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Canada Basketball has announced the 2016 U17 men’s national team which includes for the first time in a generation, two Manitobans on the same national team in Emmanuel Akot (left) and Daniel Sackey (right). Eight members from the 2015 silver medal squad return to headline the 12-man team that will compete at the U17 FIBA World Championships in Zaragoza, Spain.
Emmanuel Akot is coming off his attendance at the Bio-Steel All-Canadian Game in April and spent the last year in Utah at the Wasatch Academy and recently has been involved in the AAU circuit with teams throughout the US.
Daniel Sackey spent the last year in Missouri and is currently at St. Louis Christian Academy and the Canada Elite club program based out of Toronto.
“We’re pleased with the players’ progress and have put together a strong team,” said Dave DeAveiro, head coach. “We look forward to building off of last year’s silver medal finish in Argentina and representing Canada on the world stage.”
The squad will complete training camp in Toronto on June 10th and head to Toulouse, France for a three-game exhibition tournament against the French hosts, Australia and Argentina. The team will then head to Zaragoza to represent Canada at the 2016 U17 FIBA World Championships from June 23rd- July 3rd.
DeAveiro (McGill University) will be joined by assistants Michael Meeks (Canada Basketball), James Derouin (University of Ottawa) and apprentice coach, Nicky Davis (Sheridan College).
In 2015, the U17 team won a silver medal at the U16 FIBA Americas Championships - the programs best-ever finish. Canada is currently ranked 3rd worldwide in the FIBA youth men rankings.
A full list of athletes and coaches can be found below.
2016 U17 TRAINING CAMP INVITEES
| NAME | POSITION | HEIGHT | HOMETOWN | CLUB/SCHOOL |
| Emmanuel Akot | F | 6'6 | Winnipeg, MB | Wasatch Academy |
| Andrew Nembhard | G | 6'3 | Aurora, ON | Vaughn |
| Rowan Barrett Jr | G | 6'6 | Mississauga, ON | Montverde |
| Jaden Bediako | F | 6'9 | Brampton, ON | St. Marcellinus |
| Ignas Brazdeikis | F | 6'7 | Oakville, ON | Orangeville Prep |
| Danilo Djuricic | F | 6'8 | Brampton, ON | Saint Michael's |
| Quincy Guerrier | F | 6'6 | Montreal, QC | Thetford |
| Noah Kirkwood | F | 6'5 | Kanata, ON | Ashbury College |
| Stefan Smith | G | 6'0 | Ajax, ON | Bill Crothers |
| Grant Shephard | F | 6'9 | Kelowna, BC | Kelowna High |
| Daniel Sackey | G | 5'9 | Winnipeg, MB | St. Louis Christian |
| Simisola Shittu | F | 6’9 | Burlington, ON | Montverde |
| Emmanuel Miller (Alternate) | F | 6'6 | Scarborough, ON | U-Play |
| Joel Brown (Alternate) | G | 6'2 | Brampton, ON | CIA Bouce |
2016 U17 COACHING & STAFF
| NAME | POSITION | HOMETOWN | TEAM/CLUB |
| Dave DeAveiro | Head Coach | Toronto, ON | McGill University |
| Michael Meeks | Assistant Coach | Brampton, ON | Canada Basketball |
| James Derouin | Assistant Coach | Ottawa, ON | University of Ottawa |
| Nicky Davis | Apprentice Coach | Toronto, ON | Sheridan College |
| Steve Konchalski | Advisor | Halifax, NS | St. Francis Xavier |
| Mary Lalancette | Therapist | Toronto, ON | Canada Basketball |
| Chris Cheng | Manager | Scarborough, ON | Nipissing University |
| Mark Leung | Doctor | Toronto, ON | University of Toronto |
2016 U17 SCHEDULE
| DATE | ITEM | LOCATION |
| June 4th – 10th 2016 | Tryouts & Training Camp | Humber College – North |
| June 15th, 2016 | Exhibition vs France | Toulouse, France |
| June 16th , 2016 | Exhibition vs Australia | |
| June 17th , 2016 | Exhibition vs Argentina | |
| June 23rd, 2016 | vs Australia | U17 World Championships Zaragoza, Spain |
| June 25th, 2016 | vs Finland | |
| June 26th, 2016 | vs China | |
| June 28th, 2016 | Round of 16 | |
| June 30th, 2016 | Quarter Finals | |
| July 1st, 2016 | Semi-Finals | |
| July 2nd, 2016 | Classification Games | |
| July 3rd, 2016 | Finals |
Source: http://basketball.ca/hm/news-article/slug-00fzkp