Andrew Wiggins knifes past J.J. Barea for big dunk, Canada wins FIBA Americas tune-up
Someone must’ve told Andrew Wiggins that he was the subject of Wednesday’s entry in our Dunk History series, because the former No. 1 overall draft pick and reigning Rookie of the Year certainly seemed to have attacking the rim on his mind on Wednesday night:
Well, hello, Mr. Wiggins.
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
Let’s take another couple of looks at that:
Hey, Puerto Rico defender Richard Chaney? J.J. Barea does not have your back as a rim protector in that situation. Just a little FYI to help you CYA in the future.
[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football: Sign up and join a league today!]
Wiggins, the 20-year-old rising star for the Minnesota Timberwolves, finished with 20 points on 8-for-18 shooting, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in 31 minutes of playing time to lead Canada to a 78-72 win over Puerto Rico that clinched the country’s victory in the Tuto Marchand Continental Cup, a tune-up tournament leading into next week’s FIBA Americas Championship.
The win capped a perfect 4-0 run through the tournament, with the highly anticipated next generation of Canadian hoops — 2014 No. 1 pick Wiggins, 2013 No. 1 pick and fellow Wolf Anthony Bennett, former first-round picks Cory Joseph of the Toronto Raptors, Nik Stauskas of the Philadelphia 76ers, Andrew Nicholson of the Orlando Magic and Kelly Olynyk of the Boston Celtics, alongside NBA players Robert Sacre of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks and Melvin Ejim of the Magic, 2015 second-round pick Olivier Hanlan and sharpshooting Brady Heslip, among others — showing the depth and breadth of talent that has led many to expect the young Canucks to force their way onto the international stage sooner rather than later.
Their next opportunity to do so will come in Mexico at the FIBA Americas tourney. The top two finishers in that competition will qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, joining the United States; who qualified automatically by winning the 2014 FIBA World Cup; Brazil, guaranteed a spot as the tournament’s host nation; and Australia, who punched their tickets by beating New Zealand to win the FIBA Oceania Championship. The remaining seven teams to take part in the 2016 games will come from four other international tournaments: Afrobasket, Eurobasket, the FIBA Asia Championship this summer, and the last-chance-saloon Olympic qualifying tournament next summer. NBA.com’s John Schuhmann has a good, quick breakdown of how it all works.
The Canadians will face stiff competition as they vie for one of those top two spots. They open preliminary round play on Sept. 1 against Argentina, led by legends Luis Scola and Andres Nocioni and talented young point guard Facundo Campazzo, who spent last season with European champions Real Madrid before recently joining Murcia on loan, and whom American hoops fans might remember from his 7ow b7ow on Carmelo Anthony during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and could face stern tests from the likes of Brazil and Mexico.
This much seems certain, though: if Wiggins stays committed to using that lightning quick first step, his nose for the basket and his remarkable agility in the air, there won’t be very many defenders in that tournament who can stop him from getting to the front of the rim, and there might not be any stopping Canada from earning a spot in Rio’s main event, returning to Olympic hoops for the first time since 2000.
– – – – – – –
Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
Stay connected with Ball Don’t Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, “Like” BDL on Facebook and follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.
