ATLANTA - Though it may be seen as an American contribution to sports, basketball was in fact created, albeit on American soil, by a Canadian.

According to Basketball Canada, there were over 70 Canadians playing Division I Men’s Basketball this year. So it should not be a surprise that four players who share the same homeland as Dr James Naismith were on the rosters of the Final Four teams at the NCAA Men's championship in Atlanta.

Nik Stauskas helped get the University of Michigan into the NCAA championship game, while Chadrack Lufile and Nick Wiggins were vital to the success of surprise team Wichita State University while Noel Jones plays for Syracuse, both teams that reached the Final Four.

Just by making it to Atlanta, these four players each achieved something that Canada's greatest player, Steve Nash, a two-time NBA MVP, never did. Some of them might help Nash on his next mission.

Now almost a year into his appointment as General Manager of Canada's Senior Men's Basketball Team, Nash's challenge is to make Canada relevant again.

The men's senior team is currently ranked 26th, one spot behind Lebanon. They haven't been to the Olympics since Sydney 2000 and finished 22nd at the 2010 FIBA World Championship where they were consistently a top 10 team from 1970 up until 1990 when they finished 12th. After finishing 7th while hosting the 1994 FIBA World Championship, it's being a downhill slide.

Michigan shooting guard Stauskas is only a freshman in college but may be a part of Canada's reemergence as a basketball contender, especially if he has games like the regional final against Florida where he led all players in scoring with 22 points including going six for six on three-pointers.

He's enthusiastic about having Nash at the helm and his opportunity to be part of the solution.

"Steve's a great guy and with him being the GM, I know he's going to make the right decisions with picking the right players," he said.

"Last summer I was invited to the senior men's national camp and this summer I hope to go back and qualify for the FIBA Americas. If I could make that team it would be great."

Stauskas' last run for the national team was at the 2009 FIBA U16 Americas Championship in Argentina where Canada finished third. He recalled the excitement of playing against the home team in front of a fervent fan base.

"I remember playing against Argentina on a Friday night and there was a couple of thousand people there so it was definitely fun at that age," he said.

Though the men's senior level is now a professional game, the experience of big time college ball in the United States will be a valuable training ground for the Mississauga, Ontario native.

"Playing in the Big Ten (Michigan's conference), every game we play in is big crowds and every game we play is kind of high stakes," he explained.

If the Big Ten is all that, then the lessons of playing in front of more than 70,000 in the Georgia Dome will steel him for anything on the Olympic or FIBA Basketball World Cup level.

Stauskas told FIBA while in Atlanta for the Final Four: "Representing your country is a different kind of feel than this. The FIBA Americas was a lot of fun and being in Argentina I had a great time. This (the NCAA) though is one of the biggest stages you can be on and I feel like everyone in the country is going to be watching. We’re soaking up the moment and having a lot of fun right now."

Helping Canada move up and make some noise at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain will be a lot of fun as well.

FIBA