Wiggins, Barrett, Dort headline Canadian roster for Olympic qualifiers
The Canadian men's basketball team has been finalized ahead of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Victoria, B.C., this week.
The 12-man roster will compete with Greece, China, Uruguay, Czech Republic and Turkey for a wild-card spot for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Canada would need to advance past the group stage and win two single-elimination games to secure its first Olympic appearance for men's basketball since 2000.
The final roster features eight NBA players and is as follows:
Guards: Cory Joseph, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Trae Bell-Haynes, Mychal Mulder
Wings: Lu Dort, Andrew Wiggins, R.J. Barrett, Aaron Doornekamp
Bigs: Dwight Powell, Trey Lyles, Anthony Bennett, Andrew Nicholson
The strength of Canada's roster will be its backcourt, which should give head coach Nick Nurse plenty of options to field lineups with multiple creators at once. However, the roster is woefully short on size, with 6-foot-10 forward Dwight Powell being their tallest player. Nurse will likely have to rely on two-centre lineups against specific opponents, most notably Turkey which will boast several post scorers.
Canada is slated to play two group stage games on Tuesday against Greece, then on Wednesday against China. The semifinal and finals will take place over the weekend. The winner of the tournament advances to the Olympics.
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