Canada’s 2010 Road Warriors FIBA world championship team

Canada Basketball unveiled the official roster for the 2010 edition of the “Road Warriors” Senior Men’s National Team (SMNT) that will compete at the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Men from August 28 – September 12 in Turkey.

“I like this group a lot,” said Leo Rautins, Head Coach for the Senior Men’s National Team. “The team chemistry has been very good, and their work ethic and attitude has been extremely positive. The only thing that has been of concern is our health. After a great start to our season, we got hit hard with the injury and sickness bugs but we are trying hard to recover in time for the main event. We have to come out and play with as much energy and cohesion as we can.”

This year’s Road Warriors roster includes eight returnees from 2009 that have helped Canada qualify for the World Championship at the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico, including Canadian NBA stars Joel Anthony (Montreal, Que.) of the Miami Heat and Andy Rautins (Syracuse, NY.) of the New York Knicks.

Among the other national team veterans on this year’s roster are long-time starters, Jermaine Anderson (Toronto, Ont.) and Levon Kendall (Vancouver, B.C.). Returning back to the squad are Denham Brown (Toronto, Ont.) and Jevohn Shepherd (Toronto, Ont.), both of whom have lead the team in scoring during various exhibition games this summer. The Road Warriors also feature fresh new faces in Robert Sacre (Vancouver, B.C.) and 19-year old Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, B.C.), both former Junior Men’s National Team stars and current members of NCAA’s Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Rautins added, “We have different objectives when you put a team together: One is to put together the best team you can to win; two is to build chemistry and balance positions, and three is to follow our plan for the long-term development of our elite program. To be able to bring two players into the mix like Kelly and Robert, who can be a part of our program for the next 10 years, is a huge asset for Canada Basketball. Seeing them play for the Road Warriors is an inspiration for other young players who dream to play for the senior team.”

The format for the FIBA World Championship is as follows: top four teams from each preliminary round group will advance to the round of 16 and play to advance to the quarter-final round. Games in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals are scheduled to be held from September 8-12 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Canada is assigned to Group D, along with Lebanon, Lithuania, France, New Zealand and Spain.

“In our group we have five tough games,” Rautins commented. “Every game is going to be a grind. As I’ve said going into this, there will be little or no margin of error for our team, and now in light of what has happened, that has become even more of a reality.”

Attached are the 2010 Road Warriors SMNT official player roster, coaching staff and preliminary round schedule at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

TSN2 is the exclusive broadcaster for Team Canada at the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Their coverage will feature all Team Canada games along with the playoffs and finals. Coverage begins on Saturday, Aug. 28 with Canada vs. Lebanon at 11:30 a.m. ET live from Turkey.

To follow the tournament, visit the official website at turkey2010.fiba.com. FIBATV (subscriber based internet broadcast) will be showing the games from the quarter-final stages onward. To access FIBATV, visit http://www.fibatv.com/page/Home/0,,12805,00.html

All Team Canada game summaries will be posted on www.basketball.ca.

**Izmir is 7 hours head of Eastern Standard Time.