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The issue goes far beyond coaching

 

I think the knee-jerk reaction of so many to what was an entirely predictable demise of Canada here in Izmir is hilarious.

Any of you out there who think this is solely a coaching issue are so sadly mistaken it’s not even funny and the immediate cry to “fire Leo” is at best short-sighted.

Canada is not going to the second round of the worlds for one very obvious reason: The talent level isn’t good enough.

They aren’t big enough or strong enough or old enough or fast enough to be one of the top four teams in this group and, as some have been saying all along, advancing would have been a huge accomplishment.

It didn’t happen.

Now, that’s not to say it won’t, there are more talented teens out there who may one day emerge as legitimate global players and this current group of youngsters will improve as it ages, of that I have not doubt.

But this team – without its best scorer for most of it – wasn’t up to snuff. And coaching had little or nothing to do with it.

About the only time I even considered it an issue was in a four-minute stretch of the third quarter against Lithuania when maybe they could have gone back to some starters to stop a run and, in hindsight, running out Kelly Olynyk earlier in the tournament might not have been a bad idea.

But other than that?

Nothing.

But don’t you all worry.

Leo’s contact – and that of women’s coach Alison McNeill – expires at the end of this summer and everything, as it always is, will be up for review.

I don’t know what the Canada Basketball board will do and because I don’t see this as a coaching issue right now, I really don’t have intense feelings either way on whether Leo should be retained or not.

But to place the blame for what happened here on him is ridiculous.

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Leave it to the one and only Maurizio Gherardini to find an outstanding Italian restaurant on a pier overlooking the Aegean in Izmir.

The fish carpaccio appetizer was to die for.

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Saw something here in Izmir yesterday that I hadn’t seen since I touched down in Turkey what feels like six weeks ago.

A cloud.

It’s been nothing but crystal clear blue skies, intense heat and oppressive humidity since we landed but there yesterday morning were some storm clouds rolling in off the sea and a rain storm that lasted about half an hour.

Didn’t do anything to clear anything up, though; it was back to mid-30s and thick by the time we headed to the arena.

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I see the Rpators TV schedule came out yesterday.

And a wave of déjà vu hit.

This whole Sportsnet One thing is going to blow until it’s cleared up and there’s no indication when that’ll be. The “new” network isn’t yet on any cable or satellite system that isn’t Rogers and that means, if it doesn’t get worked out by the first Sportsnet One game in late December, a whole whack of you are going to miss a whole whack of games.

Given the TSN2 debacle a couple of years back, I have no idea how the tall foreheads at Maple Leaf Sports managed to let this happen again but you would have thought something would have been said before new deals were struck.

Guess the good thing is there’s lots of time left to get this thing fixed but, at the moment, it’s terrible.

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Hey, you know me and history, right?

I love to look around nooks and crannies to find interesting artifacts or statues or fountains or the like.

Well, it’s not too often a guy goes on a morning walkabout and comes upon a red bull and a cow -- or maybe it's a pig -- lazing on its back.

Seriously, those two things aside, this a pretty neat city for finding things. Trouble is, there is little or no English anywhere to be found so I really have no clue what I’m seeing when I see it.

I’m just going on the assumption that every statue I see is of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of this country.

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Mail?

Sure, send it along here.

I’ve got a flight over to Istanbul tomorrow sometime (I think it’s day here, early morning there) and I should have some time to get some answers worked up.

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Oh yeah, this a tad old but we did get to Denham Brown yesterday to ask about the final seconds of the France game, when he drove the ball in the final 10 seconds with his team down three.

Yes, he knew the score and the circumstance and told us he wanted to either make a basket and draw a foul or score and then play a foul-free throw game to see if they couldn’t win one at the buzzer.

Yes, I know that’s odd and not at all what I would have done – or what many others would have done – but it’s what he did, fully cognizant of the time left, the score and the situation.

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Memo to the City Fathers of Izmir: It’s about these sidewalks.

I don’t know why but it seems every storefront has its sidewalk at a different level than the ones on either side of it. Sometimes the drop-off is a few inches, sometimes it’s a foot or two, sometimes it’s just enough to make a guy spill his coffee and almost go ass over tea kettle when he’s wandering aimlessly.

I love the cobblestone and the old-time feel to small streets in European cities; I do not love worrying about falling every three steps because this guy’s little patch of sidewalk isn’t level with the next guy’s.

Can you do something about that? Thanks.

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Hey, how about Angola beating Germany in overtime yesterday? That has to be the biggest upset yet, right? And it sets up one of three doozies here the last day of group play, games we should pay attention to.

You’ve got Angola-Australia for third place in Group A, Russia-Greece for second in Group C and Brazil-Croatia for third and fourth in Group B.

All biggies and may give me something to pay attention to rather than the non-events of Group D here in Izmir.

But pay attention I will because we’ll do the last of our in-game bloggy thingies starting at 9 a.m. Eastern if any of you want to stop by.

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So I’m walking down a street yesterday (and I have no idea what it was called because not many streets actually have names as far as I can tell) when what do my eyes see: A dude walking and carrying – get this! – a Starbucks cup!

You know me and Starbucks (hi Hurontario and Harborn, I’ll be back soon!) so I had to ask. And sure enough, guy tells me it’s just down the block and there’s not a much better way to relax for a few minutes than with a vente latte sitting on a bench looking out over the Aegean.

In fact, I believe that’s what I’m off to do now.

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The Goods On The Game, Canada vs. New Zealand

And a fine good morning to you all.

Everyone slacking off work for a couple of hours?

Tough decisions and the sea of tranquility, plus a late update

It was interesting talking to Leo Rautins in the wake of the loss to France about the decision to sit down his son, Andy, because of lingering knee pain, a decision that took the best shooter out of Canada’s lineup.

And it really underscored what has to be a very odd balancing act between being a father and a coach.

Andy hadn’t played or practiced in the weeks between exhibition games against France in Toronto and opening of the worlds but got about 20 minutes a game in the first two in Izmir.

“Any of my other players, I might not have played him when I did. Because I know him, I thought I could see things and I’d know where to draw the line (and get him out) and I think I crossed that line, which I would never cross with any of the other guys because I don’t intimately know them. I think I crossed that line and it’s not worth it.”

I can’t pretend to know what it’s like to be in that situation -- I just run Super Son out inning after inning in bantam house league baseball – but it sure sounds like a difficult situation to handle.

Personally, I think they handled it well; Andy looked good in the first two games, seemed to tweak his knee a bit late against Lithuania and the decision to shut him down completely – I would be shocked if he was dressed for either New Zealand or Spain although there is no official word – makes entire sense.

 Official word has just come down, mid-day here and while you folks back home were sleeping. Andy's gone home and is done for the tournament.

Here's the statement from Leo:

We have decided not to have Andy play. It was a difficult decision but we did not want to risk any further injury to his knee and the NY Knicks requested him back so their doctors and trainers (can) work with him and prepare him for camp. Andy feels badly that he was unable to help Canada more due to his injury but he is confident his guys can pull through the pool."

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So, what in the world is going on with Spain? That’s the big question here after they blew an 18-point lead and lost to Lithuania on Tuesday night and now cannot finish higher than third in Group D and that likely means a round of 16 match with Greece or Turkey.

I didn’t see a lot of the game against Lithuania (these darn Canada stories keep taking up some time) but from what I’ve told, they have shown a tendency to get a little rattled when things get tough, which is entirely out of character.

I wonder if that Jose Calderon fellow, whose been with the team for almost a decade and who led them as the starting point guard to a world championship four years ago, would have helped? I’d say yes.

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It was something like ridiculous to sublime wandering the streets near the Kaya Prestige (an entirely functional hotel that we’re living in, except when the power went off a couple of times yesterday) over the past few days.

As you’d expect, there are some, um, crowded streets and alleys in this city of over 3 million. And as you’d also expect, you can buy pretty much anything from any number of enterprising vendors who set up shop anywhere the mood strikes. I could have bought a couple of tires, or a cell phone or a watch or a belt, or from one guy, what looked entirely like clothes he’d taken out of his closet and folded neatly on the street. It’s charming, if not a bit stressful being, um, enticed to look over the wares.

But then you go 15 minutes from the hotel and, presto!, you run into the sea, tranquil, spacious grass area separating it from the avenue of restaurants and shops and you get the feeling of being utterly detached from the chaos of the city.

I had never heard of Izmir until I found out a few months ago that’s where Canada would be playing. I can’t imagine ever coming back – so many other places to see – but I’m glad I got here.

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You know what never gets old? Watching New Zealand sports teams do the Haka.

It’s a traditional Maori dance the teams perform before every game (I once heard it described as a “symphony of the body” and it’s very cool.

It’s something used to prepare for battle, or to proclaim strength and it is not a measure of intimidation as much as it is a sign of respect.

The Tall Blacks do it before every game, as do the All Blacks and All Whites (the soccer team, which is generally kitted out in, yep, white) and when I saw it before the Canada game, I smiled. It’s neat.

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Oh yeah, to all those in the Baltic States or the Balkans, a big old “oops, I’m sorry for the screw up” from yesterday. I do know the difference; I just can’t type it.

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Mail? Please. We’re a wee bit light over there in the in-box, click here and do your stuff.

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I’m not going to say France coasted in those two games in Toronto a couple of weeks back, games that might have imbued Canadian fans with a somewhat false sense of security about their team.

No, I’ll let French coach Vincent Collet say it, as he did when I asked him about the startling change in his team:

“From the first two games, for sure we had great improvement. I think there are several things … First we are a defensive team and our best way to win the games is to defend, deny opponents to be good and I think you do it much better in a competition game than a preparation game.”

There you have it, good teams, old teams, teams that have been around, do have an idea of when it’s most important to be playing with all-out intensity.

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Turkey pulls away for a somewhat easy win over Greece in their big regional battle Tuesday night and from the part of the game I saw on television, it sure did look like an emotional night.

It underscores the huge boost a team gets in a tournament like this from playing at home. The sellout crowd of about 12,500 was in full throat the entire game, I’m told and the kind of adrenaline boost it gave Turkey was a huge factor in the outcome.

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