Canada names four assistant coaches to FIBA World Cup staff

Brad Greenberg is one of four assistant coaches named to Nick Nurse's staff for Team Canada's entry to the FIBA World Cup. (Timothy D. Easley/AP)

Head coach Nick Nurse and Canada Basketball have named four assistant coaches to the team’s staff ahead of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Nate Bjorkgren, Brad Greenberg, Nathaniel Mitchell and Jon Goodwillie will all serve as assistant coaches for September’s tournament in China. They join Gordie Herbert, who was named associate coach earlier this summer.

“I’m really looking forward to working alongside great coaches like Gordie, Nate, Brad, Nathaniel and Jon as we head to China for the FIBA Basketball World Cup,” Nurse said in a team statement. “We all love and respect the international game, and we all bring different experiences and perspectives to this effort. This is an important tournament for Canada, and I believe that our coaching staff is prepared for the challenge.”

Bjorkgren currently works with Nurse as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors. Before joining the Raptors, Bjorkgren served three years as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns and he has coaching experience in the G League with the Bakersfield Jam, Iowa Energy, Santa Cruz Warriors and Dakota Wizards.

Greenberg is currently the head coach of the Maccabi Ashdod in the Israeli Premier League. He has 12 years of NBA experience as an assistant coach with the L.A. Clippers and New York Knicks, and has served as the president and general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers. Greenberg also has some international experience, coaching Kosovo in the recent FIBA World Cup qualifiers and serving as an assistant coach with the Venezuelan national team.

Mitchell, a Toronto native, is currently an assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets. He was previously an assistant coach with the G League’s Raptors 905, and was an assistant coach for Team Canada during the FIBA qualifying rounds.

Goodwillie, an Etobicoke, Ont., native, has been the Raptors’ video co-ordinator since 2011 and has worked in the team’s video department for the last 13 seasons. Earlier this summer, he served as head coach of the Raptors team in the Las Vegas Summer League.

The FIBA World Cup in China runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15. Canada is in Group H for round-robin play and will face Australia, Lithuania and Senegal in the opening round. Canada recently named a roster of 29 players to training camp for the tournament, headlined by Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray and New York Knicks top draft pick R.J. Barrett.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.