TORONTO — Nick Nurse was about to launch into his pitch to Canada's NBA players last summer in Las Vegas, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander interrupted him. "(Gilgeous-Alexander) said 'I've gotta say something,'" Nurse said. "He stood up and said 'I’m playing.' I hadn't even got to ask the question yet and so that just shows you he’s ready to go." Nurse had asked Canada's best players, who'd been notoriously tough to pin down in previous years, to commit to playing three summers with the national team through the Paris Olympics.
Gilgeous-Alexander hasn't played for Canada since he was 17 due to NBA commitments. But three days out from Canada's World Cup qualifying game on Friday in his hometown of Hamilton, the 23-year-old was all smiles. "He's been super conscientious, super communicative about everything and his excitement to play," Nurse said after Tuesday's practice. "I've heard it quite a few times from him about how pumped he is to be here.
I walked in this morning and he said 'Good morning coach, I’m pumped.'" The Canadians, who are 8-0 through two windows of qualifying, host the Dominican Republic on Friday at FirstOntario Centre.
This week marks the first gathering of Nurse's "core" of summer players, and has seen arguably the most talented collection of Canadian players ever practising at OVO Athletic Centre, normally home to the Toronto Raptors.