Standing every bit of 6-foot-10, donning glasses, black basketball shorts, red shoes and grey t-shirt, Michael Meeks looks like he’s been here before.
It’s early morning at Canada Basketball’s Cadet Men’s U-16/17 national team practice at Humber College’s North campus in Toronto, and Meeks, an assistant coach and former national team member, seems ready for another run up and down the court.
But for now, he patrols the sidelines, dishing instructions and advice to many of the 14 players assembled as they prepare for their first international tournament of the year, the FIBA Americas tournament in Bahia Blanca, Argentina.
Among the young faces he’s working closely with are wing players Rowan (R.J.) Barrett Jr. and Simi Shittu, and forwards Danilo Djuricic, and Jaden Bediako.
The names all represent the ‘next wave’ of Canadian basketball talent. Meeks picks their brains during practice, and allows them to do the same.
“I really just love being a part of opening experience,” Meeks says following practice, :when the players get a realization of where basketball can take them.
“We have a lot of talent,” he continues. :A lot of guys will be a part of a program for a long time and it’s just good to be at the ground level of it.”
The 43-year-old former forward who played on the illustrious 2000 National Olympic team at the Sidney Games, in addition to an international career lasting over a decade, is now a critical resource for the Cadets.
Meek insists that the excitement emanated from the group from his era pales in comparison to the movement that the future brings along with it.
“I don’t know if we were more of a wave or rather just a little ripple, because nobody saw that coming and we kind of just snuck up on all the people,” Meeks says.
“It’s all about giving back, there were people who helped me along my way that showed me something that gave me an advantage and gave me an extra step on my opponents,” he states. “Whatever I can give back to make things easier for these players and give them a leg up on their opponents I am going to do it. I want our country to be well represented on the world stage and that’s going to be by giving these guys the best environment and the most information that I can.”
Meeks, who played for Canada before the U16/17 program was even in existence, doesn’t deny that dealing with somewhat impressionable athletes comes with many learning moments.
The natural swagger of the players he coaches, in their first or second year of secondary school, is something to expect.
“It’s good to be confident, but you don’t want to be overconfident. And the kids, because they are kids, these days are coming up in an entirely different environment with social media and high school gyms being filled to capacity. These things kind of happened in our day but it wasn’t a YouTube mixtape afterwards with a million clicks,”
In addition to his assistant coach spot, he also works as Canada Basketball’s Men’s Manager of Youth Player Development. He finds comfort in his role, being flanked by faces and names familiar to him, something similar to a family-run business.
Some of his former Olympic teammates are littered throughout the program, Steve Nash is the General Manager of the senior team, Rowan Barrett holds the title of Assistant GM/Executive VP and Greg Francis serves as Manager of Men’s High Performance.
True to the family theme, Meeks gets to work directly with R.J., son of his close friend, Barrett, and widely considered one of Canada’s most promising prospects.
“My dad played in so many places, so I got to learn from so many other guys and they get to teach me,” says Barrett Jr. “It’s just really good to have familiar faces, so I’m never out of place. I know everybody already, so it’s good.”
As for Meeks, he’s glad to find this phase of his basketball career and share it with his peers, passing knowledge down to the next generation,
“It really helps because we grew up with each other, we’ve played a lot of years with each other and had a lot of success, we went through a lot of defeats and we’ve all had different experiences,” he says.
“With Steve being at the highest level in the NBA, Rowan and myself doing our things in Europe, we’ve been through the things that these guys are going through.”
Canada Basketball hopes the blend of international experience behind the bench and youthful energy on the floor will be a winning combination heading into the tournament.
The FIBA America’s U16/17 get underway June 10th.
