From iffy to a total buy-in

Cruise to 5-1 record attests to Canadian depth and team culture

Cory Joseph is as passionate and committed a Canadian basketball player as arguably has ever existed. He unfailingly answers his country’s call and cares deeply about wearing the maple leaf on his chest.

But to use a phrase he used himself on Friday night, he also knows about the “what ifs” that have plagued the senior men’s team for more than a decade because he’s lived through them and been stung by them, been disappointed by them. What if this guy had played? What if the schedule had broken this way?

What if they had a chance to play in familiar surroundings?

What if the depth of talent was fully available to the selection committee?

What if chemistry worked from the get-go and there were no agendas at play?

What if. What if. What if.

But now maybe now it’s different, maybe now those “what ifs” will not carry a disappointing connotation, they won’t refer to who doesn’t want to play or whatever most recent defeat gnaws at the players.

Maybe now that groundswell of good feeling, the depth of talent across leagues in North America and Europe will change “what if” into “we can.”

After almost a decade of disappointment, it’s refreshing.

“We’ve got to turn that what if to making it happen,” said Joseph, one of the long-time leaders of the national team program. “There have been a lot of what ifs for a lot of years now.”

Now, after Canada rolled to a 5-1 first-round record in World Cup qualifying that stands them in good stead of making it back to the global stage for the first time since 2010, there does seem to be a new attitude — and a new reality — around the program.

They have won with three different rosters and three different coaches in three different windows, each time triumphing easily.

The group they trotted out for weekend wins — 99-69 against U.S. Virgin Islands on Monday in Ottawa, 97-61against Dominican Republic in Toronto on Friday — was as good a team as Canada has ever dressed, a combination of NBAers, European stars and up-and-coming teenagers. There really were no worries about who didn’t play or wouldn’t play and it was refreshing.

“We wouldn’t be here without all the hard time that led up to this point … (but) basketball in this country is still on the rise,” Kelly Olynyk said. “We’re turning out products every single year. There was a time when we had a few NBA guys get drafted and a few great guys come through Canada but now were putting out products every single year. It’s very special to see and very special to be a part of.”

The job is not done and the common goal that’s emerged since the first qualification window opened in Halifax in No- vember has to remain. Facing two games in September, two in November and two in February in the second and final direct qualification round (sites and opponents are to be determined) Canada will need continued buy-in from all levels of player to make it.

As there were in the just completed six-game series, there will be players who are asked to play one game, maybe two perhaps three, and then cede roster spots to others. If they make the World Cup in China there’s every chance there will be 20 or even 25 players who played a role in getting them there who won’t be on the roster.

But somehow, some way, the players have bought in and we’ve seen it since November. They see the bigger picture, the chance to at least make Canada relevant on the world stage and personal agendas be damned and it’s what has to continue in the next eight months.

“There’s a lot of talent here,” said after his 11-point, six-rebound, six-assist game against U.S. Virgin Islands. “We’ve just got to put it together.”