At the precise moment Jay Triano was singing his praises, Anthony Bennett was in a downtown Toronto gym, training to make sure the Canadian men’s national team head coach is right, and everyone else is wrong.
It’s a pivotal summer for Canadian basketball, but even more so for Bennett.
After years of hype and promise the time has arrived for the men’s national team in their quest to become relevant internationally again. Never has the talent pool been deeper. If the country’s so-called Golden Generation is going to get off on the right foot, earning a spot in the 2016 Olympics is critical. They’ll get their chance in Mexico City when the Olympic Qualifying tournament begins.
But closer to home there is plenty at stake as the senior men’s national team takes the floor at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre beginning on July 21st, even if the 16-man practice roster head coach Triano announced Friday suggested otherwise.
As predicted, Canada’s NBA talent will be thinly represented at the Pan-Ams as the more established players (Tristan Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, for example) have opted to save themselves for Olympic qualifying while many of the younger prospects (Nik Stauskas, among others) have summer league commitments that have ruled them out.
The glaring exception is Bennett, the Brampton forward who became the first Canadian taken first overall in the NBA draft when Cleveland selected him out of UNLV two summers ago.
Unfortunately for all concerned, that has been Bennett’s career high point so far. He was drafted while still recovering from shoulder surgery and prevented him from training for his first pro season. He dealt with sleep apnea and asthma and subsequently had surgery to correct his vision. Needless to say his rookie season wasn’t what he hoped for. The trade last summer to the Minnesota Timberwolves which included friend Andrew Wiggins – who became the next Canadian taken first overall in 2014 – was supposed to mark a fresh start, but there were more setbacks.
Early on he struggled to find playing time behind Thaddeus Young and just as it appeared he might get his chance after Young was traded he sprained his angle and appeared in just four of the Timberwolves’ final 28 games.
But even when healthy Bennett struggled to distinguish himself as he shot just 42 per cent from the field and attempted just 2.6 free throws per 36 minutes – indicative of a player who too easily settled for jump shots rather than use his size and length to play more physically in the paint. And given that he’s never been viewed as a strong defender, his offensive struggles were even more significant, part of the reason he played just 15 minutes per game.
“This summer’s going to determine, really, where he’s at,” T-Wolves head coach Saunders said as Minnesota held their exit interviews. “This is a huge summer for him to kind of make or break.”
Bennett turned down an interview request on Friday, his representative saying that for the moment he’s chosen not to do any speaking, preferring to focus on the challenge ahead of him, which is considerable. The Timberwolves drafted Karl-Anthony Towns No.1 overall, have veteran Kevin Garnett in the fold and traded for Adreian Payne late in the season. He’ll need to battle with all of them for playing time and if he’s traded will need to overcome the stigma of being a No.1 pick on his third team in three years.
But even as Bennett’s name is being floated in trade rumours this summer and some see him as a potential bust at age 22, Triano sees an athlete who should be a huge asset for Canada at the Pan Am Games and beyond.
“I think Anthony Bennett is about to break through,” Triano said on a conference call. “I have a lot of confidence in him. He’s had a bunch of bad breaks and hopefully the Pan Am Games, in his country and his city, are the thing that gives him confidence to show what he can do. We expect a lot out of Anthony. He’s going to be one of our leaders and we’re looking forward to having him play. I think the international game might give him the boost of confidence he needs.”
It will certainly give him the opportunity. While the missing NBA stars is undoubtedly a letdown for fans hoping for the rare sight of our best playing for Canada at home, for Bennett it’s a chance to be the unquestioned lynchpin of a team for the first time since he was a freshman in college.
There is a full-circle element to the whole thing. Bennett burst into prominence as a potential NBA prospect while playing for Canada at the inaugural U17 World Championships when Canada won a bronze medal in Germany in 2010.
Now having fallen short of what many have projected his potential to be, there is hope a stint playing for Canada again can give him the boost he needs. It’s not unprecedented. Years ago Steve Nash was struggling to find his footing in the NBA and used his summers playing for Canada as a way to find his game and display his abilities to NBA scouts watching. Bennett will have that chance this summer.
He represents a match-up nightmare even more daunting internationally than he does in the NBA. Under FIBA rules the three-point line is at 22’2’’ compared to 23’9’’ at around the top of the NBA arc. It’s a small difference on paper but enough to make defences honour a shooter like Bennett and the extra step closer makes him a bigger threat to get to the rim with one or two dribbles when they do. Bennett’s imposing frame – 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds – should serve him well also, says Triano.
“He’s a scorer. The international game is a little more physical, there’ s a little more contact and Anthony definitely has the body to absorb that contact or create that contact. I’m excited about him being part of this, I really am.
“He’s on the verge of breaking through. I know he’s gone through a little bit of a tough time, but at the same time I know how hard he’s worked this past year. This [the Pan-Ams] is one of the things he’s locked in for and we want to keep developing players in this country and he’s one of our best.”
And this summer he’ll get a golden opportunity to prove it.
