The basketball seed has been planted in Canada, the world’s hockey hotbed.
While a torrent of young Canadian talent–Andrew Wiggins, Jamal Murray, and Tristan Thompson to rattle off a few–have followed the long green paper trail to the NBA, countless Canadians continue to pursue an avenue to America.
Partly at the hyper-competitive level of play and national visibility and partly at the variety of scholarship opportunities, Canada’s wealth of prep talent collectively expresses a desire to ply their trade in the United States.
Look no further than Montverde Academy in Florida.
Kevin Boyle’s program, in the national spotlight these past few years, features a dose of Canadian flavor with R.J. Barrett (the top-ranked sophomore in the country), flashy Class of 2019 point guard Andrew Nembhard, and Marcus Carr.
Some have even referenced Montverde as America’s “Canadian High School Basketball Team.”
At Miami’s Calusa Prep there is Luguentz Dort, an uber-athletic and oft-slashing 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard.
Calusa has another Canadian-bred guard in sharpshooter Nathanael Jack.
Dort, one of the nation’s most prolific scorers in the class of 2018, has offers from Louisville, Florida, Oregon, Baylor, Arizona State, and myriad others.
At 22 Feet Academy in South Carolina, Daniel Sackey has registered his presence as a well-built guard with hellacious hops, quickness, and the ability to impact both sides of the ball.
Though not equated with the same luster as these aforementioned Canadians, Taysean Nolan contains the attributes to eventually become a steal at a Division-1 program next year.
The Class of 2017 guard is buoyed by an impressive above-the-rim game and a natural ability to knife his way to the rim.
An effective handle and the bullish strength which many lack at this level ultimately renders Nolan an under-the-radar prospect.
“The best attribute of my game is my athleticism,” said Nolan, who gauged his game against highly-touted players (Louisville-commit) Anfernee Simons during a recent Hoop Exchange event in Florida.
“When you combine that with my ability to handle the basketball, I think that and my strength furthers my ability to be a facilitator and playmaker for my team. It helps with my ability to break down my defender and find a good shot as well as draw the defender to me and therefore open up the floor for my teammates.”
What does Nolan pinpoint as the positive draws to playing in the United States?
“The benefits of playing at the prep and college level of basketball in the United States come from the level of competition as well as the lofty standards the coaches hold all of their players to,” Nolan said.
“Every athlete needs to come prepared with a good work ethic, consistency, and toughness. For Canadian players who have a sense of urgency to come to the United States and further develop their game, they benefit from all these factors that ready them for the next level and challenge them everyday to get better.”
Nolan listed Northern Arizona, Florida Atlantic, Alabama A & M, Denver, Liberty, Brown, Idaho State as potential destinations at the next level.
As his growth as not only an adept finisher but an all-around scorer continues, Nolan aspires to become a heavy-impact player at a program best-suited for his game.
He currently holds a 2.8 GPA and found much relief when he received a qualifying SAT score this year.
“Over the next few years I would hope to accomplish becoming a major factor in the college level of basketball, which would only come from hours of hard consistent work,” Nolan said.
