any way you can ... And some years, when things aren’t going well, you go in and try and knock it up a bit.”

The pair shrug off the notions that they aren’t deserving of national team status because they played CIS ball, and aren’t from Toronto, which now views itself as not only the centre of the universe, but the centre of the basketball universe.

Both say that by staying to play in Canada, they received a level of coaching from Smart and assistants Rob Smart, Dean Petridis et al., on par, or better, than that within NCAA ranks. By contrast, Doornekamp notes many a Canadian player who went south on a scholarship, “got lost in the shuffle,” and never developed his game.

“Carleton is a pretty high-level program,” says Scrubb, who recently inked a professional contract with the Greek club AEK Athens after a stint in the NBA’s summer development league.

“It kind of speaks for itself ... And Dave is really great at developing guys. And depending what your goals are, if you want to be a pro, he really does a good job of preparing you for that. And other teams in Canada have started emulating that and I think, it’s kind of raised the whole level of play.”

The only response to those who believe playing CIS ball is a liability is “just go out and prove them wrong,” he adds.

There’s always going to be criticism about selections, notes Doornekamp, now the elder statesman on the national team, having suited up for Canada’s seniors since 2007.

“You try not to pay much attention to that. I’ve been around for some time, so I must be doing something right.”

Scrubb, playing in his first major international competition for the senior team, says the physicality of opponents has been an eye-opener. “Along with the skill level of the guys. And the speed is a bit faster.”

FIBA rules allow players “to be a lot more physical. You’re allowed to use your hands more. That takes some getting used to,” says Doornekamp, who won the Moser in 2008 and who’s played in Europe for the past five years, most recently for the Skyliners Frankfurt in Germany ’s Basketball Bundesliga.

Smart says Scrubb and Doornekamp’s success with the national team is a function of the fact that “their work ethic is off the charts. ... It’s a little unfair to say that Phil and Aaron aren’t good enough to play at this level because they played CIS. They’ve played multiple games at a high level, whether it’s the national level or against NCAA Division I teams and they’ve dominated those games.”

“Phil takes care of the ball,” says Smart, who’s in charge the national team’s defence. “He distributes the ball very well with this group and he spaces the floor, because he shoots the ball so well. And defensively, he just doesn’t make mistakes.”

As for Doornekamp, “it’s hard to duplicate his effort,” Smart says. “On the perimeter, in multiple positions, and a little bit at the 4 (power forward spot), he can defend. And he causes havoc and he stays within what we’re trying to do and makes very few mistakes within the team concept. Offensively, he moves the ball extremely well. And he rebounds.”

“Aaron is always going to compete,” Smart adds.

“He’s never going to allow himself or his teammates to be bullied. It’s part of competitive sport. People try to bully and Aaron’s not someone you can bully. In fact, sometimes he can be the bully. It’s all part of his competitive instincts.”

Carleton is a pretty high-level program. And Dave (Smart) is really great at developing guys.

PHILIP SCRUBB