Canada Basketball is expected to announce its senior men’s national team coach later this week, according to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange.
Interviews were completed last week to fill the vacancy created by former coach Jay Triano’s departure. Roy Rana, Gord Herbert and Ettore Messina all reportedly interviewed, with Herbert and Messina being considered the front-runners.
Rana is among the most decorated head coaches in Canadian history at the age-group level and played a significant role in guiding the men’s team through their successful FIBA World Cup qualifying run.
Herbert played for Canada at the 1984 Olympics and has since enjoyed a successful career coaching in Europe, including a FIBA Europe Cup win in the 2015-16 season. He recently coached the Canadian men’s team during one of the FIBA World Cup qualifying windows.
Messina carries the most name-recognition on the list, currently serving as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs under all-time great bench boss Gregg Popovich. Before making the move to the NBA, Messina was a longtime Italian national team head coach and twice won Euro League coach of the year honours.
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