Last year’s blanket coverage of Levon Kendall on the Under-21 Canadian National Team was so highly received how could I resist a chance to do it again.
Having missed out on qualifying for the world championships in Japan, head coach Leo Rautins is instead taking a young team to Europe for an eight-game exhibition schedule played in three countries against seven national teams.
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“Our team is young,” said Rautins, who is in his second season as the national team head coach. “We have three 19-year-olds. A veteran for us is 23 years old. It’s a unique situation. We have the ability this summer to play these games and get to know each other, with no pressure.“We need to get ready for next year and the year after.”
The core of the team is made up of players who won a bronze medal for Canada at the under-21 world championship last summer, one of Canada’s most significant international results.
“I think we had a group of guys who played together for quite a few years and that’s what they’re trying to establish here,” said Levon Kendall, the Vancouver forward who was the centrepiece of the under-21 team last year.
“We’ve got some guys who are going to be together and can look long term at qualifying for the Olympics and the worlds and can build toward that each summer. We did that with the younger team and it paid off.”
The team is being coached by former Syracuse player Leo Rautins, who is also the father of current ‘Cuse player Andy Rautins. The younger Rautins, just got added to the team.
“We had eight or nine coaches from across the country involved in the process of putting the team together,” Rautins said Monday. “There was no question that Andy earned a spot here. He shot the ball very well.”
So naturally, those coaches wouldn’t be influenced by the fact that he’s the head coach’s son.
Canada will not play in the FIBA World Championship in Japan in August. So this summer’s European tour is designed with an eye toward next year’s Olympic qualifying tournament and the 2008 Olympics. Andy Rautins is one of three 19-year-olds on the roster, and the team’s average age is 24.
“This is a summer of development and experience for us,” Rautins said. “We want to establish a core for the Olympic qualifier next year. We’re taking young players we feel have potential to play for us next year and in the Olympics the year after and mixing them with a group of experienced veterans.”
Along with Andy Rautins, the younger players on the Canadian squad include Pittsburgh senior Levon Kendall and Michigan sophomore Jevohn Shepherd.
The Canadian team travels to Italy today. It will play Italy, Greece and Serbia this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The team will then head to Germany for a pair of games against a German team that will be preparing for the FIBA World Championship and will be led by Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks. The trip will end with five games in Slovenia.
The Canadian National Team tanked last year, but the U-21 performed well. Good that Kendall will be playing some very good competition in the offseason. Hopefully his back will not act up.
