Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: Welcome to the Canadian Basketball show, your go to spot for the latest news stories and analysis on Canadian basketball. I'm your host, Lee Ban Osmond. We've done a ton of podcasts talking about players you should know coming up in Canada. But I actually wanted to bring somebody that put out their own ranking and has closely followed and evaluated Canada's up and coming talent. You've probably seen his ranking, seen him highlight some of Canada's top talent on social media. He's an international freelance scout for Montreal that just came up with his own list of guys you should know. Alec Kishan of NBA Draft Point. Welcome to the show, brother.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: Hey, man, it's great to be here. Been listening to the podcast ever since they've been released, so it's good to be on here, talk some Canadian hoops. I'm excited.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Yeah, obviously I've been following you for a minute now, enjoying a lot of your content, just closely following Canada's next wave of talent. But for a guy from Montreal, I want to hear the origin story. How did you get into scouting?
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Yeah, so growing up, I never really played organized basketball. I was never a big basketball kid, but I grew up playing soccer. My dad really liked soccer, so that was the sport we played in the family.
And you know, obviously the big switch to basketball happened when the Raptors won the championship in 2019.
Big moment for kids all over Canada. I was maybe 13 or 14 at the time and it was a big, big moment. And then when the pandemic hit, I just really got into basketball. I did as much research as I could, learning, enjoying, watching games, following and just really getting into it. And one thing led to another. I started my account maybe two years ago and through there just chose my niche at the right time, talking about international hoops when the NIL agreement went through and now we're here that I'm blessed with all these opportunities to study, cover, learn, and connect with a lot of the people around the world about international hoops.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: You mentioned international hoops.
What makes you so engaged with it? Like, what makes you enjoy it so much compared to like, you could follow every USA prospect, right. You could follow the aj the banters of the world, the Darren Petersons, you know, but you chose a specific. Like, you mentioned the niche. What is it about international basketball that you love so much?
[00:02:18] Speaker A: Yeah, just the fact that there's so much talent out there that isn't talked about. You know, you spend hours and hours on film watching these guys that don't really get the coverage that they deserve. And you find some hidden gems. You find guys that really fall in love with their games. And like any other prospect in the US there's so much talent out there. So for me, just, it's so enjoyable to find these guys, put them on people's radars and kind of get their names across to the world where, you know, this day and age, these are the guys that people are looking for.
[00:02:48] Speaker B: Before we get into some of your rankings from classes, I think we're going to focus on, Obviously, class of 2028, that's the major one. Class of 2027, 2026, we've covered in depth. I don't want to go too much into depth on that, but. And then the later younger classes, too.
For you, as a scout, when you're evaluating a young prospect, what do you prioritize when you're looking at a guy and what could translate to the next level? What do you look for as a scout?
[00:03:15] Speaker A: Yeah, so the thing that I watch for the most is feel for the game. That's something that at a young age, I think you can really tell who's going to be good and who has the upside to kind of make that jump when you know somebody has a good feel for a game. Right. What I like a lot is when I. Or what I like evaluating more so is size and feel for the game at their size. So positional size. And if they're able to do things at a young age that their position usually wouldn't do. So, like, an example of that would maybe be Big Zach and Playmake. So guys out in Serbia that do that a lot, or let's say someone like Keyshawn George, who grew up playing guard and then grew to six, eight later in his years, and now he's in the NBA. Right. That's what NBA scouts are looking for. Those are guys that get drafted, that get interest. So that's my main evaluation piece. A lot of times when guys are younger, the athleticism comes after, the size comes after, but the feel for the game is what I think is the most important when evaluating guys and kind of deciding who to put on radars.
[00:04:18] Speaker B: Yeah, I feel like something you could tell really easily on. Just like if they're making the right reads or in the right spots and cutting at the right time, all that kind of stuff that just makes you like, I feel like a good basketball player.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: Right.
[00:04:30] Speaker B: For yourself. Watching the next wave of talent in Canada from Montreal, what excites you most? Just looking at the wave of talent coming up and how excited should we be as Canadians looking at some guys that might.
Because, I don't know, I'm looking at it like I look at college basketball this past year and I'm like, there's a lull in talent. There's not a number one guy. There might not be a guy that even gets drafted at all this year. But looking at the future, a lot of people are excited. What makes you excited?
[00:04:58] Speaker A: So what makes me the most excited is the sheer amount of talent that's coming through in the next few classes. I think we've gone from having potential NBA guys or one or two potential NBA guys per age group to now having maybe three or four guys, maybe five guys. I mean, we've seen guys come through to the NBA now for years as Canada is the second most NBA players out of any country in the NBA represented. And, you know, it makes things really excited because, you know, these kids now have someone to model their game of SGA rights. Shay Gilbert Alexander. All these kids are now looking up to him. They're looking up to the fact that he's representing Canada now. It's cool to represent Canada and you know, now they're all putting all the eggs in one basket and potentially having a really good core of guys coming through in the next few classes.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: Yeah, it makes me think to what Brandon Jennings said this past week and he's. I think he called Canadian soft. I had a lot of people reach out to me to comment on that and I don't know, I just think that guy's washed, to be honest with you. I think with his.
I know some, some guys like that, they love to go viral, you know, stay relevant. So I'm not really worried about that. I know a lot of people asked me to comment on that. So I just wanted to quickly mention.
Please don't pay attention to Brian Jennings. He's not watching the next coming talent in Canada like Alex is, you know, like. Like he's not watching the guys that are going to be making waves in Canada. So I think this is, this is the stuff you should be listening to. Right. Just about Canadian basketball talent. But just wanted to comment on that. I think we should just treat it as a joke. It is a joke. That's how we should be treating it. But. And, and kind of move on. But talking about the classes, is there a favorite class for you in Canada coming up and which one is it and why?
[00:06:43] Speaker A: Yeah, so my favorite class is the 2009 born cohort which corresponds to the class of 28. A bit of the class of 29. Right. I like going by age groups just because that's how they do it overseas. It's a lot simpler to me, I think, just being able to see at what, like, how players quantify against each other when they're the same age, I think that's the easiest way to do it. But especially with all the reclasses going on here, and especially in the U.S. but, you know, that group of guys that just came off from playing the U16America and is now heading to play to the U17 World cup, that's the group of guys I'm the most excited about. So isaiah Hamilton, Kenyon St. Louis, that crop of guys who came in in second place. So that's the group I'm most excited about. There's a ton of guys on that roster that can eventually make some moves down the line, guys that are already playing in the US Right now at a young age. So it's a fun group of talent that hopefully can be the next golden generation for Team Canada.
[00:07:38] Speaker B: Talk about it. Class of 2028, your rankings. Let's go through it all. Who's number one? Even though I kind of have no doubt on who number one is at this point. But let's hear your list of who's number one. Let's hear your top top five in 2028 and why. Let's go through them all.
[00:07:56] Speaker A: Yeah. So for number one, I have Isaiah Hamilton. Number two, I have Kenny and St. Louis. Number three, Liam Mitocaro. Number three, number four, Isaiah Clark. And number five, Tristan Edwards. I think this is a really, really fun top five. It's a really fun group of guys that have tools that can be translatable in the long run. But starting off with Isaiah Hamilton, I had the chance to see him live at Curry camp this year, and, you know, he lives up to the hype. He ranked number two by 247, which is crazy because he plays in Canada right now, and usually guys playing in Canada don't really get that love. They don't get ranked until they really, really stand out. So someone who's a sophomore getting ranked that high was obviously really, really cool.
The athleticism is ridiculous. Seeing it live, even crazier, you know, he's doing all sorts of stuff. The processing is, I think, a really underrated part of his game where maybe the playmaking numbers aren't the greatest, But I think he kind of knows what to do when, which is a really good sign. And what separates him from a lot of these guys that are just super athletes. Right.
You Know, you can see it in his eyes and his face. He's processing the game. He knows when to cut, he knows when to make good reads. And that's kind of what kind of impressed me the most about him outside of obviously the ridiculous athleticism and the budding three point shot too.
[00:09:17] Speaker B: Yeah, the shooting, I feel like, because people always ask me too, it's like, what makes Isaiah stand out? And like, I'm like, I don't, I don't think a guy that size that's that athletic, like, I'll see him do it on like a between the legs dunk in the fast break in a competitive game and I'm like, like, what the hell? Like, you don't see that kind of stuff and then you don't see the shooting that also translates, you know, at that size. So that, that's what makes me think that he's a no brainer in terms of like, I, I agree with him at being number one.
Areas for development for him though, I feel like obviously he's still a long way to go.
Feeba U16, that's where he stood out, obviously. I wish he got to play against the usa. Hopefully this summer we get to see him at the World cup, you know, but anything Hamilton you want him to work on or hone in that, that you think can help him make that bigger leap as a player.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Yeah. So for six games in the OSBA, tracked by Synergy, he's averaging 25.8 points per game, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 3.9 stocks, which is steals plus blocks, shooting 64% from two, but he's shooting 25% from three and he's averaging almost four turnovers a game. Obviously this isn't the full sample size we have of him, but that obviously shows things he should probably work on.
Like I said, seeing him live, I don't think the shot's broken. The shot is actually very pretty. His form looked really good seeing it in person, but obviously ball security should probably be a thing to kind of keep an eye on. And other than that, obviously shooting is kind of a recurring thing in Canadian youth prospects where it takes a bit longer for guys to become good shooters. But other than that, I think that there's a really, really solid base for a really fun prospect down the line. He's already exceeded the expectations of everybody and all the Canadian supporters.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: You mentioned the shooting.
Is there like a reason why Canadians don't shoot the ball? Like, obviously a lot of Canadians are late bloomers. You know, we talked about the heavy. But I think there's an issue when I talk to other people, too. It's like Canadians just, it takes a while for them to shoot the basketball. Do you have, like, a theory as to why that is or is just like, something that Canadians usually just lack early?
[00:11:30] Speaker A: I couldn't tell you exactly. I mean, you know, it's a process, and obviously a lot of Canadian players, they start playing later. But, you know, I think that as the years are going on and basketball is really becoming a staple in Canada, especially for young, young guys, I think that it'll come in time. And I couldn't tell you an exact reason, but hopefully it looks better in the U17 World cup than it did in the U16s, because that was my biggest kind of concern for that team last year.
[00:11:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Moving on to number two, you had Liam playing at Bella Vista this past year. I think it was a great decision. I've talked about on the podcast getting to learn from a guy like Miles Sadler. What impresses you most about Liam? Kenyon's right in that mix, too. I think you might have those guys all together, like, what's. Tell me about Canyon. Tell me about Liam. What do you like about those two point guards? Not headed. Not playing in the South.
[00:12:19] Speaker A: Yeah. So both of them playing in the US you mentioned how Liam's playing for Bella Vista, Kenyon, St Louis, playing for Winston Salem Christian in North Carolina, I believe. And both them have a really fun, really fun skill sets that really play off each other pretty well. I'd say Lee Mitocaro, he's a bigger guard. You know, I was put on to him a few years ago back when he played in the provincials in U16.
Yeah, U15 provincials, I remember, for Alberta. And the playmaking is really fun. You know, for someone who's listed anywhere from six' three to six' four, he looked, when I saw him in person, he looked around six' three, six' four. And the playmaking for him is really fun. The processing is really fun. Very smooth as a ball handler. And I think that stuff goes a long way. You know, he's one of those guys that early on has some really interesting fundamentals. And as he learns, as he kind of develops a role down the line, I think it could be a really interesting player.
Kenyon, St. Louis.
We've seen him score the ball. He had some big, big moments playing in the grind session for wins of Salem. Had this game recently where he had, I believe, 34, 35 points. Really?
[00:13:27] Speaker B: He check. He check. He was On a. He was on a heater.
[00:13:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Really, really fun offensive player who's also an interesting playmaker. He had some good assist numbers playing in the U16s last year and we know that he could be a guy that takes over on offense. So that's a really good kind of second option to have on this team. Canada U17 team, there's another guy who can catch fire, who can score on multiple levels. And yeah, big fan of both of them. Big fan of decisions to come to the US early and hopefully they develop well enough to become staples in Canadian hoops or Canadian youth hoops over the next two, three years.
[00:14:00] Speaker B: Yeah, a guy that decided to stay in Canada playing with Isaiah Hamilton. The other Isaiah, Isaiah Clark at Crestwood. What's your thoughts on him? He is kind of. I try to like. It's so hard to figure out what his position is at this point for me. But he's also just a bruiser.
Nice touch around the room from games that I've seen and just has a knack for just being at the right place at the right time. What's your thoughts on Isaiah Clark?
[00:14:24] Speaker A: Yeah, so I really like Isiah Clark.
Obviously my first impression of him was in the U16 World cup, and what stood out for me from there was obviously the fact that he would die for loose balls. He would play defense, he would hustle, he was vocal on the court. You'd see him zip down and get a charge on one end and finish at the rim on the other end. You know, he is a bit undersized, but he's built very big, very strong. Legs look like tree trunks. For seven games played in the OSBA, he's averaging 18 points per game, 8.5 boards, 2.3 assists, 61% from the field, and has a positive assist to turnover ratio. I think the versatility for a guy like him is very fun, even though he might be a bit undersized. But you know, we've seen kind of undersized Canadian forwards wings make impacts on winning levels. You know, Lou Dord, fresh off A championship with OKC, he's a bit undersized, I believe around 6 5, but he's played up to the 4 for OKC, so maybe modeling his game after him could be really interesting. Otherwise is just a big bruising forward who's had some success playing on the Under Armour circuit and should be a guy that I would definitely bring back to their U17 squad next year as just a guy to set the tone for the team. Play hustle, play defense and Potentially if he develops that three point shot, there's a lot of potential there.
[00:15:42] Speaker B: Yeah, the three point shot. Like we said Canadians, man, young players just lock into the gym, you know, get a quick thousand shots up a day. I think that that's the biggest thing for, for a lot of Canadians. Another guy that I was very happy to see in your top five, Tristan Edwards out of Scarborough, he's just popping off recently. I didn't know about him until maybe like a month ago when I was doing a story on his coach from Scarborough, Abdi Ahmed. And he told me about him and then I interviewed Tristan and he had a crazy game winner last year playing for Cedar Bray School out in Scarborough. And yeah, he has the size, he's what, like 68, great shot blocker. Was playing at Wilson Academy earlier this year. Now transferred over to Huntington Prep in West Virginia. What's your thoughts on Tristan and where did he kind of come from?
[00:16:31] Speaker A: Yeah, so I found out about him maybe a few months ago as well, just through doing some research on another player who was really impressive in FIBA in the Afro basket, U16s Emmanuel Wedrogo. And he was his teammate at Wilson. So when I was doing my research, I saw that they played this event together and I open my tab and I see 6 foot 8 Canadian guard going crazy at the event and I was like 6 foot 8 guard. I do my research. I found out he's part of this group and yeah, no, super impressive. He's another guy that from what I've heard was a bit underrated because he was a smaller guard growing up and then he hit this crazy growth spurt over the last year or two and now he stands at around six foot six foot six, six foot eight and you know, great athlete, really fun defender like you said. Another guy who the feel for the game is really, really fun. And obviously he's playing higher level competition.
He had a really fun stretch in the grind session where I believe as a freshman he was averaging 20 plus points again in their lower conference. And now he's playing higher level conference. You know, he just played against prolific prep and I think this is great exposure for his development and it should be a no brainer for Canada to at least consider next year.
[00:17:41] Speaker B: Yeah, that could be interesting. Starting five, obviously the kind of, I don't know, Isaiah Clark could kind of play big too. We'll see. Man. Another guy I want to throw on your radar. I don't know if you got to watch him much. I got to watch him play Eybl the. The Younger brother of Tyler Ennis. Tylon Ennis.
I don't know what you've heard about him, he's obviously based in Houston, but a prospect that I feel like many Canadians might have heard of when he was very young. Obviously just like comes from a, a family that's very known in the Canadian basketball space. But I think he's also picked up offers from like San Diego, Syracuse, Syracuse. Obviously the brother connection, the family connection, they're on it early. I love that. But what do you know about Tylon Ennis? Out of.
I believe he's playing at Perland this past year, but out of Houston. What do you know about Tylon Ennis?
[00:18:30] Speaker A: Yeah, so Tylon Ennis, I found out about him a few days ago and I did my deep dive. I talked to some people that had watched him play and I was definitely impressed. He's a bit undersized at the guard position, but he's still very young.
He played for a JL3 Elite, played with some really high level teammates, played against some high level competition and he looked really good doing it. You know, that's all you need for guys like that. You know, the ball security for him is really fun. I think as a secondary ball handler he did a really, really good job playing with Madden Hill. I think that the shot looks nice as a guy who can create a shot off the dribble, off the catch. And he's another guard prospect that I think should be on the radar for Team Canada. Coming up as a shifty guard who has some potential to be a fun shooter down the line and a guy who's poised from playing good competition, you know.
[00:19:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I remember just watching for the first time and being like this guy, like he just makes the right read all the time, can play off ball, can shoot the ball well, it started to get that athleticism starting, you know, like it's just, it's just.
[00:19:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I've been seeing the athleticism kind of developing in the film recently.
[00:19:38] Speaker B: Yeah, it's coming along and I would love to see him part of maybe this FIBA U17 World cup roster. If they're expanding, you have to open it up to more guys.
But it's really interesting. Like what I like about 2020, we're mentioning a lot of guys and we're missing a lot of guys that have feel. I think that's the biggest thing that translates to all these different levels. Right.
I want to put you on the spot. If you were deciding the FIBA U17 World cup roster, how many guys are you bringing back Obviously we just mentioned a bunch of guys. We just mentioned Tylon Ennis, hopefully maybe in the mix, maybe into consideration Tristan Edwards, who we both feel like should be a guy that gets the call up.
Who are you keeping from Last year's FIBA U16America where Canada won silver and who are you bringing to Turkey this summer for the World Cup?
[00:20:23] Speaker A: Yeah, so I mean, obviously the first five guys or four guys that we've talked about, like not including Tristan Edwards. Right. So Isaiah Hamilton, Isaiah Clark, Kenyon St. Louis, Liam DeCaru. Those are four guys you need to bring back. They were the best four players on the team.
Another few guys I liked, I like Grady Capuan, played at 43 last year and now he's out playing in Texas, I believe. And he's another guy who's big, has a good feel. You know, when I was watching him, I was always impressed when he was on the floor as a guy who could move really well at around 6 foot 7, you know, it's probably taller now. A guy who was again able to bring the ball down court, a guy who played good defense, a guy that was just a big fun body to kind of have around. And another guy who I really like as part of the squad, you know, we're talking about shooting is Noah Dacre from Orangeville Prep.
Maybe didn't have the best shooting like showcase at the World cup last year, but he's consistently been a guy who's been known in the Canadian scene for being a knockdown shooter. So he's another guy that I would bring back.
Other than that, the two younger guys I would probably bring back, Jeremy Goye and Praise Badejo guys will probably touch on later. But two prospects that made their impact at the U16America last year and yeah, so those are the guys I would bring back, guys to maybe consider.
Obviously we talked about Tylon Ennis, we talked about Tristan Edwards, Kingston Montague playing for Basher in Arizona is another player who I was surprised didn't make the roster last year as a really, really talented guard who also from, from what I've heard, has some pretty good offers.
And other than that, you know, there's a big, big group of guys out there who you can consider. But I think that core guys is a really fun start for a squad in Turkey next year to compete against a higher level competition than what they face. Way higher than what they face in America.
[00:22:14] Speaker B: Yeah, from what I've heard, like you mentioned, Kingston, he's very small too as a guard, from what I've heard. Just like Canada doesn't really like small guards. They like size for these like international competitions. And it's like we have, we've mentioned a lot of guards already.
[00:22:28] Speaker A: Right.
[00:22:28] Speaker B: So it's already tough for them to kind of pick and choose.
Obviously I think it took Miles Salad got cut the first time. Right. Didn't play originally. I think Fiba was a U16 and then got calls up, gets called up for the Phoebus. U17 is the best player on Canada. So I think for them, for the federation, they have a hard time like picking guys that are smaller. Just they're not sure how that translates to that level. But I don't know. Sometimes it helps, especially when you want to face a USA team who just pressures the ball 99% of the time against in these competitions because they know people can't handle the size, the physicality, all that kind of stuff. But heading into this World cup for Canada, FIBA released a ranking for boys age grouped and Canada is ranked 10th overall against. I don't know, some countries I saw on the list and I'm like, I'm kind of shocked.
What were your thoughts on Canada's ranking at number 10th? Is it justified? Obviously it's based on their performance and competitions and all that kind of stuff. But is it justified in terms of the talent level Canada has, is potentially producing? What are your thoughts on Canada being ranked 10th overall in FIBA world ranking?
[00:23:38] Speaker A: Yeah, so I think we got to aim for higher than that. I think that there's enough talent in this country to be potentially a top five ranked team. And you know, maybe last year some of the teams didn't perform to the standard, but I think that this year coming through, there's a really good team for the U17 World cup and a pretty decent team or underrated, I'd say for the U18America. So I think obviously there's a lot of really, really good teams suiting up for World cup. Specifically with France having a few guys that have been playing pro since they were 14, 15 years old. Nathan Solomon, 6 foot 9 wing who's been playing pro for France's development team since he was maybe 14 and now he's the leading scorer of their team at 16. Aaron Tonancy, another guy who's playing right now against Euroleague teams as a 59 guard who's 16 years old. And I think that you know there's going to be some, some tough comp, but if they can overcome some of these tough teams, I think there's definitely a place for them in that top five.
[00:24:37] Speaker B: Yeah, we're going to be doing some in depth coverage, obviously covering the Fiber U17 World Cup. Alec, we'll get you on obviously talking about it in the future and all that kind of stuff. I want to jump to 2027, 2028 special class like we talked about. 2027 has some names that I'm intrigued about. Has a guy that, that we'll start off with. I hear from NBA scouts, from NBA executives as a guy that they believe might be the next Canadian to make the jump from whether it's college to the NBA, you know, in high school right now and that's Paul Osseruri of Scarborough. What's your evaluation of him? He just played Hoop Hall West Classic, has the size, has I think almost every college offer now and it's been a name that's been around in the scene. I think played for Canada first at the FIBA U16America. And what are your thoughts on on him? Obviously he hasn't played for Canada in I think a few years. But what's your impressions of Paul Assurori, a guy that plays also at Bella Vista?
[00:25:39] Speaker A: Yeah, so he's been a mixed bag for me.
On one hand, you look at the physical profile and he's like a grown man. He's been a grown man for the last four years where he's around 6 foot 8, 6 foot 9, jacked, really good athlete, can get his head above the rim. I got to see him play two games at the City of Palms Classic this year where first game, you know, kind of a quiet game from him. But the second game he was super impressive. He made a few threes, he was able to move on the perimeter. He tried to poster Marseilles Ponder maybe four times. He got two of them to go from what I remember. But even the ones he missed were super impressive, like talking tomahawks above the rim, crazy plays. I think that maybe he's more of a mixed bag for me just because the class he's playing for is relatively weak and he's been ranked pretty high in that class for a long time.
I don't know if I would have him top three like some recruiting sites have him, but I definitely have him as a top 10 guy. I think he's super interesting as like, you know, an athletic pro, a guy with an athletic profile who can shoot. That's what NBA teams are looking for. So I think with the right college situation, with the right development, possibly next year at Bella Vista as the main option on the team, I think we can get shades of a really, really Cool prospect that could be on NBA or is already on NBA radars.
[00:26:59] Speaker B: Yeah. ESPN has him, I believe like top four in the ranking. So he's been, he's been in that mix for a while now. The only concern that I hear from people is like the motor sometimes is not all the way there, but man, the size, the athleticism. Like he go take one, two steps from the three point line and just like get up there and it's like no one's jumping with them. No one even has a chance. You shouldn't even dare. I'd be afraid to jump, stand on the rim, you know. I think he's also a very sneaky passer for his size. Can shoot the ball really, really well too at his size and can get up a shot against pretty much anybody. So Paul is a name that I've enjoyed watching. I've watched him closely, followed him, watching him on the EYBL circuit for the last few years. So a name that I, I really like. Dang Angor at for Erie. What's your thoughts on him? People consider him obviously the best Canadian prospect in Canada right now. 2027 class. What are your thoughts on. On Dang. And then there's another guy too, Liris Robinson. I don't feel like people. People know about him, but he's from Houston, right?
Playing also shout out to Bella Vista. They got everybody. They're like collecting like they're. What's his name? Who's in? The Avengers, the Affinity Stones, Thanos. Thanos. Bella Vista got out all the Canadians, man. If you want to head over there, go head over there. They got them all. But Another Guy lyrics Robinson playing at Bella Vista. His dad is also Canadian.
From what I've heard there is interest potentially for him to play for Canada this summer, the FIBA U18. But give me your impressions of Dang what you've heard also about Lyrius Robinson.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: Yeah. So dang. I had the chance to see him live at the Grind Session Toronto and him too. Another really, really electric athlete. Has great size on the wing or as a power forward. I think he's around 6 foot 8. Another guy can get above the rim, play some fun defense. But the thing that impressed me the most watching him live was how we communicated on the floor. You know, the Bell Vista team had. There was a lot of communication on the not Bell Vista. Sorry for Derie. Fort Erie. There was a lot of talking from that team. There was really like, you can tell the guys really like playing with each other and really play for each other, right? And Dengan Gor, I was able to see that in his game, you know, getting his team, getting players in different places, getting to the rim and making smart plays. I think he's super underrated. So I've been impressed by Denguer. I think that there should be more national hype for him, especially with how good he looked playing against AJ DeBonso last year as an underclassman in the grind session when 40 replayed you top rep. But I've been impressed. I thought that he really fun lyric. Robinson is another guy that I personally really, really like. So, you know, turning on the film, you see a guy who's 6 foot 5 and another really, really good athlete, but he's also very fluid as an athlete. Where you see plays where he's hitting a crossover, takes two steps and he's above the rim. You know, he's another guy that plays great defense, can get at the rim at will, which as a youth player, that's what you love to see. A guy who is a walking paint touch, who can draw a ton of fouls, play some good defense and has a really pretty looking three point shot. So he's a guy that I feel like he's the guy who's my potential Canadian breakout for 2026 as a player who can really show people that he's a top level talent. If he represents Canada going into the U18America this year.
[00:30:23] Speaker B: Yeah, I hope it happens. He has like, I think like 20 offers. He's like a plug and play. Like can just play off the ball. Doesn't need a huge role. But I would like to see obviously in the next year when guys like Miles Seller move on to West Virginia, the ball more in his hands, potentially right where he could take this next jump, right?
See what he has, what the extra bag kind of looks like. But he, you can see you. You know why you can tell why so many college programs are interested. I'm also just looking at Dang's offers. He has Florida State, unlv. I think I spoke to him earlier this year and he mentioned Ohio State's also interested. So Dang, I just love the heart. That guy just plays with so much passion. I don't know if I've seen a kid with that much passion like yelling at you, like to be able to get AJ pissed off at you in a game. Like that's the next level. Like AJ is considered like a top three guy in this year's class, right ahead in the NBA draft cycle this year. So to be able to beat him not once, twice and invoke so much emotion, man.
Yeah, he, he. If I could be a player, I'd be dang, to be honest. Just like the heart, the passion, all that kind of stuff. So love those. Those. Those two guys kind of popping up in the scene. Obviously, Basketball Without Borders in February.
Likely going to be a lot of 20, 27 guys. Who would you like to see from that? From Canada? Maybe get the call, play against some of the top international players from across the world.
[00:31:44] Speaker A: Yeah. So obviously the guys we just talked about, if they make the. The trip, could be really, really fun. A guy who's not in the class of 27, but the class 26 he reclassed. Maxime Meyer is another guy we can potentially see at that camp. Hopefully another guy who kind of blew up in the scene late, played for Canada last year in the U19 World cup as an underage guy and was another guy who was super impressive to me. Seven foot, fluid, great shot blocker. I know the defensive numbers for him have been really, really impressive at the AAU level. I know there's a lot of people that are a lot of fans of him and he's heading to Duke next year, obviously. That's awesome for his development.
And yeah, he's a guy I personally like a lot going into basketball without Border. Should he go through another few guys? Kimani Walters playing for Royal Crown. I got the chance to see him live, too. A guy who has improved a ton since I heard him last, you know, or heard about him last. A guy who. Another electric athlete at the guard position. Another guy who plays with a lot of heart, and you can tell that he plays with a lot of heart. So him I like. And then the last guy I maybe want to bring up is Tutu Toto out of Orangeville Prep. A guy who's been quietly putting together a really solid season for Orangeville as a 68 wing that has a lot of juice, averaging 7.5 points a game, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and most impressively, 4.3 steals plus blocks, which is a great number. Playing nine games, I think I saw that he had 25 blocks over the last nine games, which is just really fun. And I think he's a guy that, you know, accounts like that can really showcase as a potential guy to get on radar is going further.
[00:33:23] Speaker B: Yeah. I'll also shout out Godson Akoku. A guy I think he's playing at Iowa United Prep. Haven't heard much from him since he's been to the States. Used to Be at Roll Crown, I believe JVON Tinso, another guy that used to be at World Crown, shout out to Roll Crown. They had a lot of talent too. Now guys, obviously in the States, he's playing on Mount Ver, putting up some good numbers, a bit undersized, but you know, man, it might be a new way. I'm just watching guys like Jamal Shed. I'm watching these young, these Raptors put out some young, small point guard lineups out there and it might be working. So I don't know, maybe, I don't know. NBA teams I feel like are staying away from, from small guards, but I don't know, maybe it changes in, in the next few years. But those guys could be interesting. Basketball without boards. I feel like a lot of Canadians have a chance to get a call up over there and, and it's a cool experience. I, I might be heading out there, checking it out for the first time and I'm excited. It's in la, so should be a fun time potentially if I, if I head out there, but let's move on. What I love about what you do, you didn't just focus on 2027, 2028. You're looking at kids that are.
Whether it's like 15 coming up, 2029, class 20, 2010. Is that 20, 2010? I don't know, whatever. Class 2030, sorry.
Names that I feel like people should know in the next coming years. Maybe not just yet, but we'll probably get familiar with very well in the next few years. What makes you so interested in tracking these guys and maybe such a, such a young age and getting film of them, accessing it, seeing their development from such a young age up until the later stages in high school. What makes you so fascinated in terms of like watching these prospects develop?
[00:35:06] Speaker A: Yeah. So I mean, like I had said earlier, a lot of the stuff I do mainly is in the European space, right. And these guys out in Europe are getting agents at 11, 12 years old because they're playing in these academies starting at the U12, U14 level. Like there's a Barcelona U12 team and a Real Madrid U14 team. And it's decently accessible and very like decently commercialized out there too, where guys are invested in tracking the development of guys in their youth club. And you know, from talking to people there and talking to agents and talking to scouts out in Europe, I've kind of familiarized myself with kind of the younger generation. A lot of them are younger brothers or guys that are playing up in competition. So just Putting those rankings together, I decided why? I mean, why not do something like that for Canada as well, where I put some shine on a lot of these younger guys, guys that have. Have really, really been impressive at a young age, you know, and we're talking about the 2009 age group looking good. But this 2011 age group is also really impressive from all I've heard from people that have their boots on the floor and.
Yeah, no, I mean, for me, it's just kind of a natural process of getting into learning about these kids early, kind of tracking their development and hopefully reaping benefits of it in the future.
[00:36:21] Speaker B: Yeah. If you're not already NBA job point, we'll plug it multiple times. Go tap in with my guy.
2029. Praise Bidejo headlines your list. What makes him number one for you and what makes him so unique as a player? And that justifies King Heights Academy, obviously playing out there. What makes him number one for you?
[00:36:40] Speaker A: Yeah. So Praise Badejo is another guy that I learned about going into the U16America last year where he. I saw that he was a year younger than everybody else, and I was impressed of how he was playing or how he was still standing out with all these other players.
Another guy who's a really athlete for his size, probably around six' one, six' two, but he's like a blink in transition. He moves really, really fast. He has the handle, he has the production. He's playing for a King Heights team that has a few really interesting guys, you know, Yusuf Ahmed, Nikki W. Rich, I believe is, how you say it, guys that are really impressive in the Canadian youth scene. And yeah, I mean, for him, you know, he showed that he can hang with the, with the big dogs. Right. Play against Team usa. He showed that he's able to play high level competition in Canada and he's. I think he's a name to monitor going further.
[00:37:34] Speaker B: Yeah, he has no fear for a guy that size. Love watching him play at King Heights.
Another guy, number two on your list, Mikhail Francis, Edge Prep. What can you tell me about him and what makes him stand out? I feel like he's kind of an underrated prospect out of Alberta. I feel like the Alberta prospects kind of making days for themselves. We talk about Dan, all those guys, but obviously Alberta is kind of like a hidden gem, I feel like in Canada. But what impresses about him, because I know he played provincials this past year and was a name that was buzzing, right?
[00:38:05] Speaker A: Yeah. So I decided to tune into the provincials this year just to kind of get a, an early look at a few of these guys that might play for Team Canada over the next two years, three years. And I was seriously impressed by what I've seen from Miguel Francis.
He's maybe another grown man standing at around 6 foot 7, maybe 6 foot 8. Another electric athlete. You know, he's getting above the rim and he had a surprising amount of self creation for someone as young as him and a guy that you'd expect to be just an athlete just because he's bigger than everyone. But self creation was impressive. He had some really, really high level performances, some big scoring games and yeah, I mean I was impressed and I think that he's well deserving of that number two spot in that group.
[00:38:48] Speaker B: Jeremy, go here. Also part of that, that ranking for you.
I just want to know how raw of a prospect is he at his age and for a guy that size? I don't know. I've heard so many different reports about He's 7 foot 4, 7 foot 5, 7 foot 6. Like, like I don't know how tall he is. Somebody that knows him, tell me actually how tall he is because I really don't know the answer. I just want to know factually, is he still growing? I don't know. But is he more like how raw of a prospect is he at this age? Is he further along than you expected? Is he more of a Zach Edie or Olivier Rue in terms of like being able? I'm talking about how fast, quick speed, like how he moves on the court at his size. What do you see him and where is he at in his development? In your eyes?
[00:39:38] Speaker A: Yeah. So I think that, you know, if you compare him to Olivier Ryu at his age, if you compare it to even Zach Ed at his age, I think he moves way better. I think the foot speed is very encouraging for a guy as big as him who you'd think would have cinder blocks for feet kind of still does. But it looks a lot better than someone like Ryu did. Obviously at his age, you know, you see clips of him playing out in Laval which obviously shout out Laval but isn't the highest level of competition.
Especially when compared to the guys are going to face next year in the U17 World Cup. Guys like France and Serbia. But what was impressive about him is how he's learning how to shoot early on, which is obviously great. That's what you need to survive in the modern NBA. Despite the fact that he's 7 foot 5 but also the fact that he's able to move with the ball in his hands, he's able to make some reads. You know, I mean, the processing is a bit behind for him. You know, last year the big thing with him is he seemed a bit behind on a few plays. But developing somebody like that is really, really important for team Canada. You know, imagine in the long run you have running Team Canada where you sub out 7 5, Zach Edie and you sub in 7 5, Jeremy Goye. That's not a bad game plan if you ask me.
[00:40:57] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a perfect game plan. And I think exactly what Canada needs. I'm like looking ahead to the Olympics 2020 and I'm like, who's gonna play the big man position? Who's gonna guard the Nikola Jokic's of the world? You know, like that's kind of where my concern is. But then I look at a guy like Jeremy and I'm like hopeful. Everything potentially pans out for him, works out. And he's a name that we're looking at. It's like, wow. Like. But obviously you mentioned still further along, but can obviously prioritize like I think 100, he should be at the FIBA U17 World cup for sure. And they have this sort of like tall player program that they do where they go. They went through it with Zach, they went through with Ryu. Still going through it probably with Ryu.
And Jeremy's kind of following in that, in that footsteps. Right. So a lot of investments probably into him. And like, you can't teach height.
[00:41:43] Speaker A: Right?
[00:41:43] Speaker B: You can't teach height. So guys like that you gotta invest in very early on. So I like that Canada has made that investment to him and we'll see if it, the, the returns pay off, you know, eventually.
Class of 2030, 2011. Born as you would say, what names should people start to get familiar with? Even though it's early, but you got them, you got the names that we should know. Who in class of 2030 should we know?
[00:42:10] Speaker A: Yeah, so a few guys on our list. There's a few guys already playing in the U.S.
one of them, Tyson Darko, is a name that I've heard really positive buzz about.
Another guy, Jail Cabella who plays for Royal Crown Giant Pitts younger brother Brad Pitt, who plays for the Bella Vista JV team. From what I understand, he's another guy who's an electric athlete who, you know, another guy that I open my Instagram and I see on my page, class of 2030, dunking on people already 6 5. And you look at him and you're like, well, you know, that guy has to be on my radar now.
Dio Dixon, another shifty, shifty point guard who has a lot of fans, already has his road to Ote series that I've seen here and there. But another guy that I like a lot, Z who I don't know if I can really pronounce his full name, but he played for Team Ontario last summer at the Provincials. Playing up in age. And he's another guy who's an awesome athlete, a good playmaker, plays for Iowa United, their younger team, from what I understand. But the main guy that I think think should be kept an eye on is Khalil Ibihi, who currently plays in Germany but has Canadian roots.
[00:43:30] Speaker B: What, what can you tell me about Khalil? It'd be because I know his brother. I think it's Malik or played for Canada. FIBA U16 was kind of like this, this background guy playing off the bench, that kind of stuff, handled the ball, point guard. What can he tell you about Khalil? I know Canada.
I think Meeks has a relationship with the family. I don't know if he played with the pops in, in Germany or something like that. But what can you tell me about Khalil? And why should people be hoping maybe this guy suits up for Canada in the future? What's the connection and what makes him so intriguing?
[00:44:03] Speaker A: So going over the numbers, first off, he's 64 at 14 years old, he's regarded as the best prospect in Germany for his age group right now, which in 2011 he's playing in the junior basketball league in Germany, the jbbl. And let me just run through some some numbers real quick. 22 points a game, 7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 65 from 2:32 for 3 in 19 minutes per game for Bonn in Germany. Playing a year up in competition, probably in the race, probably in the lead for rookie in the year in Germany. I've heard so many good things about him. I did hear he was part or I did see he was part of the identification camp for Team Germany. But I've also heard that, you know, maybe not heard, but safe to assume that if his brother played for Team Canada, there's a good connection there with the family. But numbers are insane. And you know, I came across him when I was making my 2011 rank for Europe and then I made the connection. I said, you know what? I'm gonna push the agenda to maybe consider him a Canadian prospect down the line.
[00:45:09] Speaker B: Canada basketball Michael Meeks, if you listen to this, please get on that. That'll be a very interesting Fit for Canada, especially if he's considered like the best prospect out of Germany. Man, I might as well try that. Even though Germany's probably gonna push against that. Who knows?
[00:45:25] Speaker A: We'll.
[00:45:25] Speaker B: We'll see. We'll see if it happens. You, you also mentioned like early on just about a lot of guys potentially playing for pro clubs when they were younger. I've had this discussion on the podcast a ton. Where will Canada ever consider something like that? Is that something as you, a guy that follows international basketball would like to see Canadian?
I don't know if it's like signing with agents at a young age, even though it already happens already in Canada, but signing with a pro club at a very young age, whether it's like the CBL or something like that. Is that something you would like to see Canadiens adopt a move from following this US centric basketball model, AAU basketball, playing 80 plus games a season, not totally the whole year, like not getting any rest compared to maybe playing twice every two weeks, five days a week, practice. Is that something as an international guy you like to see?
[00:46:18] Speaker A: Yeah. So following the international, you've seen closely. There are advantages and disadvantages of the system on one end.
Guys that develop in Spain specifically for Barcelona and Real Madrid develop insanely well at the U16 level. They have some of the best coaches in the world. They have some of the best developmental programs in the world to the point where, you know, there's even a few high level US prospects that have gone to, at 15, 16 years old, to Real Madrid to Barcelona. Developments paying dividends right now as guys that are potentially now in the running to play for Team USA in the world in the U17 World cup this year.
One guy, Joaquin Boomti Bumti, his dad played for Georgetown, I believe, is a guy who was born in Florida, was sent out in Barcelona at 15 years old, 14 years old, and now he's developed as, as my personal top guy playing in Europe right now in the 2009 generation. So he's paying dividends. But on the other hand, you know, one thing that I've noticed a lot about guys coming from those systems back to the US Specifically to the prep scene, is that it takes time to adjust, you know, the speed of the game. The, specifically the speed of the game. That's the big thing is hard to adjust to for a lot of these international guys. And I think the fact that Canada is so close to the US you should take advantage of the fact that you're playing against those guys. You're playing in the same Systems, you're playing against the higher level guys. I think that breeds probably higher level talent in the long run.
[00:47:47] Speaker B: Yeah. It makes me think like a little bit about Keyshawn George because I don't know if he struggled early on at Miami, but he caught his, like, second gear. I feel like in the second half of the season where his name started to pick up buzz.
But yeah, it's interesting conversation. I just want to know, obviously, as a guy that closely follows international basketball, I kind of want to ask you too. We went through a lot of names. What makes a player for. You have like, okay, this guy's an NBA level potential. He has this hype or what tells you what makes. What's the tell all for you? Like, what's the tell that this guy has that potential?
[00:48:25] Speaker A: Yeah. So depends on what level and what age we're talking about. But let's say for an older guy. When I went to the City of Palms Classic, I watched Caleb Holt play one game for or two games for. Prolific.
[00:48:37] Speaker B: He's a stud. Oh, my God.
[00:48:38] Speaker A: I saw him play two games and I was like, immediately, this guy's an NBA player. He does everything right. He plays so confidently, so smoothly, and you know, he's dying for loose balls when Your team's up 40 with two minutes left of the game. Like, I couldn't speak more highly of him. Same thing with Jordan Smith, to a lesser extent, a bit. Christian Collins, guys that. I was just looking at them and I'm like, yeah, this is an NBA player. If you're looking at guys that are younger, again, the feel is a big aspect for me. But guys that are able to dominate in ways that are translatable, that's kind of what I look at. You know, obviously if you're a young guy, a wing who's shooting the ball already really well from three, you know, like I was talking about Khalil be shooting 32% from three at 14 years old, which is insanely impressive for a guy who's 14 years old. You know, 32 is a really, really good number for a guy in Europe at 14.
So traits like that, that look that can translate in the long run, but also help you dominate in the short run.
[00:49:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
Alec, I can't thank you enough for jumping on the podcast. Chat with me just about Canadian basketball talent. How for people that listening to this tell, like, this is not a definitive list.
[00:49:59] Speaker A: Right.
[00:49:59] Speaker B: When you're. When you're going through names, how often are you changing your list, adapting it? Like we mentioned, a Tristan Edwards pops up and he jumps into your rankings. How often are you changing, adapting, making changes, and like, fine tuning things? Especially because, like, especially when they're young, it's not. Everything is kind of like a.
An adjustment, I would think, right?
[00:50:21] Speaker A: Yeah. So I want to make it clear that my rankings are subject to change.
My personal rankings evolve by the day. You know, when I learn about a new prospect and when I see good performances, I move guys up, move guys down. But I only release my rankings every maybe four or five months. But just because you're not on the ranking this month doesn't mean you won't be on the next one. I just want to make that really clear because I get a lot of DMs, I get a lot of texts. Where's this guy? Where's that guy? Why am I not here?
What can I do to get on here? And I say, hey, well, you got to prove it to me, right?
I watch a lot of film, I keep up with as much as I can, but whatever pops to me is what I rank. And, you know, especially for the younger guys, it's super early. Right. Rankings. I'm gonna say this again. Rankings are subject to change.
And, you know, guys that were ranked the top guy a few years ago don't all aren't particularly the number one guys right now. Right.
So, you know, to me, it's just about learning as much as I can, seeing as much film as I can, and, you know, kind of making the adjustments when needed.
[00:51:27] Speaker B: Yeah, obviously, we talked about basketball borders next month. What events are you looking forward to to maybe scout international Canadian talent in the next coming months? What are you most excited for?
[00:51:38] Speaker A: Yeah, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to go back to Europe this winter for the Adidas Next Generations. I went to Munich last year, another very, very awesome experience.
But I'm trying to head to some of the Adidas Next Generations this upcoming cycle, maybe some FIBA stuff in the summer if I have the time and the resources.
Other than that, I'll be at the All Canadian game, most likely. I went last year was a fun event, but, you know, good way to kind of get.
Get your eyes on a ton of ton of Canadian talent all at once. But other than that, just looking forward to kind of getting. Get more into the Canadian scene, You know, like, for me, being local, it's a lot easier for me to take a train to Toronto than take a flight to California or take a flight to Germany or Spain or wherever. So I'm always looking forward to kind of getting My boots on the ground over here. That's one of my bigger goals for 2026.
[00:52:31] Speaker B: Yeah. So if you're mad about Alex's rankings, make sure you come out to the AL Canadian game and tell him for yourself.
He'll be there. So give your explanation. Tell Alec why you don't like it. You know, tell him exactly the reasoning why. He'll still tell you why. But what I hope for this year, they had it at Humber College last year. The year prior was at Orangeville. Anybody listening? That runs All Canadian game. You listen to this podcast. Bring it downtown. Bring it to downtown Toronto.
Make it accessible for guys like me that I can attend. I don't want to drive up, but I'll be there too. Hopefully it works out. I'm trying to also get out to Hoop Summit like I do every year, check out the next wave of talent coming up there. But, yeah, if you have a problem with his rankings, you know where to find. I'm giving you the whole drop, guys. I'm letting you know exactly where he will be. But my guy, Alec, I can't thank, you know, for. For coming on podcast. Where can people find you, your work and all the stuff that you do?
[00:53:22] Speaker A: Yeah. So NBA draft point on Twitter and on Instagram. I upload daily. I'm active all the time. I'm doing research every day to kind of learn as much as I can about the scene. You know, I'm still relatively new to this maybe two to three years in, but I've been blessed to get all sorts of opportunities and, you know, hopefully to make this my career in the long run. So NBA draft point on ig, NBA draft point on Twitter.
[00:53:48] Speaker B: You're new to this, but I would say you're used to this. You know, that's. That's a bar. That's a bar from Lee Ben Osman. So tap in with Alec. I usually have all his notifications on once the international stuff begins this summer. Tapped into all that kind of stuff. So if you're not following already, I don't know what you're doing. He's one of the best followers on Twitter, on social media. Go tap in with him next time in Montreal, we're hitting up Lebanquis 100. I need. I need to get some poutine. So I'll hit you up. We're gonna enjoy our time over there. So, Alec, I can't thank, you know, for. For coming on the podcast, talking some Canadian hoops and giving us your insight, your evaluations. Appreciate you, brother.
[00:54:25] Speaker A: Appreciate you, man. Appreciate for being on the show.
[00:54:27] Speaker B: Of course, man. This has been the Canadian Basketball show. Your go to spot for the latest news, stories and analysis on Canadian basketball. I'm your host, Lee Ben Osman with my guy Alex and we out.
