Barrett, Kigab, Wigginton top Canada's roster
TORONTO (FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017) - Canada will enter the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 with an exciting group of leaders including star talents RJ Barrett, Abu Kigab and Lindell Wigginton
TORONTO (FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017) - Canada will enter the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 with an exciting group of leaders including star talents RJ Barrett, Abu Kigab and Lindell Wigginton as head coach Roy Rana has named his squad for the tournament.
The team features a mix of players who played last summer at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship 2016 and the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup, where Canada finished second and fifth place, respectively.
"It was a competitive tryout and we're pleased with how the team is coming together as we prepare to take on the world in Cairo," Canada head coach Roy Rana said.
| Canada's roster for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 | |||
| Amidou Bamba | RJ Barrett | Nathan Darling | Danilo Djuricic |
| Jordan Henry | Abu Kigab | Noah Kirkwood | Anthony Longpre |
| Emanuel Miller | Prince Oduro | Grant Shephard | Lindell Wigginton |
Kigab and Wigginton are among a quintet of players who were at the U18 Americas tournament in Chile last year along with Nathan Darling, Jordan Henry and Grant Shephard. Abu and Henry will actually be playing at their second FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup after playing at Crete 2015.
Shephard meanwhile played at both the U18 continental and U17 world competitions. Also playing at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2016 were Barrett, Danilo Djuricic and Noah Kirkwood.
Canada will not be particularly big in Cairo as they have just three players listed at 6ft 9in (2.05m) or taller in Amidou Bamba, Anthony Longpre and Shephard.
The 12-man roster is also representative of the increasing development of basketball throughout the country - not just in the greater Toronto and Ontario area. Wigginton and Darling both hail from the province of Nova Scotia while Longpre is from Quebec and Shephard calls British Columbia home.
The U19 tournament, which sees Canada drawn into Group C with Japan, Spain and Mali, will challenge Canada's depth as Rana is missing a number of highly-regarded players. Among the top players not in Cairo will be Emmanuel Akot, Ignas Brazdeikis, O'Shae Brissett, Luguentz Dort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Simi Shittu and Nickeil Walker.
Canada will practice in Mississauga until June 20 and then travel to France for exhibition action before then heading on to Egypt for the tournament.
FIBA