NEWS

GRASSROOTS CHANGING THE FACE OF CANADIAN BASKETBALL (November 13/08 TSN)
Scott Cullen

When Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash won back-to-back NBA MVP awards in 2005 and 2006, Canadians were proud that one of their own could excel against the best the sport had to offer.

It's those individual accomplishments that have served as the standard for basketball in Canada, but those days may be changing thanks to the efforts of Grassroots Canada.

Under the tutelage of head coach Ro Russell, the Grassroots Canada Elite team won the Adidas Super 64 Tournament in Las Vegas this summer, beating the Compton (California) Magic 88-79 in double-overtime to win the tournament final.

Recalling the elite level of competition, Russell said, "It was the most grueling sporting event I've ever been a part of," comparing the intensity to the World Series or Super Bowl for those involved.

The win didn't come easily, to be sure, as Grassroots Canada roared back from seven points down in the final minute to force overtime.

That wasn't the first time that they had such a late rally, as Grassroots Canada came back from ten down late in the fourth quarter to beat Seattle Rotary in the quarter finals.

Climbing to the top of the heap in AAU basketball isn't easy. It's even harder for a program based in Canada.

Amateur Athletic Union basketball is where the best of the best teen basketball players compete in the offseason and so many of the big-name stars who are at the forefront of the NBA first made their mark along the AAU circuit.

When Grassroots Canada won the Adidas Super 64 tournament, it was a milestone that has been a long time coming.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
When asked about the history of the Grassroots program, Russell recalls that in the early years individual players like Vidal Massiah (who played at St. Bonaventure) and Denham Brown (who played at Connecticut) could compete with the best, but it's taken some time for there to be enough depth of talent that a team could compete.

Russell recalled the 2001 Grassroots Elite team, led by Brown, beating Argentina then losing a heartbreaker to a Team USA led by current Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony.

But, gradually, the Grassroots program built upon each bit of success and when Devoe Joseph (University of Minnesota) led them to a tournament win in Pittsburgh in 2007, it was apparent to Russell that American teams finally realized that they couldn't bully the Canadian ballers.

THE STARS
The cornerstone of the 2008 Grassroots Canada team was Tristan Thompson, a forward who was among the most sought-after recruits in North America, before committing to the University of Texas.

A 6-foot-9 forward who models his game after former Longhorn, and current Oklahoma City Thunder star, Kevin Durant, Thompson is a native of Brampton, Ontario and transferred to St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey to experience a higher level of competition.

ESPN's Scouts Inc. has Thompson listed as the number three overall prospect in his 2010 class.

According to Russell, Thompson has similar qualities, with a long, lean build, tremendous athleticism and a strong mid-range game. As he gets stronger and continues to develop, Thompson will need to extend his shooting range, but his physical skills are enticing enough to have NBA scouts already plotting his arrival.

Point guard Junior Cadougan, who will attend Marquette University, is ranked No. 65 in the 2009 class by Scouts, Inc. and the stocky guard has size, strength and maturity to make an impact early in his college career. He's currently attending school at Christian Life Academy in Humble, Texas.

Sharpshooter Jason Calliste, who was the team's leading scorer in Vegas, attends the Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

GOING SOUTH
Using contacts that he's cultivated over the last 17 years with Grassroots Canada, Russell tries to find situations that will allow the young players to "do their thing at a high level."

Russell sees basketball as a vehicle for these kids to achieve success in their lives, whether it means in college, the NBA or even outside of basketball. He indicates there is a two-fold reason for sending these players south of the border.

First, the move is in the best interest of the kids, whether it's due to a difficult home situation or simply the opportunity to improve the level of competition.

Russell says that Thompson, not surprisingly, was dominating Ontario high school basketball in Grade Nine, so it only made sense for him to test his skills at an elite level and he is now a junior at St. Benedict's.

The second factor -- and talking to Russell, this point comes across as extremely important -- is that the players get into a structured prep school environment where the distraction are limited so that players not only focus on basketball, but academics as well.

Teens that may not have necessarily been strong students find out that they actually can succeed in the classroom in the right disciplined environment, which only serves to breed more confidence.

Russell notes that, while many of his players benefit from playing against higher-level competition in U.S. High Schools, playing at that level also helps erase the stigma that a player is Canadian dominating against inferior competition.

When these Canadians are excelling against the best players of their age group, it doesn't matter to coaches or scouts what country is on the player's birth certificate, only that they are great players.

THE FUTURE
What is most exciting for the future of Canadian basketball is that the well isn't suddenly dry behind the likes of Thompson and Cadougan.

Point guard Myck Kabongo is rated 15th overall in the 2011 class by Scouts, Inc. and Russell refers to him as the "Canadian Sebastian Telfair" (a nod to the New York prep superstar who currently plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves) when talking about all the recruiting attention he's getting at such a young age.

Kabongo also plays at St. Benedict's with Thompson, following in what appears to be a growing path to success.

Dwight Powell is an athletic forward from Toronto who attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Toronto native came off the bench for Canada Grassroots in Vegas, but Russell was impressed with how he maximized his production in the time he was given, attracting the attention of coaches and scouts.

Consequently, Russell has high hopes that Powell will be an impact player for Canadian basketball in the future.

Behind them, Grassroots Canada will be counting on a pair of 6-foot-8 forwards -- Montreal's Khem Birch and Calgary's Mitch Jacobsen.

It now appears that the program is strong enough to keep building on its success. Russell says that the younger players in the program are motivated to excel, for example, "when they see Tristan Thompson two feet in front of them in a practice drill."

The opportunity to practice with and against these elite players only helps to put younger Canadian players on the developmental fast track.

To enhance that development, Russell has brought in Wells Davis, who has outstanding coaching and business experience in the Ontario Basketball Association.

With the win in Vegas, Russell is excited that more and more people want to get involved with the Grassroots Elite program and he's counting on Wells to help facilitate growth in the corporate community in order to further the development of these talented young men.

Oh, and I almost forgot, they're Canadian.

Scott Cullen can be reached at scullen@tsn.ca

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CANADIANS HUGE WIN RAISES PROFILE FOR HOOPS PROGRAM
By Victoria Sun, Special for USA TODAY - July 29, 2008

LAS VEGAS — In the midst of explaining what it means to be a part of Canadian amateur basketball history, Tristan Thompson was gently interrupted by one of his teammates, who wanted to remind him to utter the team's mantra.
"What (are) they (gonna) say now?" Thompson repeated proudly. "We just showed the U.S. that we've got basketball players in Canada."

No talking was necessary after Thompson's Grassroots Canada Elite team beat the Compton (Calif.) Magic in double-overtime 88-79 to win the adidas Super 64 tournament on Saturday.

By winning one of the three major AAU tournaments that ran concurrently here and defeating the Magic, one of the most respected programs in the U.S., the Canadians staked their claim in amateur hoops after years of being dominated by their American counterparts.

"We made a major statement," said Ro Russell, who founded the Grassroots program in 1992. "It's the biggest win in our program's history and Canadian amateur basketball history.

Thompson, Rivals.com's No. 2 player in the class of 2010, has verbally committed to play at Texas while point guard Junior Cadougan, ranked No. 21 by the Hoopscooponline.com in the class of 2009, has verbally committed to attend Marquette.

Thompson's decision was based on the fact that he got to watch Texas on TV and because of his recruiting relationship with head coach Rick Barnes and assistant Rodney Terry.

"I used to watch (former Texas and current Portland Trailblazers forward) LaMarcus Aldridge and I liked their style of play," tournament MVP Thompson said. "I liked coach Barnes and coach Terry.

"When you go on a visit to some schools, you're like, 'I don't know, it's all right.' But when I went to Texas, they treated me like family."

Russell's relationship with Marquette head coach Buzz Williams and assistant Tony Benford influenced Cadougan, who followed point guard Damon Stoudamire when he was with the Toronto Raptors and is a huge Baron Davis fan.

"My top three choices were Wake Forest, Memphis and Marquette, but Coach Ro didn't really know the other coaches so Marquette was the greatest choice for me," Cadougan said.

Providing Canadian players with proper training, surrounding them with the highest level of competition and getting them the exposure they need to earn college scholarships are reasons Russell started the program formerly called Toronto Elite.

Russell, a Jamaican who moved to Toronto 35 years ago at age 4, was just like the kids he coaches today. He wanted to earn a college basketball scholarship, but had very limited support because ice hockey was the most popular sport.

Through his own research and networking, Russell played at Keene State in Keene, N.H., and Gordon College in Wenham, Mass. Once he finished competing, he returned home to Toronto to become a high school coach and founded what has developed into a fertile training ground.

Many Grassroots players have earned Division I college scholarships including highly touted guard Devoe Joseph, who will play for Tubby Smith at Minnesota this season, former Arkansas and current Canadian national team member Olu Famutimi and former Missouri swingman Duane John.

Russell's players have gotten more attention because he has been able to help them enroll at different American high school or prep schools via student visas so that they can be seen by more college coaches and play against much better competition.

Without enough exposure, Canadian Steve Nash, an NBA all-star and former two-time MVP, ended up playing at Santa Clara because no high-level Division I school recruited him.

"Steve Nash has shown us it is possible for us to play in the NBA," Thompson said.

Thompson will be a junior at famed St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.), coached by former Duke guard Bobby Hurley's brother, Dan Hurley, while guard Myck Kabongo will be a sophomore at St. Benedict's.

Cadougan will be a senior at Christian Life Academy in Waco, Texas, where former Texas A&M forward and current Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan attended, and Dwight Powell will be a junior at IMG (Bradenton, Fla.). Three other Grassroots players, Jason Calliste, Renaldo Dixon and Christian Kabongo, attend Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Pembroke, N.C.

Almost all of Russell's players are being recruited by Division I teams or at least being evaluated more closely.

"Ro Russell specifically has done an unbelievable job in elevating basketball in Canada," Williams said. "All of the best players in Canada play for Ro and his relationships with coaches in the United States have been beneficial in regards to helping those kids."

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Super 64 17U Open Championship (July 27/2008 ESPN.COM)
Grassroots Canada Elite 88, Compton Magic 79 2OT

Grassroots Canada entered the adidas Super 64 17U title game looking to become the first Canadian travel ball program to win a major summer AAU title. The Compton Magic had their own title aspirations, but clearly did not play their best game of the five-day tournament.

Still the Magic had all the momentum after guard Roberto Nelson nailed a three-pointer with 8.8 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 68-68. The Magic had trialed by nine points (53-44) with 6:30 remaining, but Grassroots Canada didn't fold in the first five-minute extra period.

"Don't give up&they might have the momentum but our coach told us we could to get it back," remarked tournament MVP Tristan Thompson, who scored 19 points and nailed some clutch free throws in both overtime periods. "He told us don't think about the score." READ FULL STORY

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Thompson, Cadougan help Grassroots Canada to Super 64 crown (July 27/08 ESPN)
Williams By Antonio Williams, Scouts Inc.

LAS VEGAS -- Quality individual matchups dominated the final day of play at the adidas Super 64 in the semi-finals and in the final. In one semifinal, Grassroots Canada, led by 6-1 PG Junior Cadougan (Humble, Texas/Christian Life Academy) and 6-8 SF Tristan Thompson (Newark, N.J./St. Benedict's) took on Pump-N-Run Elite which features talented 6-8 SF Tyler Honeycutt (Sylmar, Calif./Sylmar) and 6-3 PG Kendall Williams (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos). Cadougan, through his relentless penetration, helped his team capture the win and a berth in the final. In the other semifinal, the Compton Magic took on the Atlanta Celtics in a game that came down to the wire with the Compton Magic besting an undermanned Celtics team, which was missing 6-7 PF Terrance Shannon (Forsyth, Ga./Mary Persons). Point guard Shannon Sharpe (Senior, Corona, Calif./Corona Centennial) absolutely changed the game with his defensive effort against aggressive the Celtics' Trae Golden (Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern), shutting down Golden's penetration to the hoop. READ FULL STORY

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