imported_n/a1394647443 Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 Building relationships Young players a priority for Rautins By ADAM WAZNY -- Winnipeg Sun http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Basketball/News/2005/04/28/1016676.html The numbers are there, it's just a matter of making them count. That's the message from Leo Rautins, the longtime NBA broadcaster with the Toronto Raptors who is now the head coach of the Canadian men's basketball team. Rautins was in Winnipeg yesterday to look at some local players, chat with a few coaches, and generate a buzz about basketball -- specifically the Canadian variety. "We have over 100 guys playing pro overseas and some of these guys are in the top leagues in the world," Rautins said. "At last count, there were 79 guys playing in the NCAA and I've encountered 20, 30 kids who are all going to great programs this fall. Our two NBA guys just happen to be all-stars, plus throw in some CIS all-stars. 'LOOKS PRETTY GOOD' "When you add it all up, it looks pretty good." Rautins is trying to erase the notion that Steve Nash (Phoenix) and Jamaal Magloire (New Orleans) are the only things happening in Canadian basketball and with the qualification tournament for the 2006 world championship coming up in August, he believes the time for excuses regarding Canada's poor showings over the past few years (failing to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, a 12th place finish at the 2002 world championship) is over. "If we ever got the 12 best guys in Canada playing at the same time, I'll play anybody tomorrow," a fired up Rautins said. "You schedule a game next week, give us our top 12 guys. That's where we need to get to. "We need to get everybody excited about the program so at some point in time, that can happen." Wrapping up a five-city, Western Canada tour to evaluate and identify talent for a variety of levels, Rautins is no stranger to the national team. The former NBA player replaced Jay Triano as head coach in February and holds the distinction of being the Canadian national team's youngest member when he made the squad as a 16-year-old in 1977. Treating his head coaching position like that of a college coach, he's out building relationships with young players now in hopes they won't forget about Canada when a world championship or Olympic qualifier shows up on the calendar. Rautins knows it's a challenge, but has one key marketing point in his back pocket. People, specifically scouts, watch the international game. "The reality is this: If you're a young player and you have aspirations to play professionally one day, the world stage is where it's at," he said. "There's no bigger stage. You look at what's happening in the NBA and the influx of international players who make an impact. "I want every Canadian kid to get excited about that." (Note: Ask Brad Parker and Carl English) Chris Dyck, 19, is buying what Rautins is selling. The second-year Manitoba Bisons guard was one of the few players hand-picked by the national program to work out for Rautins at Sisler High School last night. FLATTERING He wouldn't have to be asked twice about playing for his country. "That's something you always dream of," Dyck said. "When I got the call to participate in this, I was really excited. It's very flattering to even be mentioned or that Basketball Canada would even think of me. "If I ever got the opportunity to play for Canada, I would. No question about it." Erfan Nasajpour and Matt Opalko from the Winnipeg Wesmen; O'Neil Gordon and Mario Joseph from the Brandon Bobcats; Cyril Indome from J.H. Bruns; Adam Dobriansky of Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute; and Glenlawn Collegiate's Cam Hornby were also invited to the evaluation camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Man Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 So we tell soccer players that we have a decent basketball team? That if our best 12 basketball players ever got together we'd wouldn't lose that bad to the better basketball nations? Just to note. NCAA Basketball is a much better training ground than NCAA soccer. We'd get killed if we started a WC team whose backbone would be former NCAA players. We'd get killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadiansoccerrules Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 quote:Originally posted by G-Man So we tell soccer players that we have a decent basketball team? That if our best 12 basketball players ever got together we'd wouldn't lose that bad to the better basketball nations? Just to note. NCAA Basketball is a much better training ground than NCAA soccer. We'd get killed if we started a WC team whose backbone would be former NCAA players. We'd get killed. And we're not being killed by Concacaf countries at the moment?[)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_n/a1394647443 Posted April 28, 2005 Author Share Posted April 28, 2005 That was a good choice of smilie beast, you and G-man are a couple of clowns. Beast, just wondering how you feel about the NCAA considering at BigSoccer you put July 4th, 1976 as your birthday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanKeay Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 OH SNAP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew W Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 This is the lineup the US used against Guatemala. USA: 18-Kasey Keller (Capt.); 6-Steve Cherundolo, 22-Oguchi Onyewu, 12-Cory Gibbs, 4-Carlos Bocanegra; 25-Pablo Mastroeni, 14-Steve Ralston, 7-Eddie Lewis (13-Pat Noonan, 84), 21-Landon Donovan (2-Clint Dempsey, 91+); 9-Eddie Johnson, 21-Brian Ching (16-Josh Wolff, 79) Subs not used: 22-Kevin Hartman, 3-Gregg Berhalter, 5-Chris Albright, 20-Brian McBride Of those that I know for sure that played at least one full season of NCAA soccer (and most played more than one): Keller, Cherundolo, Gibbs, Bocanegra, Mastroeni, Ralston, Lewis, Noonan, Dempsey, Ching, Wolff, Hartman, Albright, McBride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 All those players who are in the MNT Pool played college ball in the NCAA or the CIS: Stalteri (Clemson), Sutton (St-Lawrence DIII), Occean (Southern Conn DII), Onstad (UBC), Jazic(played for Dalhousie or St-Marys), Patrice Bernier (Syracuse), Adam Braz (Fairfield), Rob Friend (UC Santa Barbara), Gervais (Syracuse), Reda (Winthrop), Simpson (Oregon), Olivieri (Southern Conn). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beaver Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Joe MacCarthy Beast, just wondering how you feel about the NCAA considering at BigSoccer you put July 4th, 1976 as your birthday. Ha, and the Beast claims that he is in his mid to late 40s. Not that anybody fell for that. Still, if this really is his birth date, I find it alarming that somebody who will be turning 29 this year has such difficulties expressing himself clearly. I suspect we are not getting the full story on the Beast. If he isn't just some kid, then I suspect there is something else going on, something that is likely not his fault. Now I feel bad for picking on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 Didn't Attiba and Oppong and Chris Williams play in Birmingham for a few years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Man Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 quote:Originally posted by loyola All those players who are in the MNT Pool played college ball in the NCAA or the CIS: Stalteri (Clemson), Sutton (St-Lawrence DIII), Occean (Southern Conn DII), Onstad (UBC), Jazic(played for Dalhousie or St-Marys), Patrice Bernier (Syracuse), Adam Braz (Fairfield), Rob Friend (UC Santa Barbara), Gervais (Syracuse), Reda (Winthrop), Simpson (Oregon), Olivieri (Southern Conn). Surely those players were never on NT radar until they turned pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Stalteri was on the U20 team in 1997. Simpson only turned pro this past summer thanks to Millwall signing him at the B camp. He made his mark with teh U20's as an amateur. Same with Rob Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 What??? Stalteri U-17 and U-20, Occean U-23 while in college, Bernier U-17 and U-20, Braz U-20 and maybe U-17, Friend U-20 and maybe U-17, Simpson U-20, Olivieri participate in a U-20 camps while in College. G-Man a lot of our players are former NCAA standout and a lot of our current youth players are playing in the NCAA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Beast Posted May 5, 2005 Share Posted May 5, 2005 quote:Originally posted by The Beaver Ha, and the Beast claims that he is in his mid to late 40s. Not that anybody fell for that. Still, if this really is his birth date, I find it alarming that somebody who will be turning 29 this year has such difficulties expressing himself clearly. I suspect we are not getting the full story on the Beast. If he isn't just some kid, then I suspect there is something else going on, something that is likely not his fault. Now I feel bad for picking on him. [] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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