Andrew Wiggins leads Canada into Olympic qualifying tuneup
NBA rookie of the year is top star headed to Tuto Marchand Continental Cup
NBA rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins topped the list of 13 players named Thursday to the Canadian men's basketball team's roster for a tuneup tournament ahead of a key Olympic qualifier.
The Tuto Marchand Continental Cup exhibition tournament runs from Aug. 23-26 in Puerto Rico. The Canadian team will use it to prepare for the FIBA Americas men's championship in Mexico City, which opens for Canada on Sept. 1.
The top two teams in Mexico City will earn a spot in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Wiggins will be joined for the tournament in Puerto Rico by fellow NBA players Anthony Bennett (Minnesota), Melvin Ejim (Orlando), Cory Joseph (Toronto), Andrew Nicholson (Orlando), Kelly Olynyk (Boston), Dwight Powell (Dallas), Robert Sacre (Los Angeles Lakers), and Nik Stauskas (Philadelphia).
The non-NBA players making the team were Aaron Doornekamp, Olivier Hanlan, Brady Heslip and Phil Scrubb, all of whom play for pro clubs in Europe.
Thanks to Mike 'PinBall' Clemons who addressed our Men's National Team at the end of practice today <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreTeamCanada?src=hash">#WeAreTeamCanada</a> <a href="http://t.co/7rJ5hVNrld">pic.twitter.com/7rJ5hVNrld</a>
—@CanBballJamal Murray, who recently graduated from high school and is headed to the University of Kentucky, did not make the roster despite being invited to training camp and helping Canada win silver at the Pan Am Games last month.
Murray faced a scheduling conflict for both the Puerto Rico and Mexico tournaments as classes begin at Kentucky on Aug. 26.
Also left off from the Pan Am team were Carl English and Sim Bhullar, a 7-foot-5, 360-pound centre with limited NBA experience with Sacramento.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson had already been removed from consideration as the restricted free agent does not yet have an NBA contract for next season.