What's wrong with grassroots basketball in Canada?

[00:00:02] Speaker A: 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're back in studio this week and big news, big news just hit the air. Hamilton Zone. Shay Gilgis Alexander was just named mvp. Well deserved. The first Canadian to win it since Steve Nash in 06. This guy basically averaged 33 points, 5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals on 52% shooting to lead OKC to the first seed 68 win season. Shade joins Michael Jordan as the only two players in NBA history to average at least 30 points on 50% shooting, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1 block per game. Impressive. Impressive stuff, man. This is going to have a huge impact, I believe on Canadian basketball. And for this week's episode, I got my guy, Philip Musich. [00:01:07] Speaker B: You said it right. [00:01:08] Speaker A: I said it right? [00:01:08] Speaker B: Yes. Amazing. [00:01:09] Speaker A: I love it. Serbian man. My guy. A well known basketball skills coach in the city. My guy. Phillip. How you doing? [00:01:16] Speaker B: Doing good, bro. Doing good. [00:01:18] Speaker A: I'm excited, I'm excited to have you on. [00:01:19] Speaker B: I'm happy to be here. [00:01:20] Speaker A: We're going to talk a lot about grassroots basketball. What's going right, what's going wrong. And you've been on the scene for quite a while now. Yeah. So I want to get your expertise. But like I said, Shay just won mvp. [00:01:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:01:33] Speaker A: Initial thoughts? I know you're Serbian. I know you love Jokic. [00:01:36] Speaker B: No, I think it's obviously great. Shai's a big time player. It's well deserved. He had a good season. His team finished first in the Western Conference standings. He beat Denver in the playoffs in the first round. I felt like maybe if Denver won, maybe they gave it to Jokic. I think maybe that's why they waited so long. But I think this is going to make a big impact in the whole country. I think for young, up and coming Hoopers, you know, they're going to see Shai, another guy from Canada, you know, and it's. They're going to say, hey, this is possible. I can do it too. So this is really big for the country. [00:02:06] Speaker A: Like you mentioned. I wonder why they took so long. Because they vote before the playoffs, like mvp. [00:02:11] Speaker B: Like it's a regular season award. [00:02:12] Speaker A: It's a regular. So media vote ahead of time. But it took so long just to announce it, which was interesting. I don't know if they waited behind, but. Yeah. And I remember the league saying they don't usually announce it before or after the second until the second. After the second round, which I'm like, that's not the case. It's been announced earlier, before, but too much. There's been so much politics. Right. You see it with the. With Shay, the Jokic convoy. I honestly think, in my opinion, you could probably. I know you're a big Yokic guy. I think you should have won it last year and this year might have been up to more. I thought Shea was really good. I love Shay too. [00:02:47] Speaker B: I think Shay's a big time player. I'm fine with Shay winning it too. He's from Canada. You know, I grew up in Canada, so I'm fine with it. [00:02:53] Speaker A: Yeah. What kind of impact? We talked about it just a little bit. [00:02:55] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:02:56] Speaker A: I mean, coach, you train guys coming up, and I'm guessing a lot of guys look at Shai as a. [00:03:00] Speaker B: As soon as Shai won mvp, all my young boys posted him on his story, on their story. So I think, you know, they're going to see that and they're going to look at themselves and say, hey, like, maybe I can do this too one day. Maybe not on that level, but maybe, you know, I can get to college and maybe get to the NBA and see where that can take me. So I think just like when the Raptors won a championship, it had a big impact on the city. I think Shai, mvp, big impact as well. So, yeah, Hamilton, Exciting times ahead. [00:03:27] Speaker A: Yeah, Hamilton, Ontario, man. Kind of. If you told me five years ago that a kid from Hamilton would mvp. [00:03:33] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:03:33] Speaker A: I would be laughing right now. [00:03:34] Speaker B: Crazy, crazy, crazy. Well deserved. [00:03:37] Speaker A: Well deserved. [00:03:37] Speaker B: Shout out to Shay. [00:03:38] Speaker A: Shout out to Shay. But like I said, I wanted to get you on to talk about the grassroots scene, the grassroots basketball scene here in Canada and kind of like, what's wrong with it? That's been my question. Right. There's been a lot of people that come in like, there's something wrong with this, something wrong with that. I get so much complaints from a lot of people and I want to talk to you as a person that sees it, that lives it, that coaches and trains it. But tell me, how did you get started as a basketball skills coach? What's your origin story? [00:04:08] Speaker B: Basketball has been in my blood since I was a kid. My dad played in Serbia, so he put a ball in my hands from a young age and he trained me and he taught me the game. And I had other trainers too, but it was mostly. My father had a big impact on me. And then I played in Serbia when I was younger. I played for Red Star, which is for those of you that don't know. It's a big club in Europe and probably the best team in Serbia. So I played there when I was 14, had a chance to develop there and see how they do things over there. And you know, my mom and my sister moved with me to Serbia in grade eight, you know, to live a different life. And after that I went to Oakwood and IMG and different prep schools. Long story short, I stopped playing pretty early. Had some family issues I was dealing with. And then I got into coaching from 20 years old. Now I'm 31, so I've been doing it 11 years. And yeah, I mean, I would call myself a basketball junkie for sure. [00:05:00] Speaker A: You talk about Red Star. Can you name some of the players that played for it and like came from that program? [00:05:04] Speaker B: Quincy Miller played for Red Star. He played in the NBA. Two Denver Nuggets. I'm sure you know Quincy Miller. Isaiah Cannon, another point guard that played recently for Red Star. Just like fringe NBA guys. A lot of NBA guys that, you know, finish their NBA career, they go overseas to play. There's been too many guys to name, but you know, it's a big time club with a big tradition and very big history. I take basketball seriously over there. [00:05:30] Speaker A: Man. I was going to say, I see the clips. In Serbian basketball, it's different. [00:05:33] Speaker B: Everybody has to go at least once in their life just to experience, just experience. [00:05:37] Speaker A: I wish we had that here. [00:05:38] Speaker B: It's different than here. Here, you know, you're eating popcorn during the game, drinking Coke and whatnot. Over there you're fighting for your life. Yeah, guys are throwing different things on the court, you know, getting into fights. I don't promote that, but you know, it's interesting to see. Yeah, that's a big passion over there. A big, big passion. [00:05:55] Speaker A: We talked about coaching, training for 11 years. Tell me about when you wanted to get in the space in Canada and how did that happen? [00:06:04] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I wanted to get in. As soon as I stopped playing, I knew I had to give back to the game. This is all I did growing up. And you know, I started at 20 years old training and coaching. Started out locally training guys. I coached a team and I trained everybody on the team that I coached. And kind of from there, word of mouth, as my name got bigger and as players seen results, you know, the rest is history. That's how I came to today, you know, just step by step, building, building, building. And you know, you got to put the work in right. You got to start somewhere. Now I do it now. I'm fortunate enough to do it full time. [00:06:37] Speaker A: Can we talk about some of your clients? I know some guys playing college. Yeah, let's hear, let's hear who you got. What's the roster looking like? [00:06:44] Speaker B: Xavian Lee, who's now going to Florida next year. I've been with them for. He's. We've been training together for four years. I think he's the best point guard in Canada right now. That's not in the NBA. Another guy is Jovan Milicevic, who played at New Mexico this past year. He's going to Xavier. Six foot ten, stretch four, can really shoot the ball. Look out for him, he'll have a major impact next season. Another guy is Michael Nko, who I know you know pretty well. [00:07:10] Speaker A: Hoop summit. [00:07:11] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, hoop summit guy. Going to LSU next year in the sec, third year. I think you'll have a really big impact too. You know, all three guys have a chance to play in the NBA one day. Then I have, you know, a lot of you sports guys as well that play for U of T and you know, Ryerson and Whatnot and some overseas guys. But you know, those are some of the top guys that I've been around, you know, for long periods of time. [00:07:33] Speaker A: When you're working out guys, what do you have them work on specifically and what's your focus when you're training them? [00:07:40] Speaker B: Just the fundamentals of the game. Like, doesn't matter if you're a big or a guard. You, you know, you have to be able to shoot the ball. Shooting is the number one skill. You got to be able to shoot, stretch the floor, you got to be able to handle it. You got to have good footwork, got to have a good touch around the rim, got to play defense. So it's not like, hey, let's only work on one thing. Let's work on everything. Let's get good at everything. Right? So your all around skill set for sure. [00:08:03] Speaker A: Any favorite players you trained worked out? [00:08:06] Speaker B: Favorite, I would say first, you probably know him. First guy that gave me a chance was Patrick Patterson from the Toronto Raptors. Yeah, we were pretty good friends and I told him I'm going to get into training and he said, hey, like you can come and train me. Let's see how this goes. And I think I did a pretty good job and you know, he liked the work that I gave him and that gave me confidence when I started out. Cuz if I could work out Pat, I could work out anybody. So shout out to Pat. Now he's a film producer. Yeah, yeah, he's a movie producer. [00:08:34] Speaker A: He loved movies, man, I remember him in Toronto. [00:08:37] Speaker B: And we still talk, we still stay in touch. He has a couple kids now. Beautiful wife too. Beautiful family. So, yeah, shout out to Pat. [00:08:45] Speaker A: Great long career to an NBA. Yeah, obviously, like I told you, I want to talk about the grassroots basketball scene. AAU happening. It's been happening for the past over a month now. Such a hot topic whenever I talk to somebody. What are your thoughts on it overall, especially in Canada and like the impact it has on players futures. [00:09:07] Speaker B: So AAU, I think AAU should only be played in grade 11 and grade 12. Anything before that? I mean, grade seven and grade eight. Why are you playing AU? You're not going to get recruited by college that young. It's like kids are spending. I have some kids that play on two, three different teams and they play every weekend throughout the year. So that's where you. Where's your time to train? Right? You're in the gym, traveling every weekend, playing games. You're not developing. You should be developing at a young age. And you know, a lot of these kids now are just traveling every weekend and that takes a lot on your body, right? So then by the time they get to college, you know, they're worn out and knock on wood. But injuries happen and stuff like that, so that's what you don't want to see. So a you, there's pros and cons, but I recommend grade 11 and grade 12. That's when schools are watching you. Before that, just work on your game, get in the gym, develop. [00:10:00] Speaker A: What do you think makes those kids do it at a young age? Like you mentioned, grade 8, grade grade 7, grade 9 even. What makes them go to AAU that. [00:10:08] Speaker B: Early if they're not everybody else is doing it. All their friends are going to aau, so they see their boy do it. Hey, I want to do it too. And obviously it's being promoted. It's on social media. It starts with rankings. I mean, kids are being ranked in grade six. [00:10:20] Speaker A: What are your thoughts on that? [00:10:21] Speaker B: Like, what are we doing ranking kids in grade six? You know, it's like nobody looks at those rankings, right? They're not credible. It's. Anybody can make them. And, you know, sometimes it gets the kids heads. And, you know, I'm not for that stuff. I'm not for rankings at all. Especially at a young age. It's like, guys, why are you ranking a kid in grade seven? Like, he has so much time to develop and so much things are going to change in his basketball career. Like let them have fun with the game. First kids got to fall in love with the game first they got to love it. They got to train hard and then everything else will come after that. [00:10:55] Speaker A: You mentioned training Xavier Lee. Where was he ranked? [00:10:59] Speaker B: He wasn't ranked at all. He was unranked. He had one offer coming out of high school. Princeton was unranked. Nobody knew who the kid was. You know, he was a short, small, skinny kid, overlooked from everybody. And he went to Princeton and he made a name for himself. Look at him now. He's playing for Florida. Back to back national champion. If they win next year. [00:11:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I was going to ask you. My thing too is with AU at a young age. Like Canadians, maybe young players. Like I feel like the American do such a good job in marketing players coming up. Do Canadian players get enough competitive exposure or like visibility? You feel like that where now they're searching for those, like we said, AU at a young age. Do you think that's the issue? What do you think the issue is on why they're searching? It obviously clicks. They want it to see their friends do it. But do you feel like maybe they're not getting the competition here in Canada? [00:11:53] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean that too for sure. But like it's like, why would you go to the States every weekend in grade seven? You're just so much time and money is spent on those trips. And think about it, if you're playing every weekend over the course of a summer, that's Friday, Saturday, Sunday, three days that you're traveling and playing games, that's three days you're not training. Monday, you're coming back from your trip. Most likely you're going to be tired. [00:12:14] Speaker A: Hell yeah. [00:12:14] Speaker B: You're not going to train as well. That's 40s. [00:12:16] Speaker A: I'm watching Netflix. [00:12:17] Speaker B: If I'm, if I'm coming back, four days, no workouts. And I know other kids, they could do eight workouts in those four days, two a days. So you're going to get behind. Kobe said in an interview. Stack day. Stack days. And you know, in the long run it's going to pay off. Right? But you know, I grew up in a different era where there wasn't Twitter, there wasn't Instagram, there wasn't, you know, social media. So you really had to be good to be recruited. Now, you know, guys like Isaiah Hamilton, who's another young guy coming up who's in grade nine, I believe he's all over social media and you know, he's blowing up and eyes are on him. So he's like the next, you know, player from Canada based off what they're showing. Right? And he looks good on clips, athletic dunks, everything. He looks good. Hopefully he keeps working on his game. Wish him nothing with the best, but for the guys like that, the clicks can help you out. Some guys, you know, it doesn't. [00:13:08] Speaker A: That's a good point. How would you compare from like grassroots basketball in Canada to maybe Europe? Like what's, what's different? [00:13:17] Speaker B: Europe, they don't play as many games. When I played in Serbia, the practice, the game ratio was six practices a week, one game a week. What we would practice two and a half hours every day on skill development, straight skill development, being able to pass with both hands, footwork, shooting, you know, pull ups, everything. And we would play Sundays, one game a week. Six days were training and team training was different than team training here. Team training here for the most part. Now there are some clubs that do a good job, but for the most part, part it's. You know, I hear from parents all the time kids are wasting their time because they're not being taught anything. They're just, you know, playing five on five. They're not being developed. Right. So it's different overseas. Like it's not as hyped, you know, no less social media, you know, more development. And that's why we see the last six, seven MVPs in the NBA are all international. The game is changing because of development. That's the only reason we were talking. [00:14:15] Speaker A: About aau, how costly it is. I'm guessing you talk to kids, to parents. What does AAU really cost? Like we talk about, they're going every weekend basically on a trip to the States. How much do you think, like say a summer AU costs for a kid? [00:14:28] Speaker B: It can be anywhere from 5 to $15,000, depending on, you know, where you play, how many tournaments you play. But think about it. You got to pay for flights, you got to play for hotels, you got to pay for food three days, every weekend. You got to pay for your jerseys, your shoes, you got to pay for tournamen fee, you got to pay to get in. Everything adds up thousands of dollars, right? [00:14:50] Speaker A: That's changed, man, that's change when I grew up, change we didn't travel to. I'm, I'm saying like, like me, like I was a good basketball player. I wasn't really that good, but I'm saying like people that I knew were not traveling to play basketball. Exposure wasn't like back then, we didn't have that right. What Was it like maybe during your time growing up in Canada, what did you see in just when coaches would come to town? Was it a lot like or. And were, I'm guessing the top guys going to the States or what was that like? [00:15:17] Speaker B: So, yeah, back in my day growing up, top players definitely did go to the States. You had your guys like Tyler, Ennis, guys like Anthony, Bennett, Wiggins. They went to Saint Benedict's. Saint Benedict's and Finley Prep. Those were like the Canadian pipelines, especially Finley Prep. That's where Corey, Tristan, all those guys went. Right. So our top guys went to the States because colleges were not coming to Canada. They didn't know about Canada. They didn't think we could play. Now you have schools. I mean, I have schools calling me every time, all the time, hey, who, who, who can I come down and watch play in Canada? So the game is different now. You don't have to go to the States to be recruited. You could stay home and they'll come and watch you here. Different era, different times. It's. I would say it's easier for the kids now just because more eyes are on them. [00:16:01] Speaker A: That's interesting because I. Every single time I hear about a kid, it's like, okay, I got to go to the States. I got to go to the States. I got to go to the States. But you're saying you don't have to, right? [00:16:09] Speaker B: If you're a five star kid, if you want to be, you know, proved against the best players in the States, like a Will Riley or, you know, a five star kid, go to the States for your last year. Go play against, you know, the montverds and the IMGs. But if you're just, you know, a regular kid, maybe a bit above average, stay home and go to a school like Fort Erie, Royal Crown, Orangeville. There's great schools home where they develop and they have great exposure. I remember a tournament last year at Fort Erie. There was 20 Division 1 schools. [00:16:35] Speaker A: I was there, man. [00:16:36] Speaker B: Battling the fort. Yeah, schools are coming down here. They know we have talent. You don't have to go to the States. Especially when you go down to the States. You don't know what situation you're going into. You don't know the coach. You don't know how it is. You don't know the politics. Stay here, develop. They'll come find you here. [00:16:52] Speaker A: Yeah, we're going to talk about prep school in a bit because you just mentioned a couple. But are we doing enough when it comes to like preparing? I feel like kids to make the jump to esports, to make the jump professionally to the ncaa. Do you feel like we're doing enough in Canada or like what do you think is missing, if anything? [00:17:07] Speaker B: I feel like we could always do more. Obviously a lot of our guys are seeing success in youth sports and in Division 1. So I'm not going to say we're not doing enough because if we weren't, we wouldn't see those players do well. So we're doing enough. But I feel like it could always be more. I think we should focus more time on development and understanding how to play the game, how to play without the ball, instead of focusing on so much, on playing, playing, playing. Cuz by the time they're 25, you don't want a kid to be worn out and you know, knock on, maybe have injuries. That's why a lot of injuries happen now in the league especially. I feel like guys played too much growing up. It's a lot on your body. Right? [00:17:45] Speaker A: Yeah. We talked about obviously a bunch of kids going to the States. Right. But is there like a basketball in Canada and like what's that scene like from. I know the Jane and Fitch Classic tournament, that usually happens every August. [00:17:58] Speaker B: Right. [00:17:59] Speaker A: But is there really like a tournaments in Canada from your understanding? [00:18:03] Speaker B: There's the Jane and Finch Classic, Shout out to Chippy, the Jane and Finch Classic, and there's the CNIT and there's a couple other local tournaments. But universities, D1 schools, D2 schools, they're not really coming down for those AU tournaments. They're mainly coming for high school tournaments throughout the year. So AU tournaments, you know, if you want to be seen, you want to go to the States, you have your Canada elites, you have your uplays, you have your Northern Kings, some others, you know, programs there for sure, but those are some of the top ones. And if you want to be seen, go play on one of those teams. [00:18:36] Speaker A: And for you, when you're talking to a player, say they come into you and be like, I'm trying to decide what AU team to play for. How do you walk them through that? How do players usually decide that? And what's the recruiting like when you, When I hear a lot about it from in the background, I'm talking to people like, yeah, we're trying to get this kid, we're trying to get that kid. What, what's the scene like when kids are trying to choose the AU program? [00:18:57] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I mean I would always tell a kid, go where you're gonna play. Obviously you don't know going into the, you know, season, if you're gonna play or not. But go to a team where, you know, you think you have a chance to play, you play takes the best kids. So if you're not one of the top players, you're probably not gonna play, right? So go somewhere where you're going to play and have a chance to develop and be seen. It's not easy picking the right teams. Just like it's not easy picking the right colleges. That's why a lot of guys make mistakes in college, too. It's not easy, but you got to do your best. You got to do your homework, talk to people, talk to coaches, and try to make the best choice for you. [00:19:32] Speaker A: Like, what is the biggest issue with AU basketball, maybe in Canada is the ego, the politics. Is it overhyped? Like, for you, what do you think is the biggest problem? [00:19:41] Speaker B: Yeah, well, the biggest problem for me is the rankings. Rankings. These kids, I mean, I see rankings on Instagram all the time. Some kids come up to me, hey, coach, did you see the rankings? I'm better than this guy. I'm not ranked. You know, some kids, it gets to their head, you know, they might be sad, you know, some kids, they might motivate them, you know, so it's. There's pros and cons, like I said, could help out one kid, could not help out this kid. It's pros and cons to everything. But, you know, definitely a. You know, it's. I don't think they even practice some of these teams, or they don't practice enough. They just play, play, play. I know some teams, you know, they put a team together, they've never even practiced together. It's like, hey, go out and play. The kids don't even know each other. There's no chemistry, right? So they're not developing. In Europe, for instance, you know, the kids play with each other all year. They know each other, they're very familiar and they have chemistry and they play well together. There's no egos. It's like they want to win the game. Here it's all about individual. Individual stats, individual success. More guys are selfish. You know what I mean? Different game. [00:20:46] Speaker A: What's it like when you're talking, I'm guessing AU teams come out to you and like you just mentioned, obviously you want the best for the player. Where are you going to play the most? Yeah, what's that? Give and take. When you're talking to an AUE team, AU team. When you're trying to, like, yeah, promote your guy. And also, no like, what you have in mind for my guy. [00:21:04] Speaker B: Right. So I always asked him, who do you have playing at his position? If he's a point guard, what other point guards do you have? If the point guards have been there for a couple years and they've been in the system, chances are this kid's not going to play because they're very familiar with those guys. First question I ask, second question is, what's your practice schedule? Like, what tournaments do you play in? You know, how much, you know, playing time, do you think he's going to get? Things like that, you know, it's not easy, though. It's not easy. [00:21:32] Speaker A: I feel like a lot of broken promises, probably. [00:21:34] Speaker B: Broken promises. Yup. A lot. [00:21:36] Speaker A: Yeah. Where do you see, like, au basket maybe going in five years from now from Canada is. Do you see, like we talked about, it's not much. [00:21:43] Speaker B: I want to see it less. Yeah, I want to see less of it. I want to see less of it. I don't want to see more. I want to see less of it. First of all, these kids are doing celebrations. You know, some kids, you know, they're sticking up middle fingers when they score a three. They're, you know, looking at the other team's coach and saying, you know, bad words. And I think I posted a video on my Instagram a couple weeks ago. You know, this kid took a phone as he got a bucket, he stole a phone from a video guy and he went back on defense with the phone in his pocket. Then he went back on offense, he got another bucket, gave the phone back to the guy. It's like that would never happen back in my day. It's like the game has changed sometimes for the worse. Things like that, I don't want to see. I just want to see the game played right. I know you don't like that. No extra stuff. [00:22:29] Speaker A: That's creative, though. [00:22:31] Speaker B: Yeah, but like, that stuff won't happen in college or the professional level. So why are we allowing kids to do it in high school? Yeah, it's not good. And the guys that are responsible are the coaches. [00:22:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:22:43] Speaker B: If I seen that, I tell the kid, hey, like, you know, you're going to get kicked off my team. [00:22:47] Speaker A: Yeah. That's interesting. If a coach seen that or like, say an NCAA or even an NBA scout or was in the building, they're. [00:22:54] Speaker B: Going, write the kid off. [00:22:55] Speaker A: You will never write the kid off. Be looked at again. [00:22:57] Speaker B: Kid's not coachable, bad attitude. Write him off. Doesn't matter how good you are, man. [00:23:02] Speaker A: Do you feel like that's happening more in Canada. Like guessing. Everyone wants to go viral, right? [00:23:05] Speaker B: Everybody wants to go viral for the wrong reasons. Let your game do the talking, right? Let your game speak. [00:23:11] Speaker A: I was going to ask you what would one thing you change in the AAU scene in Canada, But I'm guessing it's the rankings. [00:23:16] Speaker B: Rankings for sure. Another thing would be, hey, spend more time with the kids in the gym, practicing and training together. Teach them how to play as a team when they get to the next level in college. It's a team game. It's less egos, less about how good you are, how good the team is going to be. Right. Teach them how to play together. Teach them how to win. Teach them how to make winning plays. It's not all about scoring. Make an impact in other ways. Yeah. [00:23:40] Speaker A: I was going to ask you, like, why don't we prioritize, like enough development here in Canada? Why do you think that is? [00:23:47] Speaker B: Million dollar question. Million dollar question. I just think that more time is being invested in games and tournaments, you know, games and tournaments. I don't think a lot of time is being invested in kids actually training and developing and, you know, is there. [00:24:05] Speaker A: Anybody doing it right that you're like, I want to give a shout out to that's like, like an AAU team or a club or like another trainer that, you know, that you're like, okay, I like what they're doing. [00:24:15] Speaker B: Right. [00:24:15] Speaker A: They deserve, like, people need to be tapped. [00:24:17] Speaker B: I mean, I like what Uplay is doing, for sure. You know, they have a lot of. A lot of success in college and in the pros. They've had a lot of guys, you know, especially Will Riley recently was going to be drafted. So, you know, they do a good job and they play in the EYBL circuit. They get the best talent and, you know, they play and they give them a platform to showcase their skills, you know. Another AAU team is Canada Elite. They do a good job as well. You know, a lot of Those guys go D1, go U Sports. They have a good platform. UAE circuit. Yeah. There's, you know, a couple other clubs as well. But those are, I would say the two main ones. They do a good job. [00:24:54] Speaker A: Those two you just named. I would consider the top two. Top two easily top two. Maybe shout to Brookwood Elite in Montreal. [00:25:00] Speaker B: Obviously them too. [00:25:02] Speaker A: But say you can't play for those three, right? Say you're not. Not to say you're not good enough, but it's like, I feel like to make that you play Nike ybl. It's very tough, right? Very tough to make Canada Elite Under Armour. You're probably the only Canadian team, right? Yeah, that's very, very tough. Same thing with the Brooklyn Elite team I just mentioned. Very tough. What do you say to kids that, like, say they're not at that level or they're trying to get to that level? Where should they play is. Should they just be in the gym working if they can't make those teams? [00:25:33] Speaker B: I mean, there's other teams you can play for. There's teams in the Puma circuit now, Toronto Select. There's teams in other circuits, you know, like the Monarchs. They play in. I can't remember what circuit, but there's other clubs out. Maybe they have less exposure, but maybe you can play on those. One of those teams. Or if you can't play on those teams, hey, don't play AAU at all. Develop over the summer and then come back next year a better player and go to a good high school. Have good people around you that can help you get to the next level. All it takes is a phone call. Hey, you know, Josh, I have this kid. Come watch him. You got to have people in your corner that can help you get to the next level. [00:26:08] Speaker A: How often is like, that's a conversation. Like, I have a kid, you should come watch him play. That helps. [00:26:14] Speaker B: I call schools all the time. If I have a good player, even if I don't train him, if I seen a kid, you know, I'll tell the school about him. I'll send them, you know, their highlights. Hey, check this kid out. So, you know, you always want to put the kid and the coach's notice, make sure the coaches see the kid. [00:26:32] Speaker A: Yeah. Covid, I want to ask you about this because I feel like Will Riley is obviously the main talent coming up now, but I don't know, I feel like we're. We had such a good wave a few years back where we had Shield, just Alexander, right? We had RJ Baer, we had Josh Primo, we had Nemar, we had all these guys. I'm forgetting names. Caleb, Houston, Omax, Ben Matheran. All these guys that entered the league. And I'm not saying we don't have that, but it's like, I can't say there's a clear cut guy, you know what I'm saying? How much? Covid, from your understanding, I know you obviously work guys out, but the access to gyms, the lack of access. [00:27:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:27:13] Speaker A: How much did that play? A factor maybe in, like, the surefire talent we're not seeing Right now. Yeah. [00:27:18] Speaker B: Yeah. So the last couple of years, definitely Covid hit those guys. Because for two, three years, however long Covid was, guys weren't in the gym. You know, gyms were locked unless you had a private gym, maybe keep it low key. But most guys, they didn't have access to a gym, and it was tough, and guys were at home and, you know, I feel like now we're getting that, you know, that class again where guys are being able to showcase what they're able to do. But the last couple classes, you know, were the COVID years. Guys. Right. It was tough during COVID and. Yeah, it was tough for sure. [00:27:51] Speaker A: What were guys working out, like? You mentioned. I know you. Were you working out? [00:27:54] Speaker B: I had a private gym during COVID that I was using, and guys were coming in and. And, you know, we followed all the guidelines, made sure guys were good. But I had a gym. I wasn't posting a lot, and guys would come in like, X when he was here, and Jovan and them and other guys. Because I wanted my guys to be active. You don't want to be home all day. So I had a spot for them. [00:28:12] Speaker A: Yeah. Because I always wondered, like, how much that impacted. [00:28:15] Speaker B: It really impacted myself. [00:28:16] Speaker A: I'm not saying we don't have talent coming up, but it's like, you can see, like, one or two. You'd think that maybe we'd have four or five, you know, like. [00:28:24] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely impacted, for sure. Yeah, for sure. [00:28:27] Speaker A: Something to explore. I feel like more in depth later on, too. How would you define the current state of maybe, like, grassroots basketball in Canada? Are we in a good place? Like, what would you say? Just from. [00:28:37] Speaker B: It's in a good place, for sure. I mean, there's a lot of talent coming up and a lot of really good young players. There's a lot of trainers now in the city, and kids are, you know, developing with their trainers especially. And the future is bright. I mean, every year we have at least one guy in the NBA draft. We have a lot of Division 1 guys. You know, our guys are even in the playoffs right now. The four teams left. How many Canadians are in the four playoffs teams? There's a lot. So, you know, Canada is doing big things and it's only just starting. [00:29:06] Speaker A: You talked about the amount of trainers. Is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing? Is. Or do you see guys not knowing what they're doing? I don't want to put you on. [00:29:13] Speaker B: The spot, but you're putting me on the spot. You're putting me on the Spot. I mean, there definitely is a lot of guys now that want to get into the training world. Maybe they think it's, you know, easy to do and whatnot. And it's definitely not easy. You know, you got to work your way up and you know, you gotta make an impact with kids and you know what I mean? And that's not always easy to do. You gotta, you know, know the stuff you're doing. But there's a lot of trainers now, there's a few really good ones that I respect. But yeah, there's a lot for sure. And kids and parents, I always tell them, do your homework. You know, if you're not gonna train with whoever, just do your homework. Make sure they have a resume and you know, make sure they know what they're doing and they're not just teaching you some nonsense on the court that you're not going to use in the game. [00:29:55] Speaker A: But yeah, yeah, you're obviously working on Xavier. I kind of ask what are you guys working on now? Man, he has a big year coming up. [00:30:03] Speaker B: Yeah. So this week we've been working a lot on his three point shot, making sure he shoots the ball at a higher, higher percentage next season. A lot of shooting, a lot of shooting off the dribble, a lot of finishing around the rim and a lot of mid range pull ups. He hasn't taken a lot of midis. I want him to play that in between game more. Especially for the NBA level. You need to be a three level scorer. He can finish at the rim, he can shoot the three well. Now showcase the midi more. 1, 2 dribble, pull up some floaters. And he's going to be playing with another good guard boogie flan. So it'll be a good year for sure. [00:30:38] Speaker A: Tell me about his decision to go to Florida. What are your thoughts on it and how excited you feel? [00:30:42] Speaker B: He made a really good decision. Obviously, you know Walter Clayton Jr. Left, he's going to be in the draft. So they want another guy to fill that spot. And you know, X was the guy. So I think he'll be able to, you know, really showcase himself on a much higher level. Princeton, Ivy League, you know, not a lot of people, I would say maybe watched his games because they weren't on espn. I watched Florida. [00:31:05] Speaker A: I know you watched. [00:31:06] Speaker B: No, I watched. You watched. We were there. We were there. Now all games are going to be on espn. [00:31:10] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:10] Speaker B: Prime time, your TV on and watch him play. [00:31:13] Speaker A: That's gonna be, it's good. I don't have to like find some secret Yeah. I don't have to DM you. Be like, yo. Yeah, Watching this. [00:31:19] Speaker B: What? Streaming website. No, no, no. No illegal streaming anymore. We're watching it live. Turn on ESPN prime time. Yeah. [00:31:27] Speaker A: Prep school. I want to kind of shift topics and talk about that. I feel like it's changed a lot in Canada. There wasn't many, like, offso was like the biggest thing. [00:31:36] Speaker B: Biggest thing, man. [00:31:38] Speaker A: The Oakwoods. [00:31:39] Speaker B: Yes. Easter, Commerce, Pickering, Mother Teresa. [00:31:42] Speaker A: What happened? [00:31:43] Speaker B: Prep schools happened. You know, it's funny you bring that up. I love that era because I played for Oakwood, so we would always play against Eastern, Mother Teresa, you know, Pickering, you know, all these different schools and, you know, all the top guys that went to their local schools, there wasn't prep schools. It's like. And it was just a different environment. Like, you know, I don't know if you've been to Oakwood and Eastern, but gyms are so small, and everybody would come after school and watch the games, and it was just a great environment, man. You know, now it's like prep schools, and there's 50, 000 prep schools, and most of them are not good. Like I said, I like Orangeville. Fort Erie Roll Crown. Holden Prep is good, too. Maybe I'm missing a couple. Those are some of the good ones. And the rest are, like, just very watered down, you know, it's like too many. Too many. [00:32:31] Speaker A: You mentioned, like, too many. Those. Those times back then, man. [00:32:34] Speaker B: Those were the days. Those were the days. [00:32:36] Speaker A: That's. Now I'll be. I'm a downtown guy. You're in the Esplanada area. Yeah. I gotta travel now. Shout out to Fort Erie. Of course. But I gotta try tonight. I'm gonna watch basketball, man. [00:32:46] Speaker B: Like, what is this crazy? [00:32:48] Speaker A: I never thought that you have to go this far to watch back. Even Royal Crown. I gotta go all the way to Scarborough. The deep ends of Scarborough, Especially in rush hour, right? Insane. Where else? Who else is playing? Orangeville Prep, man. Shout out to them. They so much talent. [00:33:03] Speaker B: They gotta adapt to the new times, right? It's like nil. You gotta adapt to the new times. Either you get with it or you get left behind. It is what it is. [00:33:12] Speaker A: I asked you, like, you're. You mentioned you don't like the amount of prep schools. What do you think led to that and is there a fix to it? [00:33:21] Speaker B: I think just anybody thinking they can open up a prep school and, you know, they can get players and, you know. Yeah, I think just anybody thinking they can do it, but, you know, it's not that easy to do it. You know, you got to make sure your kids are going to a good school. Some of these kids don't even, you know, go to a good school. It's online, maybe no teachers, no students. They don't get that high school feel. And then, yeah, it's like some of them are just taking kids money. They're promising them, hey, if you come here, you're going to go play in college. Don't promise a kid that. Let him earn it. Let him work for it. Right. So like I said, it is what it is. [00:33:59] Speaker A: How do kids, like, avoid that if they, like we mentioned, obviously we mentioned the top schools, but even like talking with like, say, A for Erie, a Royal Crown, Orangeville, sometimes hard to get into those hard schools. Right. Like, you got to be like, sometimes. [00:34:14] Speaker B: One of the top players. [00:34:14] Speaker A: Like, we saw Tristan Beckford, man, top kid heading to ncaa, went to Fort Erie and they play on the grind session. They have another kid promise who I think is really good. [00:34:24] Speaker B: Yes. [00:34:25] Speaker A: But it's tough. Those guys are talented. I'm like, tough. So how do you crack that? How do you. And if you're not, then like I mentioned, if you're not playing, say, for those AU teams that we mentioned, the U plays, the Can Elites, the Brooklyn Elites, and if you're not playing for the Four Eries, the Royal Crowns, the Orangevilles, what are you doing? Like, what should you do? [00:34:45] Speaker B: You should work on your game. [00:34:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:34:47] Speaker B: Maybe one day try to be good enough to go to one of those top schools or those top teams so you can be seen. Because end of the day, you got to be seen by somebody in high school or aau. Right. Just go to a program. There's programs in London, too. There's LBA. [00:35:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:35:01] Speaker B: They're good for a lot of D1. [00:35:02] Speaker A: They play good basketball. [00:35:03] Speaker B: They play good basketball. Great coach over there. So there's other programs. Do your homework. Do your homework. [00:35:10] Speaker A: Thoughts on Should a kid go to traditional high school? Like, what are your thoughts on that? Like, did you get a look? Yeah. [00:35:16] Speaker B: Yeah. So grade nine and ten, I always tell my guys, just go to a local high school. Just local high school play. Get your confidence up, you know, score as many points as you want. And then prep school, focus on your senior years. Grade 11, grade 12, fifth year, grade nine and 10. Go to a local high school. Just play, develop and work on your game. [00:35:36] Speaker A: Do you think there's pros and cons to the amount of prep schools we're seeing? Like, what's the pros to that is it. Just like, more opportunity for kids. [00:35:42] Speaker B: More opportunity. There's more eyes on you, Right. If you go see Fort Erie play, you might see another prep school that just came out last year, and maybe they have a kid that's good. [00:35:50] Speaker A: They're probably gonna get 60, though. Yeah. [00:35:52] Speaker B: But maybe they have a kid that's pretty good, and you take a look at him and right there's. That's the pros. The cons is you get false promises by some of these coaches. Right. Promising kids false hopes and dreams. I don't like that. [00:36:05] Speaker A: Yeah. Any red flags that you see when it comes to, like, prep schools in Canada, you're like, yeah, you got to avoid this, you got to avoid that. [00:36:13] Speaker B: Red flags. If they haven't sent anybody or developed anybody to the next level. So if they have no history of players to the next level, what makes you think that you're going to be the first guy? Go to a place that's done it before. Go to a place that has history. [00:36:29] Speaker A: Right. [00:36:29] Speaker B: Do your homework. Make sure the coach is a good coach, you know, and he's going to get you on the right path, not only basketball wise, but academically, too. It's a good school. Like, Royal Crown's a private school, so that's prime time school and education. Crestwood, too. Forgot about Crestwood program. [00:36:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Shout out to Crestwood. Is it that expensive? Like, what does the prep school usually cost from your understanding? [00:36:54] Speaker B: The good guys, they don't pay. If you're not good, the good players, they don't pay. Or they don't pay as much as some other guys do. But, I mean, you're looking at anywhere from 20 to 30 thousand dollars. 20 to 30 thousand dollars money. It is what it is. If you can't pay, that means you're not good enough. That's why I say if you have to pay 30,000 to go to a prep school, better, you know, save your money and don't do it. Just go to your local high school, save that 30 grand. Maybe you're gonna need it for college one day. [00:37:26] Speaker A: Yeah, it's tough, man. That's a lot of money, man. For one year, I could do a lot with 30,000. I'll start on my own. All of us can, man. I will do. I'll do. [00:37:34] Speaker B: I know. [00:37:35] Speaker A: Hey, man, I'll be selling chicken. [00:37:37] Speaker B: Sometimes kids pay 30,000 and they don't get nothing out of it. No recruitment. They sit on the bench, they don't get better. Nothing. School just took your money. [00:37:45] Speaker A: Yeah, there'll be some Programs that I'd be seeing, too. Like, they'll. There's certain guys, you know, are there to pay, to pay for the other guys? [00:37:52] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, of course. That's how it goes. It's been like that for years. [00:37:58] Speaker A: Yeah, you got to be careful. Got to be careful, especially do your homework. [00:38:02] Speaker B: Kids and parents don't get fooled. [00:38:03] Speaker A: How do you do your homework, though? Like, what's your biggest advice with that? [00:38:06] Speaker B: Have a mentor. Have somebody in your corner, you know, that knows these schools and knows these coaches. It might be a trainer, might be agent, might be whoever, might be your uncle, you know, just have somebody in your corner you trust. [00:38:18] Speaker A: Yeah. Do you feel like we're like, there's some talented kids that are, like, missing out because they can't afford a prep school or an opportunity, or do you feel like most kids get. Like, if you. If you're good enough, you'll get luck? [00:38:29] Speaker B: Yeah, I feel like there are some guys that are overlooked for sure. You know, maybe they don't play on the right teams, they don't go to the right schools. You know, maybe they just haven't been seen before. And there are those guys for sure. For those kids, my advice is just keep working. Keep working, you know, somebody will find you one day. Somebody will see you. If you're that good in this era, you'll be seen. It's hard not to be seen in this era with social media. You post a kid on Instagram, you tag him, it gets blown up if he's good, especially the downtown kid over there. I don't know his name. What's his name? [00:39:00] Speaker A: Yusuf, man. [00:39:01] Speaker B: Yes, he's pretty good. He's been going up a little bit recently. [00:39:05] Speaker A: Esplanade Legend, man. [00:39:06] Speaker B: Esplanade Legend. [00:39:07] Speaker A: There you go. I don't know what Instagram is, but. [00:39:10] Speaker B: Yusuf, Yusuf, Yusuf. [00:39:11] Speaker A: Admin, man. You guys tap in. [00:39:12] Speaker B: He doesn't really play on. Does he play anywhere? [00:39:15] Speaker A: King Heights account. [00:39:16] Speaker B: Okay, so that's a good school. [00:39:17] Speaker A: You play. You play this summer? [00:39:18] Speaker B: Okay, so he has exposure now, but. [00:39:20] Speaker A: Yeah, he's got a. He's got a. I'm trying to get him to a top school. [00:39:24] Speaker B: There you go. [00:39:25] Speaker A: If his coach is hearing this, I hope you're not listening, but my guy, Wemby. Shout out to Wemby, man. We gotta. We gotta. [00:39:30] Speaker B: There's other guys like that, too. [00:39:31] Speaker A: Yeah, under recruited, man. How tall is he? Is he like 6, 7, 6, 8? [00:39:35] Speaker B: I don't know. [00:39:35] Speaker A: I don't know, man. [00:39:36] Speaker B: Paul and Lanky. [00:39:37] Speaker A: Yeah. Tom Lanky. If you're hearing his coaches, man, Hit my line, man. Lee Ben Osman hit his line. We'll figure out a spot for you, man. Very underrated talent. What's one thing you protect maybe or change to protect young athletes in the prep system that you're like, okay, I don't like how this program does this or does this or. Or like, is there like a buyback or you get to get your money back? Like a situation like once you get commit. Once you pay, you pay. [00:40:04] Speaker B: Once you pay, you pay down. That's it. Once you pay, you pay. [00:40:06] Speaker A: So what would you change maybe or something that you're like, okay, I want this to be changed. About how prep school is in Canada. [00:40:12] Speaker B: It's a good question. I mean, I would limit how many schools there are. [00:40:16] Speaker A: Yeah. How much schools would you want? [00:40:18] Speaker B: 10. [00:40:19] Speaker A: Yeah. How many do you think there are now? [00:40:21] Speaker B: 100. [00:40:22] Speaker A: Damn. [00:40:23] Speaker B: 100, 200. In the whole country, there's new schools coming out every year. I can't keep track anymore. Yeah, right. But I would limit it to 10 schools. [00:40:31] Speaker A: It's that easy. [00:40:32] Speaker B: Seems like it. Guys are coming out with new schools every year, every two years, man. You know, And I would limit it to 10, maybe 15 schools and, you know, that's it. [00:40:43] Speaker A: Yeah. I want to shout out to. Maybe not even shout out, but I agree with that because I see the. The Osba, man. Yeah. What are your thoughts on. I feel like I've talked to a lot of people and the league is not the same. [00:40:56] Speaker B: No, no. OSBA was the best in 2012 with Elijah Fisher, Leonard Miller. And Vashon was playing that year, I believe, too. That was when OSBA had, you know, a few years back, Sai was in the gym one time watching Leonard and Elijah go at it. Like, that's when OSBA was at its top. [00:41:11] Speaker A: 2022 now. [00:41:12] Speaker B: 2022 now. It fell off. I didn't even watch OSBA game this year. You know, there's still good teams, of course, but it's not the same level of competition. Why? I don't know. Some guys went to the States, you know, maybe the COVID had an impact too. It's different reasons, but it's not the same as it used to be. And 2022, it was at its peak, I feel like. And we gotta get it back to that peak. [00:41:34] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I gotta. We gotta figure out a way. I feel like it's. Yeah. Even like the championship game, I thought it was a really good game. It was Holden Prep versus Ridley. I thought it was a good game, but it wasn't like, the level wasn't. [00:41:49] Speaker B: How it used to be. [00:41:49] Speaker A: It wasn't packed. It wasn't packed. Like, we were talking about the Eastern Commerce days. We were talking about, like, a regular. [00:41:55] Speaker B: High school game was. [00:41:56] Speaker A: Gotta stand up. Like, you gotta stand up to watch those games back in the day. It's changed, man. Yeah. We got to figure out a way to. To bring. I feel like I'm just biased because, like, I love to see more local basketball in the downtown scene. [00:42:09] Speaker B: Like, yes. [00:42:10] Speaker A: How it was. It's nothing. Basketball happening downtown. [00:42:13] Speaker B: Nothing. [00:42:14] Speaker A: But because you. Like we said, you got to travel to the. [00:42:17] Speaker B: I would love to see kids go to the Oakwoods, the Easterns, Mother Teresa's, Pickerings. [00:42:21] Speaker A: Do you think that'll ever happen? [00:42:22] Speaker B: No. [00:42:23] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:23] Speaker B: It's prep schools now. [00:42:24] Speaker A: Who. Who do you think was, like, the last good town? I know Kaja Gray. He played. I think he played at Oakwood. Might have been like, the last group of talent that kind of was like, okay, he's a pro now, right? He's playing for Canada basketball during the qualifier round. [00:42:40] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:42:40] Speaker A: Like, do you remember, like, a last group of, like, talented guys that were playing? [00:42:44] Speaker B: So he was a bit older than me. He went to school at Oakwood with me, Julian Clark, if you remember him, he went to Santa Clara. From Oakwood, Oakwood to Santa Clara. I don't think he really played aau. He was a sharp shooter. Six, five, can really shoot the ball now. I think he's a really big doctor. And Eastern Commerce had guys like the Hill brothers, a couple other guys, shout out to Roy Rana. He did his thing at Eastern Commerce, you know, that's when Toronto basketball was at its finest. I want to see that back again. Maybe one day. [00:43:16] Speaker A: Maybe one day, man. I doubt it, though, to be honest. [00:43:18] Speaker B: I doubt it, too. [00:43:19] Speaker A: These prep schools have taken over. I don't think it's a bad thing. [00:43:22] Speaker B: Because, like, there's pros and cons to everything. [00:43:24] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:43:25] Speaker B: Pros are exposure. Cons is there's too many kids, you know, being scammed and false promises from these schools. [00:43:32] Speaker A: I want to leave off one last question for you before we end off about the pressure to leave Canada to play in the States. We kind of talked about it, but are you getting, like, bugged or, like, kids come up to be like, when should I go to the States? When should I go to States? Is my time now, and how can I do it? [00:43:52] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:43:53] Speaker A: Is it too much, like, of a. We. We kind of touched on it, but, like, do you feel like you. There's Too much of a need for. [00:43:58] Speaker B: That or want from that, I think. If you haven't made an impact in Canada, if you haven't stood out here and made a name for yourself, don't go to the States. You know, one of my players, Yovan. Yovan, he played at Richview in grade nine. He made a big impact in grade nine. And then he went to the state's dream city for four years. Right. Other guys as well, like Xavian Lee, he played at Crescent, and then he went to Perky Omen. He made an impact here, home, and then he went to the States. Don't go to the States if you know you haven't done anything here. But if you want to go to the States, make sure you're ready. It's a different world over there. Doggy dog world. Mommy and daddy won't be there, your brother won't be there, your sister won't be there. So make sure you can take care of yourself. Do your own laundry, cook your own food maybe, you know, make sure you're ready. Some guys aren't ready to go. Mentally, you know, you got to be ready to go. [00:44:51] Speaker A: Yeah. But. Yeah, I feel like this has been an interesting convo. I feel like we talked about aau. We talked about the prep school scene. I. I think it's a lot of. It's just like my message that I'm taking away from this is like, work on your game first. Be in the gym more than anything. [00:45:08] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:45:09] Speaker A: And then you'll be seen. Yeah. [00:45:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Be in the gym. They're gonna find you, right? They're gonna find you. Just stay in the gym, stay working, stay hungry, stay motivated, be disciplined. You know, every day you gotta do something, and they're going to find you if you're good enough. And this day, they're going to find you. Don't worry about aau. Don't worry about that. If you're in grade seven, don't even ask me about aau. Just develop your game over the summer. You know, go to the gym, play outside, play in runs, get better. You know, don't play on three teams. Play on one team. But don't play AAU every weekend. You know, just get in the gym. And then grade 11 and grade 12, then play AAU. All you need is one year, two years. You don't need six years of AAU basketball. [00:45:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Because guys don't end up getting off or if you get offer in grade nine and 10. I hear it, it's a fake offer. [00:45:56] Speaker B: Not a real offer. [00:45:57] Speaker A: Like, they Want to see how you develop? They're not going to. [00:45:59] Speaker B: It's not a real offer. Sometimes, you know, schools offer it based off of a favor or a relationship or something, but it's not a real offer because if you get offered in grade nine, by the time you get to grade 12 in college, that's four years. That coach might not even be there at that school. Yeah, it's going to be a whole new coaching staff. So last two years, play aau and before that, develop. [00:46:20] Speaker A: Yeah, develop a lot of gems with my guy. Philip, man, I can't thank you enough for coming on the podcast. Anything else you want to add? Just about how you feel like basketball in Canada has evolved or just like what you're seeing on the grassroots scene that you're like, people need to know about. [00:46:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot more talent now than when I was coming up. There's. Kids are way more talented, kids are way more skilled. I just want to see kids being taught, you know, how to play the game the right way. Respect the game, you know, learn how to play the game the right way. Team basketball, it's not. Basketball is not one on one. It's four other guys on the court with you. It's a five on five game. So know how to play with your teammates, be a good sport and, you know, just keep working. [00:47:00] Speaker A: Yeah. So don't grab a guy's phone while you're playing. [00:47:04] Speaker B: Don't grab a guy's phone in the middle of the game. [00:47:06] Speaker A: Don't, you know, don't wear a ski mask. [00:47:11] Speaker B: I don't want to see that stuff. [00:47:12] Speaker A: I see that. I couldn't believe what I saw. I see the guy with a ski mask in a lamp line. [00:47:17] Speaker B: Oh, man. [00:47:18] Speaker A: What are they teaching these kids? [00:47:19] Speaker B: Crazy. And the coaches are allowing it to happen. [00:47:23] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:24] Speaker B: Listen, I'll never blame a kid. [00:47:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:25] Speaker B: These kids are kids. But it's the coaches and the guys that are responsible for the kids. Yeah, Kids are going to be kids. [00:47:33] Speaker A: Yeah. We got to do a better job. [00:47:34] Speaker B: Got to do a better job. [00:47:35] Speaker A: But I feel like we're in a good place. Right? [00:47:38] Speaker B: We're in a good place. [00:47:38] Speaker A: We're in a mvp, man. [00:47:40] Speaker B: Yep. [00:47:40] Speaker A: We're on a high note. Basketball's growing in this country and this is a conversation I kind of wanted to have on this podcast. [00:47:46] Speaker B: Now I just want to see the national team win a gold medal in Canada. All these NBA guys, they gotta win a gold medal. [00:47:53] Speaker A: Yeah. What are your thoughts on the. [00:47:54] Speaker B: What I want to see. They underachieved if we're keeping it real. They underachieved all that NBA talent. They didn't. I thought they were gonna be one of the top one or two teams. Serbia, USA and Canada and France. Those are really the top four teams in the world. But I don't know. They underachieved for whatever reason, but I hope they do better next Olympics. [00:48:18] Speaker A: Gordy Herbert, the new head coach, thoughts on that? [00:48:21] Speaker B: Really good coach. He's proven Euroleague coach. You know, he's done it on all levels. You know, he's respected, he knows the game. I think he's a good coach. Good coach for Canada. Although I would. Yeah, he's a good coach. [00:48:32] Speaker A: What are you gonna say, though? [00:48:33] Speaker B: I would like to see more young Canadian coaches get a chance at the national team level. [00:48:39] Speaker A: Like who? [00:48:41] Speaker B: Like, you know, shout out to Michael DiGiorgio, for instance. [00:48:45] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:45] Speaker B: A royal crown. [00:48:46] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:47] Speaker B: You know, he's been doing it a long time. I want to see, you know, guys like him maybe get a chance at the national team level or just in. [00:48:52] Speaker A: The mix of those teams. Okay. [00:48:53] Speaker B: Especially the youth level, like the U17.17, U19 national teams, I feel like, should be run by a prep school coach. Guys that are in the trenches with these kids and that. Guys that know these kids on a personal level. [00:49:06] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:49:06] Speaker B: You know what I mean? [00:49:06] Speaker A: Why do you think it's respect to. [00:49:08] Speaker B: The youth sports coaches, but it's like, I want to see guys that, you know, maybe have coached these kids growing up and the kids know them on a personal level, you know what I mean? They know the strength, chemistry already. They know their weaknesses, their strengths, the weaknesses. They're very familiar with each other. You know what I mean? I want to see more prep school coaches get a chance. [00:49:27] Speaker A: Yeah. FIBA U19 coming up. Fever. U16 actually coming up in June. Yeah, it'll be interesting with the roster. Is the U19 team. [00:49:34] Speaker B: U19 team is good. [00:49:35] Speaker A: I've heard a lot of good stuff. [00:49:36] Speaker B: They're good. They're looking really good. [00:49:38] Speaker A: But also heard mixed stuff, too, because I know they gotta improve, maybe stronger guard play. I don't know. We'll see. But. Yeah, we'll see how that. How those rosters shape up. And it'll be interesting. See the interesting summer. [00:49:50] Speaker B: I feel like, yeah, basketball's in a good place. [00:49:52] Speaker A: Global Jam, like we. I think we were talking off air. We got your guys playing this summer. [00:49:57] Speaker B: Global Jam. Mike's playing. X is going to play, most likely. Aiden is going to play. Aiden Holloway. There's going to be a couple other guys. It'll be a very good team. Might be the most stacked global team team global jam team I've seen in a long time. [00:50:12] Speaker A: I'm very excited. Yeah. My guy, Phil. I can't thank you, my boy. [00:50:15] Speaker B: Appreciate it. [00:50:16] Speaker A: Appreciate you always that fun, man. [00:50:18] Speaker B: Always love. [00:50:19] Speaker A: But yeah, well, I just want to plug anything you got going on and where can people find you? [00:50:24] Speaker B: Yeah. So I mean this summer I'm gonna be in the gym 247 just working out guys. That's my summers. My day started at 7 in the morning and you know, ended at right now but I'm in the gym 247 Instagram is philip music416 f I l I p m usic416 you can find me there and yeah, tap in with. [00:50:46] Speaker A: Philip if you're not already man. But yeah, can't thank you enough for joining the podcast. [00:50:50] Speaker B: Thanks for having me. [00:50:51] Speaker A: This has been the Canadian basketball show. I'm your host, E. Ben Osmond.