| FINAL STANDINGS 1. Puerto Rico 2. Argentina 3. Brazil 4. CANADA | CANADIAN TEAM Steve Nash (Johannesburg, South Africa) Michael Meeks (Patrick City, Jamaica) Joey Vickery (Winnipeg, Man.) Martin Keane (Toronto, Ont.) Wayne Yearwood (Montreal, Que.) Bobby Allen (Brampton, Ont.) Will Njoku (Halifax, N.S.) Sherman Hamilton (Toronto, Ont.) Kory Hallas (Almonte, Ont.) Greg Wiltjer (Whitehorse, Yukon) Phil Dixon (Toronto, Ont.) Dwight Walton (Montreal, Que.) Steve Konchalski – coach Joe Raso – assistant Doc Ryan – assistant Simeon Mars – assistant |
| GROUP A | CAN | PUR | DOM | CUB | BAR | Record | |||||
| Puerto Rico | 84-73 | —– | 82-75 | 10-595 | 90-83 | (4-0) | |||||
| Canada | —– | 73-84 | 79-82 | 90-79 | 95-66 | (2-2) | |||||
| Dominican Republic | 82-79 | 75-82 | —– | 86-99 | 88-86 | (2-2) | |||||
| Cuba | 79-90 | 95-105 | 99-86 | —– | 96-55 | (2-2) | |||||
| Barbados | 66-95 | 83-90 | 86-88 | 55-96 | —– | (0-4) | |||||
| POOL B | BRA | URU | ARG | BAH | VEN | Record | |||||
| Brazil | —– | 81-84 | 83-78 | 91-78 | 99-80 | (3-1) | |||||
| Uruguay | 84-81 | —– | 75-79 | 104-78 | 80-75 | (3-1) | |||||
| Argentina | 78-83 | 79-75 | —– | 86-66 | 83-66 | (3-1) | |||||
| Bahamas | 78-91 | 78-104 | 66-86 | —– | 95-91 | (1-3) | |||||
| Venezuela | 80-99 | 75-80 | 66-83 | 91-95 | —– | (0-4) | |||||
| POOL X | CAN | PUR | DOM | CUB | ARG | BRZ | URU | BAH | Record | ||
| Puerto Rico | 84-73 | —– | 82-75 | 105-95 | 70-105 | 89-83 | 89-83 | 139-95 | (6-1) | ||
| Argentina | 102-95 | 105-70 | 97-75 | 86-81 | —– | 78-83 | 79-75 | 86-66 | (6-1) | ||
| Canada | —– | 73-84 | 79-82 | 90-79 | 95-102 | 104-99 | 94-73 | 130-89 | (4-3) | ||
| Cuba | 79-90 | 95-105 | 99-86 | —– | 86-81 | 95-110 | 109-89 | 99-88 | (3-4) | ||
| Brazil | 99-104 | 83-89 | 98-100 | 110-95 | 83-78 | —– | 81-84 | 91-78 | (3-4) | ||
| Uruguay | 73-94 | 83-89 | 88-81 | 89-109 | 75-79 | 84-81 | —– | 104-78 | (3-4) | ||
| Dominican Republic | 82-79 | 75-82 | —– | 86-99 | 75-97 | 100-98 | 81-88 | 87-121 | (2-5) | ||
| Bahamas | 89-130 | 95-139 | 121-87 | 88-99 | 66-86 | 78-91 | 78-104 | —– | (1-6) | ||
| semi | Puerto Rico 98 Canada 81 | |
| semi | Argentina 87 Brazil 82 | |
| Bronze | Brazil 97 Canada 77 | |
| Final | Puerto Rico 87 Argentina 86 |
In late March/95, two months before the tournament, ST. FX coach Steve Konchalski is asked to take over the program, which is in turmoil. The team was operating under accusations of institutional and individual racism, which surfaced in an Aug 23-94 Globe and Mail article in which two players charged that urban black basketball players were made to feel unwelcome. Rhode Island player Cordell Llewellyn, who’d made the team in June-94 but left after a fallout with Ken Shields, said “Basketball Canada left a bad taste in my mouth. Last year, I was leading scorer on the team. This year, coach Shields tells me …I just don’t fit in. They (national team coaches) have a preconceived notion of black players. They say you’ve got attitude. It’s not my game that got me cut, it’s because they think if you have Canada written across your chest, you have to be white, because to them, Canada’s white and they’d rather lose than have too many blacks on the team.” Wayne Yearwood added that Shields has difficulty dealing with black players. “I think he has a cultural problem, and perceive the black guys in a different way. It’s more ignorance than racism. He’s got us typecast. White players are assertive. Black guys have attitude. White guys are good players. Black guys are good athletes. One hundred per cent of the guys on the team are not happy about this, no matter what they say to the media.” Shields countered that “in my view, charges of racism are complete unfounded. Race, religion or colour have absolutely nothing to do with selection for the team. I’ve never given any athlete any more chance to make the team than Cordell Llewellyn and Wayne Yearwood. It was their choice not to play under the conditions on the team.”
A Basketball Canada report subsequently exonerated head coach Ken Shields, who said he was pursuing a libel suit against the newspaper.
But the damage had clearly been done and Shields resigned in Dec-94 to become president of the Commonwealth Centre for the Development of Sport, located in Victoria. “The centre represents an opportunity to create an environment where coaches and athletes can feel good and supported about pursuing their dreams,” said Shields. “My time as a national team coach only reaffirmed my belief that we need to provide this kind of environment. It will create a chance for the athletes to do their best.” Shields had guided Canada to 7th place finish at worlds and helped develop student and junior programs, even though the Basketball Canada budget had suffered a $250,000 cut. “Ken has basically built the depth of the national program to what it is today,” said Basketball Canada executive-director Rick Traer. “The talent pool, from the junior team through the student program through the national team is deeper than it’s ever been.” Shields had taken over from Jack Donahue as national team coach in 1989.
“I would like to create an atmosphere of unity and harmony,” Konchalski said at the press conference announced his appointment. “We’re starting out fresh; we’re starting out with a clean slate and I want to talk to anyone who thinks he can help. It’s important that every young basketball player in Canada feels he can make the team. … and that if he doesn’t, the only reason will be because of a lack of ability or an attitude problem.” Konchalski served as assistant coach to Jack Donahue from 1973-88.
Pros Rick Fox and Bill Wennington declined to compete. Starters at qualifying tournament were Steve Nash, Michael Meeks, Martin Keane, Wayne Yearwood and Bobby Allen. Yearwood was one of Shields’ accusers. Konchalski assisted by Joe Raso, Doc Ryan and Simeon Mars. A rather dubious charge, given Shields’ integrity.
Konchalski mended fences. Konchalski dealt with the problem by opening the program and holding tryout camps in six cities, taking the game to the players. With national student coach, took program to the people. “Who knows, someone might come out of the woodwork, but I think the student coach will probably see more players of interest for his team than I will.”
Reports indicated that Basketball Canada had offered the job to University of Utah coach Rick Majerus and former NBA coach Hubie Brown but they both turned the organization down. The Elmhurst, N.Y. born Konchalski became only the second person to win CIAU titles as a player and coach when two years earlier led St. FX to the title. He’d captured the title as a player in 1965 for Acadia, when he was selected the CIAU tournament MVP.
Three teams to qualify for Atlanta.
Two weeks before qualifying tourney, Bill Wennington announces he will not participate because he has to deal with a sister’s illness.
Canada was plagued by youth, inexperience and cold shooting in its opening match against Dominican Republic as they lost 82-79. Canada trailed by 22 early in the second half but rallied to tie the game at 72 with two minutes and 40 seconds to play. But they were held scoreless for the next two minutes while the Dominican Republic went to the foul line six times and built an eight-point lead. The Dominicans led 53-34 at the half. “The first half was a bit of a disappointment,” said Konchalski. “They were very tentative. It was like they were playing not to lose…They played some great defence in the second half. They showed a lot of character in coming back the way they did, considering the youth of the team and inexperience at this level of play.” Bobby Allen led Canada with 17 points. Martin Keane added 14.
Canada then loses to Puerto Rico 84-73. Wayne Yearwood led Canada with 13. Will Njoku added 12 and nabbed 11 boards. Puerto Rico led 42-37 at the half. Canada hit 14-26 from the line, while Puerto Rico was 19-27. “We shot ourselves in the foot from the free throw line,” said coach Steve Konchalski. ‘We had control of the game in the last five minutes of the first half but then we made too many mental mistakes.”
In the third game, Canada defeated Cuba 90-79 after head coach Steve Konchalski inserted forward Michael Meeks, forward William Njoku and forward Bobby Allen into the starting line-up, replacing Greg Wiltjer, Wayne Yearwood and Phil Dixon. “It was a real team effort,” said Konchalski. “We regrouped after two frustrating losses. The win is just what the doctor ordered. It gives us a lot more confidence.” Guard Joey Vickery came off the bench to score 20. Steve Nash also hit 20. Canada out-rebounded Cuba 38-27, the first time in the tourney they’d out-rebounded someone. “It wasn’t so much that those three (Wiltjer, Yearwood and Dixon) weren’t playing well,” Konchalski said. “It was just a question of we were 0-2 and we were beating ourselves and we had to re-evaluate what we were doing. Basically, I went with the younger players. We went youth in starting line-up.” Will Njoku and Michael Meeks each grabbed 7 boards. Canada led 54-43 at the half.
Joey Vickery maintained his streak from the perimeter as Canada defeated Barbados 95-66 to close out their opening round pool (2-2). Vickery scored 15 points, all from beyond the arc. Greg Wiltjer added 12, Michael Meeks 12 and Wayne Yearwood 11. “We did what we had to do,” said Konchalski. “We had to win to advance to the next round. I’m pleased. After two tough losses to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the team has pulled together and now we not only move into the next round but we go in with some momentum.” Canada took a large lead early moving ahead by 10. Konchalski said Vickery must continue to hit from outside for Canada to advance. “Joey is a great outside shooter. He struggled the first couple games here but he’s led us in scoring the last two games. When he hits those outside shots, he opens up the defence for everybody.”
The top four teams moved on and must the play the top four teams from Pool B, essentially creating an eight-team round-robin.
Canada defeated Uruguay 94-73 as Bobby Allen scored 34 points. Steve Nash added 14. Allen was making his second start of the tournament. “I think (Allen) found it a little difficult to get going right from the get-go his first start, but (Monday) he was sharp,” said Konchalski. “We’ve been playing better and better every game. We’re on a roll now and if we keep going, we’ll have a shot at the semi-finals. And that’s what we want: a chance to make this hard work pay off.” Nash said he was pleased with the team got over its rough spots. “We played a great 40 minutes. At times were down, but we kept it together. It was a great team effort.” Canada out-rebounded Uruguay 51-29 as Martin Keane grabbed 15 boards. Joey Vickery scored 10. Luis Pierri led Uruguay with 13 and Marcelo Capabo had 11. The win improved Canada’s record to (2-2) in medals pool play.
Joey Vickery came off the bench to score 22 as Canada whipped the Bahamas 130-89 to improve their record to (3-2). Vickery hit six from beyond the arc. Will Njoku added 14, Bobb Allen 14, Michael Meeks 13, Kory Hallas 13, Martin Keane 12 and Sherman Hamilton 12. Canada got off to a sluggish start and led by 8 at the half but opened the second frame with a 7-0 run. “What we had to be careful about was the guys looking ahead to Brazil and I think we were guilty of that to some extent. But we regrouped at halftime and we were okay.”
Against Brazil, Yearwood scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench and contained Brazil’s top shooter Oscar Schmidt to 30 points as Canada pulled out a 104-99 win. The win guarantees Canada a spot in the semis, Michael Meeks scored 17 points, including a three-pointer with 54 seconds to play. “Meeks was unbelievable,” said assistant coach Joe Raso. “It was by far his best game of the tournament.” Steve Nash added 13. Meeks and Nash each hit a pair of free throws in the final two minutes to stave off the Brazilians.
Canada drops a 102-95 decision to Argentina. “We played them straight up. We didn’t do a lot of different things because we might see this team down the road,” said coach Steve Konchalski. “We wanted to win, there’s no question about that but our really big game comes on Saturday.” Canada led 52-48 at the half but fell behind quickly in the second frame. They trailed by 12 after four minutes and crawled no closer than four with 50 seconds remaining. “We didn’t play a great game defensively,” said Konchalski. “We just played a pretty solid game, nothing spectacular.” Bobby Allen led Canada with 20. Steve Nash added 16, Martin Keane 13 and Kory Hallas 12. “This was the only game we played so far where the crowd was a factor,” said Konchalski. “It didn’t hurt us but it pumped them up.”
In the semis, Puerto Rico beats Canada 98-81. Despite the loss, coach Steve Konchalski was still pleased the squad had a chance to qualify for the Olympics. “If somebody at the beginning of the summer had said we’d have one game to get to the Olympics, I would have taken it in a minute. Now we’ve got it and we have to take advantage of it.” Canada was outmuscled by Puerto Rico’s big physical front line of Jerome Mincy, Ramon Rivas and Jose Ortiz. Canada trailed by 17 at the half and watched Puerto Rico open the second frame with an 8-0 run. The Canadians never got closer than 12. “We didn’t play with the same emotion we did in the last few games,” said Konchalski. “We missed three or four fouls shots early. We had three or four fastbreak opportunities we kicked away and Steve Nash picked up two quick fouls. I put him back in the game but then he got his third right away and that hurt us.” Mincy scored 27 for Puerto Rico. Ortiz added 12. Joey Vickery led Canada with 14. Nash and Kory Hallas each added 12, while Michael Meeks scored 11, Bobby Allen 10 and Wayne Yearwood 10. “Their experience was a big factor and so was their size,” said Konchalski. “I think our youth showed a little bit. We didn’t quit. We didn’t give up. We just didn’t get it going.”
In bronze medal match, Oscar Schmidt scores 27 for Brazil and Canada plays horrible and loses 97-77. Brazil badly out-rebounded Canada and thrashed the Canadians 97-77. Canada feel behind early, trailed by 12 at the half and never made a run. “I think our young players, who showed they have a great future with the national program, got a little frustrated,” said Konchalski. “Part of it could be the pressure of an event of this magnitude that many of them were in for the first time. … It’s a disappointing end simply because the team had come so far. To come this far, put yourself in a position to accomplish what a lot of people thought was impossible and fall so far short is very disappointing. Still, they didn’t quite and I think the future looks good. The team that played the last two games certainly wasn’t the team that won five in a row las week. What happened? I think it was a combination of experience and the size of the other teams.” Fernando Wilson added 14 for Brazil, Maury de Souza 14, Joao Viana 13 and Israel Campelo 13. Michael Meeks led Canada with 24 points. Will Njoku added 12 and Joey Vickery 11. Brazil out-rebounded Canada 52-34. “They were a lot heavier and more physical than we were. They leaned on us and banged us under the boards,” said assistant coach Doc Ryan “They really took it to us inside. … We kind of wilted under pressure.” Canada shot 10-19 from the line and 7-25 from the arc. Brazil shot 24-32 from the line and 9-26 from the arc.
“The team that played the last two games certainly wasn’t the team that won five in a row last week,” said Konchalski. “I think it was a combination of inexperience and the size of the other teams.”
Konchalski later says that keeping the team together for a longer period of time in advance of the tournament would not have made a difference. In response to assertions by former national head coach Ken Shields that Canada would not qualify unless the program was centralized, Konchalski said “In some ways, centralization is a nice idea, but I’ve never been a proponent of it. …Half our team, including the key players wouldn’t be available to stay together for long periods of time, unless you could compensate them financially. Steve Nash is going back to Santa Clara, Michael Meeks is going to Canisius, Martin Keane is going to play in Spain and other players are going to college or pro ball in Europe.” Shields had contended that the hastily assembled team was doomed to failure. “If anybody thinks you can hot-house this or fast-track it, you’ve got another think coming. If they had centralized the team last winter, it would have put us in a better position to have qualified for the Olympics.”
The Canadian men fail to qualify for Olympics.