Jay Triano expected to resurrect Canadian national basketball team - NBA Update
The odds have started to add up in the favour of Canadian Basketball Team. Just a fortnight ago the franchise took a big step towards the revival of game when they hired Steve Nash as general manager of the senior
men Canadian Basketball team.
With Nash at the helm of affairs the next step and Nash’s 1stduty was to find a suitable coach for the team. Though the search is still on but there is one name that is gaining popularity by the hour,
Jay Triano, Nash’s former coach with the national team.
“I have the utmost respect for Jay and what he’s meant to Canada Basketball,” Nash said. “When the time comes, we’ll start to dig in and who’s going to be our coach. Obviously, I love Jay. If he’s interested,
he’ll be an important candidate.”
Nash represented the Maple leafs back in 2000 under the steward ship of Triano. In 2005, when the franchise didn’t bring Jay back as the head coach, Nash emerged as the biggest dissident against the decision
and never played again for them.
But now things are different with the reins in Steve’s hands, and it can be hoped that things will be different. One of the biggest reasons behind Steve’s appointment was to entice and encourage players to play
for Canada. His stature is also bound to attract investors, which will put more money in the game.
The Canadian narrowly missed a berth in the 2012 London Olympics in the FIBA Americas and will now be aiming to make their presence felt in the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics. If that happens, the Canadian men
basketball team will grace the mega event after a gap of 28 years.
This is a mammoth job that will require resurrecting a team. The foundations being set are certainly very strong, with Nash and Triano the cornerstones.
Triano also praised Steve’s decision to get involved with his native basketball federation;
“I think that’s why Steve got involved,” Triano said. “He wants to help the young players in this country. I remember there were issues with Basketball Canada, as there are with all amateur sports in this country.
They’d sit around and say, ‘This isn’t right. When we’re done, we’ve got to do something to change this.”
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