CanadianSoccerFan Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 If you thought Kevan Pipe was bad then you should check out the fools running Basketball Canada. Just fired one of the best Canadian coaches ever..... and now the players have vowed not to return. Most notably Steve Nash. Here's a recent article on Nash's disgust. Nash in flagrantly foul mood on Triano firing DAVE FESCHUK CLEVELAND—In their search for a new coach, the folks who run Canada's national men's basketball team have been calling Steve Nash for advice. Nash, the finest player ever to don the maple leaf, says he knows the perfect candidate — which is why he's too angry to return Canada Basketball's many calls. "My input is, `Hire Jay,'" said Nash, laughing a frustrated laugh. Jay, of course — Jay Triano — was fired from the job last month after a six-year run at the helm. The brain trust said Triano, who's in his third year as an assistant coach with the Raptors, wasn't sufficiently committed to the cause. Nash, who'd been publicly mum on the topic until he spoke Wednesday night, scoffed at the logic and suggested this country's basketball brain trust needs a brain transplant. "They questioned his commitment? That's bulls---," said Nash. "(Triano's firing) is asinine. It's horrendous ... I never say never, but I doubt if I'll ever play for Canada again." With those words, Nash shook his head and rubbed a towel against his freshly washed locks. It was late, nearly midnight, and he wasn't in great spirits to begin with. The Phoenix Suns, who signed Nash to a five-year, $66 million (U.S.) contract in the summer, had just blown a 19-point fourth-quarter lead to lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime. Nash had made a game-changing turnover down the stretch. And then, with his team still clinging to a chance at victory, Nash, the third most accurate free-throw shooter in NBA history at 89.2 per cent, had uncharacteristically missed two consecutive free throws. But in the post-game scrum with reporters Nash, who grew up in Victoria, had been calm, even blasé. There were 77 games left in the regular season. His Suns still owned a 4-1 win-loss record. And his coach was still lauding him as a big reason for a season-opening win streak in which they'd won four games by 20 points or more. But then, as the locker room cleared, someone mentioned the events of Oct. 19, when Triano, the only Canadian to ever populate an NBA coaching staff, was axed to make way for a yet-to-be-determined successor. Nash fumed. "I was very disappointed to say the least," said Nash. "I think they fired a guy that is as big as anybody in Canada's basketball history. Canada's been to three Olympics in the last 30 years and he's been to all three (two as a player, one as a coach). He's willing to coach our country. He's made sacrifices. Any talk to the contrary is bulls---. I think it was a really misguided decision and a shame." He laughed at Canada Basketball insiders who've been telling reporters that Triano was asking for too much money. "Did you know his first two years with the team he didn't get paid?" said Nash. "They were supposed to (pay) him on the back end. But, of course, they changed management three times and now they're saying he wants money. They owe him money." He addressed another criticism of Triano; that the coach could never convince Toronto's Jamaal Magloire, the New Orleans Hornets centre who's the only other Canadian on an NBA roster, to play for his country. "I don't think Jamaal was going to play regardless of who the coach was," said Nash. "I think if you ask Jamaal why he didn't play it was because of his contract situation." Nash shook his head and laughed, waving his hand in disgust. He said it's unlikely he'll play for Canada in next summer's world championship qualifier. It'll be the first off-season since his girlfriend, Alejandra Amarilla, gave birth to their twin daughters, Lourdes and Isabella, last month. He said his status with the national team, even when Triano was at the helm, was "up in the air." And now ... "Maybe when I cool down," he said, when asked if he planned on calling Canada Basketball to discuss the situation. "But I don't know what there is to say. The program has been a comedy of errors and given Jay so much grief over the years." The comedy, said Nash, featured policies that held back the men's program in the pursuit of a maddening brand of political correctness. Nash alluded to how the cash-strapped men's program was repeatedly offered expenses-paid entries into elite-level tournaments around the world, only to be forced to decline the invitations because the women's national team wasn't being afforded the same opportunities. "I'm all for equality, but this is retarded," said Nash. "If someone wanted to give the men's team a million dollars? Only if you give the women's team a million. I remember when we went to the Olympics (in 2000) ... I wanted to give all my teammates $3,000. But Canada Basketball said no, not unless you give it to the women. So we had to do it covertly." Nash shrugged. Somebody pointed out that without him on the roster it's hard to fathom Canada qualifying for the 2006 world championship. And once the 2008 Beijing Olympics are upon us, Nash will be 34, in his own words "getting on" for a point guard who throws his 6-foot-3 frame around a basketball court with a black belt's abandon. He threw a towel into the corner and pulled on a shirt and a leather jacket. And he pondered the prospect of having played his last game, both for a revered coach and for his country. "I'm getting older. I have two children now. So I can't say never but it'd be pretty difficult, especially with a new coach and starting all over," said. "We had a good thing going. The only failure we had was (losing to) Puerto Rico (in a make-or-break game for a spot in the Athens Olympics) last year. And for our team to make it to the semifinals (in the Olympic qualifying tournament) with the guys we took down? We should have never beat Brazil. We should have never almost beat Argentina in the early rounds. And we should have never beat Puerto Rico in the early rounds. And no offence to some of the guys on our team, but they had never played at that level before. "For us to get to that level, Jay overachieved as a coach, we overachieved as a team. It pisses me off. It pisses me off." 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DoyleG Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Give Don Horwood the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Similar problems to soccer with less guys playing at the top level and the guys that are they are getting older and looking to end their international careers. With thr young guys trying to start careers they're more likely to turn down NT requests as they're fighting for a contract and can be easily pressured by the management of the teams they've signed with. For some reason though Carl English is the one guy that stands out in my mind. I usually stay away from talking about individual players .....but man did he tick me off when he turned down Canada when he wasn't even drafted and then ended up in NBDL and GAWD knows where this year. Something about a kid who took all Canada had to give him to get to U Hawaii and then when he's turn came to repay his country he said NO!(wow that was pent up for awhile) I hope he gets a second chance to redeem himself. Oh, yeah coaches .....THANK-YOU Mr. Triano for your years of service and maybe this will be for the best so now you can concentrate on building your NBA career . You owe your country nothing. Also in the long term for the NT this maybe for the best as the old guard is retiring from international ball and a new coach will get to work with the new generation of players. Another late edit: I see Carl English is on the roster of the Florida Flame of the NBDL for 2004-05. Why doesn't he go to Europe or South America before he's another journeymen in the CBA ? The CBA will be there if that doesn't work out........unless his NBA dreams are being kept alive some how ? Odd isn't it how negative emotions almost always invoke a reaction quicker than positive ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 English has stated that Europe is not an option for him in the future. The funny thing is that the Raptors have had many chances to sign English but haven't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 English might be believing some hype about himself or something. Why he's passing up on Europe, which in many countries is better than playing in the NBDL both financially and for level of play, is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 I've always been surprised Canada was never a serious force in basketball. Being next door to a basketball superpower and having the sport as a major high school activity has not been translated into many players in the NCAA or NBA, and certainly not at the international level. Similar to soccer, I guess - if the fans aren't there to support a domestic pro league, it is hard to develop talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted November 14, 2004 Author Share Posted November 14, 2004 I remember reading an article after English was cut from the Sonics this fall and he's made some changes for the better. He fired that ridiculous Toronto based agent who filled his head with crap leading up to the draft and nudged him to avoid playing for Canada because the risk of injury was too high. English is now trying to get out of the NBDL and into Europe. The reason is the NBDL just introduced this ridiculous rule this year that 3-pointers do not count until the final 5 minutes of the game. That makes English next to useless in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 I have a question for you?? When was the last time a Canadian soccer MNT manager was fired and the firing elicited any passionate words of defense? I can't think of one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted November 15, 2004 Share Posted November 15, 2004 quote:Originally posted by ray I've always been surprised Canada was never a serious force in basketball. Being next door to a basketball superpower and having the sport as a major high school activity has not been translated into many players in the NCAA or NBA, and certainly not at the international level. Similar to soccer, I guess - if the fans aren't there to support a domestic pro league, it is hard to develop talent. The thing is that education still comes first for those in the NCAA. If they want to take a shot at a pro carrer seriously, they would likely move the stronger team in the NCAA. There is the fan support from what has happened with cities that had pro teams in the past. A national league can work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhat Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 The issue of the firing of Triano is a bit opposite to Yallop's situation, whereby Basketball Canada would not back the direction of its coach. Triano was deemed expendable as Basketball Canada assumed he was spending too much time with the Raptors. This is despite the fact that he brought Canada much success with the Sydney Olympics and the COPABA regional championships. Our team had overachieving players that played in Lebanon, and lower Euro clubs (except for Nash and MacCulloch and Magliore) and development was certainly evident. This is pretty much a case of an association that wanted success now rather than see a great development attain fruition. Jay Triano was Canada's best coach since Jack Donahue, and Nash's reaction confirms it. BTW, Canada is still in the top twenty in World Basketball. Even without a domestic league, and an almost impenetrable league across the border. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 quote:Originally posted by redhat The issue of the firing of Triano is a bit opposite to Yallop's situation, whereby Basketball Canada would not back the direction of its coach. Did Triano have any direction? quote:Originally posted by redhat Triano was deemed expendable as Basketball Canada assumed he was spending too much time with the Raptors. This is despite the fact that he brought Canada much success with the Sydney Olympics and the COPABA regional championships. Our team had overachieving players that played in Lebanon, and lower Euro clubs (except for Nash and MacCulloch and Magliore) and development was certainly evident. The case of basketball in the Americas is much like rugby. There's only a handfull of nations at the elite level and just a couple of world beaters. Canada's success won't be that easily repeated as countries have caught on. When you look at the NBAers, Nash and MacCulloch are the only one's that have supported the national program. quote:Originally posted by redhat This is pretty much a case of an association that wanted success now rather than see a great development attain fruition. Jay Triano was Canada's best coach since Jack Donahue, and Nash's reaction confirms it. Nash likely fears that the repalcement could be a CIS coach. quote:Originally posted by redhat BTW, Canada is still in the top twenty in World Basketball. Even without a domestic league, and an almost impenetrable league across the border. One could only take how far we can still go with a domestic league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhat Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 quote:Originally posted by DoyleG Did Triano have any direction? The case of basketball in the Americas is much like rugby. There's only a handfull of nations at the elite level and just a couple of world beaters. Canada's success won't be that easily repeated as countries have caught on. Nash likely fears that the repalcement could be a CIS coach. One could only take how far we can still go with a domestic league. Hey DoyleG, appreciate your responses. Jay Triano has a limited budget and has aimed to do 2 things: qualify through COPABA and make it to the Olympics. Considering his roster (only 1 player at 7'0 tall most of the time), the strength of Latin America and the USA, and the non-committal of certain players (Magliore, English, Rick Fox) it is amazing that Canada accomplished anything at all. Triano offered a team direction that's model for our junior national teams. As for the comparison to rugby, it really is a poor comparison. Basketball is more accepted and the quality of play and skill is getting better. Brazil, Argentina, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay can play against Euro powers like Spain, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania and Russia. China, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Greece, Germany, and France are certainly very competitive. Other than Canada, all these countries have domestic leagues and compete in World Championships and the Olympics. FIBA is closer to FIFA in terms of competitiveness in global terms. Because funding from Sport Canada is dependant on success records, the coach has the mandate to WIN. Unfortunately Triano's team missed the Athens Olympics, and now I fear it's a budget thing and Triano is let go. Nash's fears are well-founded. The records of CIS coaches like Kowalski, et. al. are not encouraging against international competition. They need a coach that KNOWS international play, and Triano (Olympic player for years) had that experience. We'll just have to wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I be curious as to what, if anything, Leo Rautins has said about this. Has anyone heard anything on this front. The one hting I didn't like about Triano, who I thought did an excellent job overall and deserves tobe kept around, was the wya he rolled over for the American in the last qualifying round. It turns out the yanks were ripe for the picking, but Triano declined to give it a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted November 17, 2004 Author Share Posted November 17, 2004 Triano indeed rolled over for the Yanks but it was the right move. They had to play 8 games in 8 days. If he went all out for the win and played Nash and the starters for 40 minutes they wouldn't have had a chance against Brazil the next day. The Brazil win turned out to be the key game that clinched third place and two realistic chances at Olympic Qualification. The Yanks at the 2003 qualifiers were not ripe for the picking as you may think. This wasn't the same squad of inexperienced rookies that got embarassed this summer. The 2003 team had Kidd, Mcgrady, Jermaine O'Neal, Ray Allen and the best of the NBA with the exception of Shaq and Kobe. It was actually a true Dream Team and they proved it by destroying Argentina by 50 in the finals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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