Andrew Nicholson, Melvin Ejim named to Canada training camp roster
Orlando Magic forwards Andrew Nicholson and Melvin Ejim were named to the Team Canada training camp in preparation for Olympic qualifying.
Fresh off a silver medal at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Team Canada is preparing for a much bigger prize. And they are calling for reinforcements.
Orlando Magic forwards Andrew Nicholson and Melvin Ejim were named to Team Canada’s training camp roster as the team prepares for Olympics qualifying at the Tournament of the Americas taking place in Mexico later this month.
Canada will be getting plenty of reinforcements too.
Joining Nicholson and Ejim will be Andrew Wiggins, Cory Joseph, Sim Bhullar, Robert Sacre and Nik Stauskas. Canada’s golden age of basketball is beginning to make its way through the national system and into international competitions.
"We have a talented mix of NBA and pro athletes and we’re excited to get them in the gym together,” Canadian coach Jay Triano said in a release. “This camp will be an opportunity to train, build team chemistry and prepare for a tough and important tournament with the goal of qualifying for Rio."
Tristan Thompson is not on the training camp roster as he tries to resolve his contract issue with the Cavaliers (he remains unsigned). This was expected from the program and he would likely be back with the team should Canada qualify for the Olympics.
This is a young roster with the potential to continue growing. They need to start getting international experience in major tournaments to start contending for medals — or make waves in the international basketball scene.
Team USA (more on their mini camp taking place in Las Vegas in a little bit) already qualified for the Olympics by virtue of winning the 2014 FIBA World Cup. That leaves only two automatic qualifications for the 2016 Olympics to compete for at the Tournament of the Americas (Brazil will also automatically qualify as the host). To get to the Olympics, Canada will have to make the championship game.
Canada will begin competition in Group B with a big game against Argentina on Sept. 1. The road will not be easy.
Nicholson though has a very good chance at making the team, especially with Thompson on the sideline. Plus the fact he seems to produce extremely well at the FIBA level.
Nicholson played for Canada earlier this summer at the Pan Am Games, averaging 18.2 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game in the silver medal run. That was against very poor competition though (the U.S. sent a team that showed how little it cared about the tournament).
At the 2013 FIBA Americas Tournament, Nicholson averaged 15 points per game, showing off his new 3-point shot. It was supposed to be his breaking out in preparation for the NBA. That did not happen. But he continues to produce for Team Canada and less for the Magic.
It is good to see that he still has it in him.
Ejim also played well averaging 7.2 points per game and 3.6 rebounds per game in the Pan Am Games.
This will be a competition with some much bigger talent. Manu Ginobili will probably play for Argentina as teams have to scramble to qualify for the Olympics in Rio next summer.
Canada has its work cut out for it. Seeing Wiggins make an appearance on the team, along with many more of Canada’s top players, shows just how much more import is on this tournament.
Preparations have begun (Mario Hezonja and Evan Fournier are already preparing for Eurobasket in Europe) as the Olympic qualifying tournaments get set to begin later this month.