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This week, the U21 team will be holding a training camp for Season 12. Players will be officially selected at some point on the weekend, before the scrimmage on Monday. An announcement will be made when the selections have been finalized; before that; before that, don't worry too much about players moving on and off the roster.

Invitations have been sent out to the top Canadian 21 year olds (and some 20 year olds). The list of invitees is as follows, and the list of candidates is impressive (with possible additions still to come):

*=20 year old player

C/PF
- Ginés Beato: (10638354)
- Vincent Delorimier*: (11816850)
- Lester Griffith: (11816504)
- Robert Hassan: (10638394)
- Peter Mahmoud: (10637362)
- Chris Minnerup: (10637220)
- Justin Parker: (10638615)
- Jeffrey Simoneau: (10638901)

SF/Other
- Calvin Dupré*: (11815797)
- Paul Gaize: (10637410)
- Jeb Hunter: (10639038)
- Andy Milnes: (10638407)
- Francis Paris*: (11816600)
- Ralph Rendon: (11269272)
- James Ritchens: (10637181)

PG/SG
- Jerome Forest: (10638219)
- Tommy Germain: (10638822)
- Sean Hare: (10639119)
- Edward Lowe: (10639045)
- Randall McQueen: (10638912)
- Hugo Pimenta: (10637219)
- Leonard Speakman: (10638139)
- Max Torres*: (11816530)
- Claude Yang: (10637207)
- Philip Yates*: (11815964)
- Matthew Williams: (10637186)

The main returning players from season 12 are Leonard Speakman and Andy Milnes. They are both expected to be on the season 13 team, and to play large roles. Jerome Forest and Sean Hare also joined the U21 late in season 12, and saw some brief game action. While Forest and Hare have a good chance to join the team in season 13, they are both looking at some tough competition for spots on the opening roster (which will be kept small, to maintain flexibility for after the early scrimmage section of the schedule).

Looking at some of the new faces, Peter Mahmoud is extremely likely to make the team, and Ralph Rendon has the inside track at SF. As mentioned above, Speakman and Milnes are also in comfortable positions. All of the other invitees will be competing hard for the remaining spots on the team.

Last edited by The Mogul at 7/3/2010 1:24:25 AM

Just basing these guys off of salary, it looks like we have quite the list of prospects this season.

I can't wait to get Dupre's skills up this season, should be a LOT of fun :).

Based on salaries and potential there are some absolutely fantastic guards coming up through the ranks. Is this the best ever Canadian u21 guard class?

Things are looking a bit thin up front though, that's for sure.

Training camp wound down on Saturday afternoon, leaving the U21 management with some tough decisions to make about the roster. After much deliberation, 9 players have been selected, and will serve as a "scrimmage skeleton crew" for the early weeks. It is also hoped that every player chosen will continue to make an impact throughout the season. Once the world championships begin, several callups will be made to round out the roster. Further callups will be looked at as needed the rest of the way, and 6-7 callups are expected in total.

Here is the opening roster for the season 13 Canadian U21 team:

Jérome Forest (10638219)

Forest was summoned to the U21 late in season 12, and was in the rotation for the blowout win against Peru. While his spot on the season 13 team was not guaranteed, Forest managed to make the roster, and is expected to be an impact guard. Having established himself as a superstar for Serenity306 BC in Canada II.3, Jérome is ready to show what he can do on the world stage.

Tommy Germain (10638822)

A first round pick of sg united in season 9, Germain has been steadily developing there ever since, as he inches higher and higher towards his incredibly high ceiling. The U21 is counting on Tommy to bring some much needed energy to the team, along with considerable amounts of creative flair.

Sean Hare (10639119)

Added in the last few weeks of season 12 as a depth guy for the U21, Hare was determined to be brought back for season 13. This season, Hare is looking forward to earning a legitimate spot in the rotation. A proud representative of the Cambridge Zombies, the team that drafted and developed him, Hare is also looking forward to teasing fellow Zombie Matthew Williams about beating him out for a spot yet again. Some of Hare's early ideas include wearing his team Canada jersey at all times while travelling with the Zombies during league play, sending postcards to Williams from any country other than Canada, and making random comments in made up foreign languages (that he "learned" while travelling with the national team).

Peter Mahmoud (10637362)

Drafted by BasketLegends in season 9, Mahmoud was quickly sold to Stebs for $1.7 million, and he has grown into quite the force for his Icelandic squad. A beast inside, Mahmoud has never embraced certain aspects of the game, including the art of free throws (as shown by his 0-87 barrage last season, and his 0% career mark). Despite many questions surrounding his suitability for the U21, Mahmoud has earned an opportunity to play, and will be looking to turn some heads this season in a positive way.

Andy Milnes (10638407)

A returning player from the season 12 team, Milnes was a major rotation player for many big games throughout the season. Milnes started at SG in many of the most important games, including big wins against Brasil, Uruguay, and Argentina. While he may run into issues with his allstar potential at some point this season, this is largely a sign of how rapidly he developed, and he should continue to be an important player for the U21. Milnes will be looking to make Canada proud once again in season 13, as well as his Italian owner dinamo kioff.

Cris Minnerup (10637220)

Chirs "the Minotaurrr" Minnerup is another in a long line of recent U21 stars whose last name starts with the letter "M." Drafted by Devil's Advocate in season 9, Minnerup was immediately shipped off to the Netherlands, where he joined the Utrecht Guinneapigs. Having moved up to division I for season 12, Minnerup is used to playing against top quality opposition, and will be relying heavily on that experience in the world championships.

Ralph Rendon (11269272)

Ralph Rendon's dreams of making the U21 at age 20 didn't pan out for him. However, going into season 13, Rendon is expected to burst onto the scene, and be a key player all season long. Rendon was never drafted, and was sold early in his rookie season to a Polish squad, Pretorians. He was well trained there for over 2 seasons, before moving on to France, to play for Saint Mateu. Ralph is expected to step into a leadership role for the U21, and given his track record so far, he should be well prepared for the responsibility.

Jeffrey Simoneau (10638901)

Picked 44th overall by Costabelle in season 9, Simoneau quickly became a fan favourite, and has developed into a cornerstone of his team. Having been inspired by the strong play of the Canadian bigs in season 12, Jeffrey is determined to make a name for himself around the basket at the U21 level.

Leonard Speakman (10638139)

Speakman joins Milnes as the other main returning player from last season's Canadian U21 team. Trained up to rare heights by an evil genius in Malta, BTLL, Speakman brings a unique skillset to the table. While it sometimes appers that Speakman works harder on half court shots than he does free throws, and that he lacks some key fundamentals, there is no denying that Speakman is a supremely talented player. Just how those talents are harnessed could go a long way to determining the fate of the U21 over the next couple of months.

So, there you have it, the "scrimmage skeleton crew" for season 13. Here are some additional notes about them:
- every player on the team started out as an 18 year old
- 4 of the players are currently on Canadian teams, with 1 in Malta, 1 in Iceland, 1 in France, 1 in Italy, and 1 in the Netherlands
- the intial 9 players include only 3 C/PF types; at least one more big man will be added immediately prior to the world championships, and the next few weeks will be used to help determine who the callup(s) should be.
- "Numbers Ali" is still a really cool name, even if he isn't on the team anymore.

More information will be available in the BB Canada off-site forum (available to Canadian managers who sign up): http://bbcanada.forumotion.com. The operator of the offsite forum is still GM-Rip (24916), and be sure to send him a confirmation BB-Mail if you are signing up to the forum.

That's all for now...world championships, here we come!

Last edited by The Mogul at 7/4/2010 4:17:59 AM

Great post Mogul!!! :)

Jeffrey Simoneau has suffered a minor injury, and I'm going to put him on the imaginary U21 injured reserve list (because, well, why not). The enthusiasm reset hasn't happened yet, so players can be moved on and off the team currently without any penalties. As soon as Simoneau is healthy and ready to play, I expect to call him back up, but I'll leave his roster spot open to guard against the slim chance that Simoneau has a truly disastrous injury / game shape run this season.

Another big man is definately needed for the U21 soon, and with Simoneau on the shelf, I would like to add one this weekend (even though we are still in scrimmage mode). If a player is added for the Monday game, that player would be on the team for the long haul, and right now I am leaning towards taking Ginés Beato. The official announcement about this issue will probably be made on Saturday night.

Last edited by The Mogul at 7/9/2010 8:51:25 PM

Boy am I happy to hear Jeff is injured! He is a superstar in my league.

A new addition at C to the U21 has been decided upon, and here he is:

Ginés Beato (10638354)

It has been a long and trecherous road to the U21 for Ginés Beato, and he faced long odds to make the team. After being drafted by TIKER back in season 9, Beato was quickly saved from retirement by one of the national teams, and was shipped off to Greece. A few weeks later, he then was moved to Spain, where he was trained up by Goros Team for many seasons. Beato's development looked questionable to many observers (well, maybe just me :P), but he perservered, and kept on going. At the start of season 13, Goros Team went bot from inactivity, and Beato was once again tossed out onto the transfer list. Memphis Tigers, a division II team in Finland, picked him up for $1.8 million dollars. Early indications suggest that Beato's development will go well on his new team, and it is hoped that he will be able to make an impact this season at the U21 level.