Starpower at a dribble for hoops game

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This article was published 08/08/2019 (2418 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local basketball fans have every right to feel disappointed.

When it was announced in April that Bell MTS Place would host an exhibition game between Canada’s national men’s basketball team and Nigeria’s, many expected to see the country’s biggest stars up close and personal.

There was the potential of Denver Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray, highly touted New York Knicks rookie, shooting guard RJ Barrett, and Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the first pick of the 2014 NBA draft, all being in Winnipeg suiting up for the red and white for tonight’s game.

But the reality is, none of them will be in action. Murray and Barrett are nursing injuries and won’t be playing for the team at the FIBA World Cup later this month in China, nevermind Winnipeg. Wiggins wasn’t even among the 29 players invited to Canada’s training camp last month.

And in the last couple days, names have been dropping like flies. The dream of fielding a team full of NBA talent has been crushed as Tristan Thompson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dwight Powell, Brandon Clarke, Dillon Brooks, Trey Lyles, Mfiondu Kabengele, Nik Stauskas and Chris Boucher have all pulled out for various reasons and won’t participate at the World Cup.

Miami Heat centre Kelly Olynyk will head to China for Canada, but he won’t be in Winnipeg as he suffered a bruised knee in the team’s first exhibition game on Wednesday in Toronto.But Olynyk was going to miss tonight’s game regardless as he has a wedding to attend back home in Kamloops, B.C.

Canada head coach Nick Nurse, who coached the Toronto Raptors to an NBA championship earlier this summer, will now have to rely heavily on point guard Cory Joseph.

Joseph is an eight-year NBA veteran point guard who won a title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 before spending a couple seasons with the Raptors and Indiana Pacers.

Fresh off of signing a three-year, US$37-million contract with the Sacramento Kings, Joseph now finds himself as the face of the Canadian team in Winnipeg, as well as the one that will head to China.

But as frustrating as it’s been to see name after name say thanks, but no thanks to representing Canada, Winnipeggers should still be excited for the opportunity to see the team hit the court at Bell MTS Place.

Tonight is the first time since a 2015 NBA pre-season game between the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves that the hardwood has been set up at Bell MTS Place (not including the Harlem Globetrotters who frequently bring their show to town, of course).

But it’s been an even longer drought since a Canadian national basketball team has competed in Winnipeg, as this will be the first time since the 1999 Pan Am Games were held in the city.

That was so long ago that Barrett’s dad Rowan, who’s now Canada Basketball’s general manager, was on the team.

“We don’t know the next time they’ll come through. Hopefully it’s less than 20 years, of course,” said Basketball Manitoba executive director Adam Wedlake on Thursday.

“There is a shift happening internationally of FIBA, the international body of basketball, wanting to have more home games for teams to play, as opposed to like Canada playing Nigeria in Croatia on a Tuesday morning and there’s nobody there. So they’re trying to push for more of these kind of home-and-home series where there’s at least a home team. So that’s encouraging to see more of these things at least in the country, and hopefully here.”

The fact it’s been four years since a major basketball game has been played at Bell MTS Place isn’t due to a lack of effort, said Kevin Donnelly, the senior vice-president of venues and entertainment for True North Sports and Entertainment.

With the NBA putting an emphasis on playing pre-season games internationally — such as the Raptors playing a pair of games against the Houston Rockets in Japan prior to the start of the upcoming regular season — it has made it much more competitive to get a game back in Winnipeg. As for the Canadian team, there simply aren’t enough games. So, when it’s a World Cup or Olympic year, you better get your pitch ready as to why your city should host a game.

Canada is playing seven exhibition games prior to the start of the World Cup on Aug. 31 and Winnipeg and Toronto are the only Canadian cities on the schedule. Basketball Manitoba has been trying to bid for a FIBA event for the past three years, but when this latest opportunity came up, True North stepped in and helped seal the deal.

“They’re not readily available to go after one every year,” said Donnelly on Team Canada games. “So, you really have to be aware of the cycle of when these things are available and just be willing and interested to go for it. Also, it’s a combination of date availability in the arena and whatnot. All of those different factors go into it.”

Making tonight’s game even more unique is the fact Universal Studios will be filming a movie called Sudden Death during intermission and following the game. But for an event like tonight that has never happened before in Winnipeg, it’s difficult to know how interested people will be. Donnelly said they’re hoping for a lower bowl sellout, which would put them at roughly 8,000 seats filled.

“I think it’s just a matter of believing in the basketball community in town and knowing sort of what that’s capable of,” said Donnelly. “And you combine that with a bit of Canadiana. This is our national team. We watch the Raptors very closely with basketball hitting a high, high point in the nation. And you know, just trying to connect all of the dots (such as) Nick Nurse now the coach and all these things that sort of really help us in our efforts. But you never know until you try it.”

For Wedlake, tonight’s game is a culmination of what has already been an incredible year for the sport in Manitoba.

“If you would’ve said to me a year ago that in 2019, we’ll see the Toronto Raptors win the NBA championship, one of those Raptors will come to the city to run a camp for us, Danny Green, and then you’ll host the senior men’s national team here all within two months, I would’ve said you’re crazy. None of this was on our radar.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31