Cory Joseph joins Canada’s World Cup team in China
DONGGUAN, CHINA — Two NBA players. A couple of EuroLeague standouts. Five Canadian university grads.
Canada’s final roster for the FIBA World Cup looks nothing like what many people had predicted — and even more people dreamed about — only a few weeks ago.
But head coach Nick Nurse, who was tasked with assembling a roster that was slammed by big-name no-shows and hit by injuries, praised the dozen players he has in China.
Beginning Saturday, Nurse’s odds-and-ends roster will try to give Canada’s men’s basketball team its first Olympic berth since the 2000 Sydney Games.
“I’m gonna coach as hard as I can with this group, right? Maybe we had to work extremely hard, or a little harder, I don’t know,” Nurse said after Friday’s practice at Dongguang Basketball Centre.
“It seems like we’re putting a hell of an effort out to get these guys to play the best that they can, the guys are amazing.
“I’m super proud of them already, I was proud of them on Day 1 of training camp.
“They’ve played some cool basketball. I think that anybody that’s turned on and watched us would say ‘Man, those guys are all right,’ right? And maybe surprisingly so, because of the roster.
“So it’s all we can ask for, and it’s all we can do.”
There was both good and bad news for Canada on Thursday, with the arrival of Sacramento Kings guard Cory Joseph, and the loss of Oshae Brissett to injury.
After rumblings about Joseph potentially backing out of the World Cup, he rejoined the team in China after skipping a fivegame exhibition series in Australia.
“I have no idea where that (rumour) came from, there was no confusion on this end, me, coach, Rowan (Barrett, Canada Basketball’s general manager), everybody, we’ve talked from Day 1, from training camp about what was going to go down,” said Joseph, sporting a newly-shaved head.
Joseph and Orlando Magic forward Khem Birch are the only NBA players for No. 23 Canada, which tips off the tournament against 11th-ranked Australia.
Brissett was among the team’s leading scorers in Canada’s tuneup games, but returned home after injuring his leg against New Zealand last week.
“It was a tough one because he was playing outstanding, really fit that slot we needed, he was shooting just enough, he was driving a bit, he was rebounding like crazy, double-figure rebounds from the small forward spot, and was playing great defence — really a good solid piece to the puzzle,” said Nurse.
“Probably could have played and been OK, but just didn’t think it was the right thing to do, we sent him home to get rehabbed and 100 per cent and ready to go his next assignment.”
Nurse made a couple of roster moves ahead of Thursday’s deadline, releasing guards Aaron Best and Duane Notice.
With Canada’s mushrooming depth in the NBA, this summer was expected to see the country’s best basketball squad ever assembled. But numerous big names opted to skip the World Cup including Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins, R.J. Barrett, Tristan Thompson, Dwight Powell, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Miami Heat centre Kelly Olynyk reported for camp, but then injured his knee in Canada’s first exhibition game against Nigeria.
The Canadians play sixthranked Lithuania on Monday, then No. 33 Senegal on Sept. 5.