Canada's Barrett, Wiggins in OQT squad to fuel hopes of return to Olympics
TORONTO (Canada) - Canada have named a pool of 21 players that will attend the national team training camp ahead of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) to be staged in Victoria from June 29 to July 4.
21 athletes accept invitations to attend 🇨🇦🏀 Senior Men’s National Team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament training camp.
— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) May 27, 2021
EN: https://t.co/j73sK5FhcL
FR: https://t.co/kIaxNee30s pic.twitter.com/ExOMTlUQ02
Among those set to attend the national team workouts from June 16 to June 24 in Tampa, Florida, at the Toronto Raptors temporary training facilities, are NBA stars RJ Barrett, Andrew Wiggins, Oshae Brissett, Dillon Brooks, Brandon Clark, Luguentz Dort, Cory Joseph, Trey Lyles, Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell and Tristan Thompson.
Andrew Nembhard, who played for Canada at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China and recently helped Gonzaga make it to the NCAA Final, is also included.
The training camp is in Tampa because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and quarantine protocols for training in Canada.
"Our players and staff fully recognize the unique opportunity that lies ahead of us and I would like to commend them for their dedication to playing for Canada this summer," said Rowan Barrett, the general manager/executive vice-president of the senior men's program.
Rowan Barrett was a leading player in the last Canada team to play at the Olympics, in 2000.
| Canada's 21-man squad for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament | ||||
| Kyle Alexander | Nickeil Alexander-Walker | R.J. Barrett | Trae Bell-Haynes | Anthony Bennett |
| Khem Birch | Oshae Brissett | Dillon Brooks | Brandon Clarke | Aaron Doornekamp |
| Luguentz Dort | Melvin Ejim | Cory Joseph | Trey Lyles | Mychal Mulder |
| Andrew Nicholson | Andrew Nembhard | Kelly Olynyk | Dwight Powell | Tristan Thompson |
| Andrew Wiggins | ||||
He is also the father of RJ Barrett, one of the top young talents in the NBA with the New York Knicks and the MVP of the FIBA Under-19 World Cup 2017 in Cairo, Egypt, where he led Canada to the title. RJ Barrett is currently in the NBA playoffs with the New York Knicks.
Both Brooks and Brandon Clarke have been very good this season for the Memphis Grizzlies, who are also in the NBA playoffs.
The return of Wiggins should give Canada a lift. The No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by Minnesota, Wiggins, who is 26, averaged 18.6 points per game for Golden State this season. He has not played for Canada since the FIBA AmeriCup 2015.
Wiggins last played for Canada at the FIBA AmeriCup 2015 in Mexico City
Canada are in Group A of the OQT and will face Greece on June 29 and China on June 30. Also in the Victoria OQT are Uruguay, Czech Republic and Turkey.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the Semi-Finals. The winner of the OQT will clinch a spot in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. There are also OQTs in Croatia, Lithuania and Serbia.
At the OQT in Manila, Philippines, five years ago, Canada made it to the Final but fell to France and missed out on the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Spain, Argentina, France, Australia, USA, Iran, Nigeria and Japan are already in the Olympic tournament field.
FIBA
