Canada advances to the semi-finals of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA)'s Men's World Cup this Friday, the first in the history of Canada's national basketball team. Slovenia's Luka Doncic (77) heads to the basket past Canada's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half of a Basketball World Cup quarterfinal game in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Michael Conroy
TORONTO – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s former coaches in his hometown of Hamilton say his star performance for team Canada at the FIBA Basketball World Cup is a source of pride for the city and its basketball community.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the Oklahoma City Thunder pointguard who has led Canada to its first-ever semifinal spot at the tournament, played high school basketball in Hamilton before transferring to a school in Tennessee.
Tim Francis, who coached Gilgeous-Alexander in 2012 and 2013 at Hamilton’s Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School, says there is a lot of “pride in having someone come out of the Hamilton ranks and to reach really the highest level of competition.”
Francis says Gilgeous-Alexander was not known as a budding international star early in his high school career, but has become of one “the best players in the world” through dedication to his craft.
Francis says that is serving as an example for lots of young players in Hamilton and beyond.
Dwayne Washington, who taught and coached Gilgeous-Alexander at Sir Allan MacNab, said the guard’s poise and physicality were evident at an early age, crediting those traits for having made him a “superpower” on the court.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2023.
