A new era gets underway for Canadian basketball Friday when Canada tips off against Jamaica in the opening game of the FIBA Americas tournament on Sportsnet 360.
Canada has experienced some success in the past, as they posted second- and third-place finishes in 1999 and 2001.
At the last edition of the FIBA Americas tournament in 2011, Canada managed a sixth-place finish but the goal here will be to finish in the top four to secure a berth to the more-prestigious World Cup next summer.
That will not be an easy goal to reach as Brazil and Argentina have always fielded strong squads as has Puerto Rico.
Programming note: Watch all of Canada’s games at the FIBA Americas tournament live on Sportsnet 360 beginning with their opener on Friday vs. Jamaica at 11:3- a.m. ET. Coverage begins on Sportsnet 360 at 11:15 a.m. ET | Full TV Schedule
Argentina will be without several key veterans as their ‘Golden Generation’ of players are beginning to fade out of the picture.
The defending champs will be without San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili along with a host of other NBA players but they are still expected to cruise to a top-four finish.
Canada is currently ranked 26th in the world, right in the middle of a bunch of teams they will be looking to finish ahead of in order to punch their ticket to Spain, home of next year’s World Cup.
What follows is a quick primer of the 10 teams who will be battling it out for first place in Caracas:
Argentina
FIBA Ranking: No. 3
Key players: Luis Scola, Facundo Campazzo
While Argentina has a lofty ranking, this is not the squad that represented the South American powerhouse at the 2013 Olympics.
More than half of that roster is gone from the team that finished fourth in London but there is still plenty of talent as Indiana Pacers forward Luis Scola and plucky point guard Facundo Campazzo are returning.
A host of players with international experience will back them up as they will be the favourites to defend their title.
Brazil
FIBA Ranking: No. 9
Key players: Marcelinho Huertas, Larry Taylor
Nobody has a more American name than Larry Taylor but that’s because he was actually born in the USA. The naturalized citizen will be a key cog in keeping Brazil competitive in Caracas despite the fact that several NBA stars have decided to sit this one out.
Taylor will team with Marcelinho Huertas to provide one of the most lethal backcourt pairings in the tourney.
Hertas’ game has been compared with that of Canadian general manager Steve Nash as he likes to push the pace and can stroke it from downtown.
While the Brazilians are missing Tiago Splitter (San Antonio), Nene (Washington) and Anderson Varejao (Cleveland), big Rafael Hettsheimer will provide a potent inside presence but he will need a sidekick down low.
The team was hammered by Argentina at the Tuto Marchand Cup and also fell to Puerto Rico. Do they have enough talent left on the roster to compete?
Puerto Rico
FIBA Ranking: No. 19
Key players: J.J. Barea, Carlos Arroyo
Puerto Rico is entering the tournament on a high after claiming the Tuto Marchand Cup earlier this week.
The tune-up event featured five of the best teams that will be in Caracas, including Argentina and Brazil.
Two NBA players, Carlos Arroyo and Jose Juan Barea, were named co-MVPS of the event and if they and their fellow countrymen continue to shoot the lights out from long range, they have a strong shot to win this event as well.
The Puerto Ricans weakness is on the inside although they do have veteran centre Daniel Santiago and former first-round pick Renaldo Balkman to rely on.
Venezuela
FIBA Ranking: No. 24
Key players: Leandro Garcia, Rafael Perez
The Venezuelan team is coached by Nestor (Che) Garcia and he has promised that the team will try and up the tempo to deal with a height deficiency.
Expect them to play pressure defence and fire away from long range, a style that will surely please the hometown crowd.
This will be one of the key clubs Canada will need to beat to pull off a top-four finish.
Canada
FIBA Ranking: No. 26
Key players: Cory Joseph, Andrew Nicholson
Much is expected from this group of Canadians but they are in tough in Caracas.
A lack of outside shooters and players who can create their own shots may leave them on the outside looking in but they can take solace in the fact that they may be the most athletic bunch in the tournament and have the deepest frontcourt around.
Cory Joseph is going to be relied on heavily to set the table for forwards Andrew Nicholson and Tristan Thompson. Nicholson’s ability to shoot from outside will be paramount in opening up the inside lanes for Thompson.
This team will look to get up and down the floor to take advantage of their superior athleticism.
Dominican Republic
FIBA Ranking: No. 27
Key players: Francisco Garcia, Eulis Baez
Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua has taken over for his boss, John Calipari, as head coach of the Dominican national team.
Antigua, considered one of the top recruiters in college basketball, will get an opportunity to prove his worth as head coach as he takes the reins of a team he has played for in the past.
The Dominicans almost reached the Olympic tournament last year but fell short to Nigeria in the final qualifying game.
While that was an impressive run, they will be missing Atlanta Hawks centre Al Horford and Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva this time around so they may slip a notch in Caracas.
Mexico
FIBA Ranking: No. 32
Key players: Gustavo Ayon, Lorenzo Mata
Gustavo Ayon signed on with the Atlanta Hawks this summer, becoming the third Mexican-born player in NBA history.
He will team with former UCLA centre Lorenzo Mata to provide a potent one-two punch on the inside for the Mexicans.
The Mexican backcourt pairing of Paul Snell and Orlando Mendez is a tad small but the latter can really fill it up.
Uruguay
FIBA Ranking: No. 29
Key players: Sebastian Izaguirre, Estaban Batista
The Uruguayans have won the South American championship 11 times but that success has rarely translated over to the FIBA Americas Championship as their best finish was second way back in 1984.
It is safe to say that run is likely to continue as they have spent the last 20 years finishing anywhere from sixth to eighth on a consistent basis.
That said, they did manage to surprise Venezuela on home soil at the Israel Sarmiento Cup recently with 67-65 win
so it will be interesting to see if they can build on that success going forward.
Paraguay
FIBA Ranking: No. 55
Key Players: Guillermo Araujo, Bruno Zanotti
The Paraguayans pulled off a surprise finish in the 2011 edition of the FIBA Americas Championship by finishing ninth. Prior to that competition, they had only qualified for the tournament once, back in 1984.
At last summer’s South American Championship, they held their own against Brazil and Uruguay, so a top-10 finish isn’t out of the question again for this small country.
Jamaica
Players to watch: Samardo Samuels, Dylan Ennis
FIBA Ranking: Unranked
Canadian fans got a close-up look at the Jamaicans when they played a pair of exhibition games in Toronto a couple of weeks ago.
We will get to see them again Friday when the two sides meet to tip off the tournament.
In the opening game of the Jack Donahue Classic, the Canadians had trouble dealing with the bulk of former Cleveland Cavaliers centre Samardo Samuels and Adrian Uter.
The big pair will team with a couple of ultra-quick guards in Dylan Ennis and Durand Scott that could surprise some people.
Samuels, who was injured in the opener, will need to be 100 per cent for Jamaica to do any damage here.