HOOPING IT UP THE CANADIAN WAY

On the surface it sounds like Canada pulled off a good opening win -- 82-60 over Nigeria, a team fortified with NCAA D-1 recruits -- at the FIBA U-19 world championship in Serbia.

Mark Wacyk does such a good job at cishoops.ca keeping the few, the proud, the hoser hoopophiles informed that it almost sounds wrong to write a long post when he's got it so well-covered.

The need-to-know is guard Devoe Joseph, of Pickering, Ont., lit it up with a game-high 33 points (6-of-10 from behind the arc) and Canada won going away -- it was actually tied at halftime -- vs. a team with a number of NCAA D-1 recruits. It was basically the kind of Suns or Raptors-style ball Canada needs to start playing at the international level (i.e., as far removed from the Americans as possible). Do your best to battle to close to a draw under the boards, then move the ball around to get open looks on the offensive end. Canada shot a decent enough 46% and kept Nigeria in the 20s -- their big man, 7-foot-1 Solomon Alabi who's committed to play for Florida State in the ACC, was held to six points on 2-for-10 shooting. Now you know why Billy Donovan came back to the rival Florida Gators. Just kidding.

Ryerson forward Boris Bakovic, the lone current CIS player in the lineup, marked his visit to his family's homeland by making 7-of-8 from the field on his way to a 15-point, six-rebound afternoon. Canada tips off vs. Turkey around noon Eastern time Friday and faces Australia Saturday in their final prelim game. The format is similar to the world hockey championship; there's a prelim round, then another round-robin before the win-or-go-home games begin.

(Speaking of Mark, he has a post up about Casey Archibald, the UBC all-Canadian, signing a pro deal in Europe. Turns out he's joining the same Austrian club that Nepean native Richard Anderson works for. Anderson's Borden Blues high school team played the Ernestown Eagles a few times back in the day.)