Canada Basketball Announces Coaching Staff For Junior and Cadet Men’s National Teams
TORONTO – Canada Basketball announced today the coaching staffs who will lead the 2012 Junior and Cadet Men’s National Teams. Currently ranked 5th in the world in the FIBA Boy’s World Rankings, Canada will look to continue its successful international results in age-group competitions in 2012.
The 2012 Junior Men’s National Team will participate in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Brazil from June 16-20th. The event will serve as a qualifier for the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship, with the top four finishers in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship securing a berth in the prestigious world event.
The team will be led by head coach Roy Rana (Toronto, ON). Rana served as the cadet head coach from 2009-2011 and was an assistant coach with the senior men in 2009. During his tenure as head coach of the cadet team, Rana led Canada to three consecutive podium finishes, including capturing a bronze medal at the inaugural 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship. Rana is the head coach at Ryerson University where he led the Rams to a berth in the 2012 CIS Final 8.
Assisting Rana will be Jamie McNeilly (Toronto, ON) and Scott Morrison (Thunder Bay, ON). McNeilly previously served under Rana as an assistant coach in 2011 with the cadet team and currently works as a Student-Athlete Development Specialist with the men’s basketball program at Marquette University. McNeilly represented Canada as a player in two Summer Universiades (2005, 2007). Morrison, in his first year as an assistant coach in the national team program, is the head coach at Lakehead University where he has led the Thunderwolves to three consecutive appearances in the CIS Final 8 and was named OUA Coach of the Year in 2010.
Norman Clarke (Toronto, ON) will serve as the team’s apprentice coach and Steve Konchalski (Antigonish, NS) in the role of mentor coach. Clarke is an alumnus of the national team program, representing Canada in the 1988 Olympic Games and currently coaches at Oakwood Collegiate, within Canada Basketball’s Targeted Athlete Strategy (TAS) and serves as the president of the Toronto Triple Threat basketball club. Konchalski is a member of Canada Basketball’s Council of Excellence, a former head and assistant coach of the senior men’s team and the head coach of St. Francis Xavier University. At St. Francis Xavier University, he is a three-time national champion and the all-time winningest coach in CIS men’s basketball history.
The 2012 Cadet Men’s National Team will participate in the FIBA U17 World Championship in Lithuania June 29 – July 8th. The team qualified for the event by finishing third at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
The team will be led by head coach David DeAveiro (Montreal, QC). DeAveiro has an extensive coaching history within the men’s national team program, including serving as an assistant coach at the senior, development and junior levels, and is the head coach at McGill University. Prior to his current position at McGill, DeAveiro was the all-time winningest head coach in the University of Ottawa’s men’s basketball history, leading the Gee Gees to three CIS Final 8 appearances.
Assisting DeAveiro will be Barnaby Craddock (Abbotsford, BC) and Stephan Barrie (Kingston, ON). Craddock helped lead Canada to a silver medal at the 2011 Summer Universiade as an assistant coach and took the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades to the 2012 CIS Final 8. Craddock was named CIS Coach of the Year in 2007 and played professionally in Europe for seven years. Barrie is the head coach at Queen’s University, following a very successful five-year term as the women’s head coach at Western University where he led the Mustangs to a 79% winning percentage in OUA play and two years as an assistant coach with the men’s program at the University of Toronto.
Tarry Upshaw (Burlington, ON) will serve as the team’s apprentice coach, with Mike Katz (Toronto, ON) and Renato Pasquali (Treviso, Italy) both working as mentor coaches to the coaching staff. Upshaw, a former assistant coach in the CIS and head coach in the CCAA and FIBA professional ranks, is the head coach of REDA where he captured the 2011 and 2012 NPSAA championships. Katz has an impressive history as a national team, CIS and CCAA coach, including leading Canada to the silver medal at the 1997 Summer Universiade and serving as an assistant coach in the 2000 Olympic Games. Pasquali serves as the organization’s technical director and has been an assistant coach with the senior men since 2009. Additionally, Pasquali has a storied history of international success in professional basketball in Europe.
The coaching staffs were selected by a 10 person committee made up of the senior leadership of the men’s national team program, including Managing Director, Maurizio Gherardini, Council of Excellence members, Steve Konchalski, Jay Triano and Director of Youth Player Development, Rowan Barrett.
“The growth of the game and of Canada Basketball is possible with the commitment of our entire basketball community. Canada has quality coaches to support such growth and success at every level on the international basketball stage. We are thankful that so many coaches take great pride in developing our Canadian basketball players,” commented Maurizio Gherardini.
The teams begin their respective 2012 schedules with open tryouts being held Thursday, May 17th at Ryerson University (Toronto, ON) and invitational tryouts from Friday, May 18th to Monday, May 21st.
