Leo Rautins enters his third year as the Head Coach of the Senior Men, having led the team to the FIBA Americas World Championship Qualifier in 2005 and a European exhibition tour in 2006. Coach Rautins will again be assisted by Dave Smart who has been with the staff in both 2005 and 2006. Smart led the Carleton Ravens to their fifth consecutive CIS National Championship in March.
Joining the staff as assistant coaches are Michael Malone and Wayne Yearwood. Malone is currently an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers and had previously worked in same position for the New York Knicks. Yearwood, a long time player for the Senior Men’s National Team, joins the coaching staff after coaching the Dawson College Blues to a CCAA National Championship in March.
“We are very pleased to have assembled a strong coaching team to lead our men’s national team program in 2007. With top coaches from the CIS, CCAA, High School and the NBA we have the leadership in place maximize the performance of our athletes. We are proud to have three former national team athletes and the coaches of both the CCAA national champions and the CIS national champions showing our commitment to excellence in high performance coaching,” said Andrew Cook, Manager – Men’s Elite Performance.
The Development Men’s National Team coaching staff will be led by Head Coach Chris O’Rourke. O’Rourke is the bench boss for the University of Guelph and recently served as an assistant coach on Canada’s bronze medaling winning 2005 Young Men’s squad at the 2005 FIBA U21 World Championship. O’Rourke will be assisted on this staff by Darrell Glenn and Dave DeAveiro. Glenn, the head coach of Humber College, was also an assistant on the 2005 Young Men’s National Team, while DeAveiro, an assistant with the 2004 Senior Men’s National Team, is the head coach at the University of Ottawa.
Canada Basketball is pleased to be partnering with the National Association of Basketball Coaches of Canada (NABCC) who is supporting a second assistant coach position on the Development Team staff.
Greg Francis will head the coaching staff for the Junior Men’s National Team as they compete for a medal at the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship. Francis, Canada Basketball’s National Development Coach, led the 2006 Junior Men to qualify for the U19 FIBA WC for the first time in the organization’s history.
Joining Francis on the coaching staff are Craig Beaucamp and Roy Rana, both members of last season’s coaching staff. Beaucamp is the head coach of the University of Victoria, having led the Vikings to the 2006 CIS national championship game. Rana is the Head Coach of Eastern Commerce and former Ontario U17 provincial team head coach, having won both OFSAA championships and a gold medal at the 2005 Canada Summer Games.
Canada Basketball is a private, not-for-profit corporation that is committed to the growth of the sport in Canada. Just as important, Canada Basketball is focused on the development and preparation of Canada’s national teams for the Olympic; Pan American and FISU Games as well as the World Championships. The aspiration of Canada Basketball is to instill the pride, commitment, passion and respect that Canadians personify into the development of basketball across the country and internationally.
The schedule for Canadian National teams is as follows: Senior Men’s National Team- Pan-Am Games July 25-July 29, FIBA America’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament Aug.22-Sept.2: Senior Women’s National Team- Pan-Am Games July 25-July 29, FIBA America’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament Sept.23-Sept.27: Development National Team (Men and Women)- World University Games/Summer Universaide Aug.8-Aug.18: Young Women’s National Team- FIBA U21 World Championships June 29-July 8: Junior Men’s National Team- FIBA U19 World Championships July 12-July 22: Junior Women’s National Team- FIBA U19 World Championships July 26-Aug.5: Canadian Wheelchair Basketball- VISA Paralympic World Cup May 7-May 13, Rio ParaPan American Games Aug.12-Aug.19
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Contact:
Andrew Cook
Manager – Men’s Elite Performance
Canada Basketball
Tel: 416.614.8037 x 210
e-mail: acook@basketball.ca