Tag: Team Canada

Notre Dame guard talks Olympic experience with former Irish player

Great to hear a present Irish player laud a past one.

[autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] missed most of her first full season with Notre Dame with an injury. However, making Canada’s Olympic women’s basketball team was a nice consolation prize. Even better, she was teammates with [autotag]Natalie Achonwa[/autotag], another name familiar to anyone who’s followed the Irish over the past 15 years.

Prosper sat down with Crina Mustafa of Her Hoop Stats to talk about a variety of topics, but her Olympic experience with Achonwa was a real highlight of the interview. Prosper specifically talked about how much she was blown away by Achonwa not only as a leader and mentor to the younger players on the team but also as a mother.

After Canada went winless in three Olympic contests, Achonwa retired as a player and was hired at Michigan as its assistant coach for player development. Clearly, Achonwa was preparing for this next chapter in her life while in Paris.

You can view Prosper’s entire interview here starting at 16:39:

With the Olympics finished, all Irish fans will be anxious to see how Prosper contributes to a team with national championship aspirations. Only time will tell.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Soccer midfielder Sadie Waite selected to Canada’s U-20 FIFA World Cup team

Midfielder Sadie Waite was selected for the Canadian Women’s World Cup roster and will now compete at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2024.

Nebraska’s 2024 soccer season is underway, and players have already earned honors. Midfielder Sadie Waite was selected for the Canadian Women’s World Cup roster and will now compete at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2024.

Prior to Nebraska, Waite played club soccer at FC London, attended U17 National Team Camps, and participated in the Ontario REX program with current Husker Florence Belzile.

The St. Thomas, Ontario native now enters her junior year at Nebraska following a solid sophomore season, which included a Big Ten regular season championship and a trip to the Elite Eight. She started all 24 games and amassed 1,950 minutes on the season. Waite finished with four goals and five assists while delivering 32 shots, 13 on goal.

She also earned her first career brace in the Huskers’ tournament victory over South Dakota State. In her freshman season, Waite played 19 games and earned 16 starts, scoring one goal and earning two assists in 1,329 minutes of action.

Canada is in Group B at the FIFA U-20 World Cup alongside France, Brazil, and Fiji. It will start the tournament against France on Saturday, August 31. The match will start at 3:00 p.m. (CT) and be televised on Fox Soccer Plus.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

RJ Barrett and Canada finish Olympic pool play undefeated after win over Spain

The Canadian men’s basketball team, featuring former Duke star RJ Barrett, defeated Spain on Friday for a third straight Olympic victory.

Former Duke basketball star [autotag]RJ Barrett[/autotag] and his Canadian teammates defeated Spain 88-85 at the 2024 Olympic Games on Friday, ending pool play with a perfect 3-0 record.

The undefeated Canadian team exploded with 30 second-quarter points, leading by double-digits at the midway point. Spain attempted to climb back, outscoring Canada by eight points over the last two quarters, but fell just short of the comeback.

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a 2023-24 NBA MVP finalist, made two free throws in the closing seconds to preserve the win.

Barrett, who led the Canadian team in scoring for both of its first two wins, scored 16 points against Spain. The former Blue Devil ended the three-game run through pool play with 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.

Canada now clinches a spot in the quarterfinals. With [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] and Team USA winning their first two games in Group C, Duke fans will have at least two different former Blue Devils to root for in Paris once the elimination bracket begins.

Incoming freshman [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], who plays for South Sudan, could join them in the final eight depending on his team’s result against Serbia on Saturday.

Nets’ Jordi Fernandez, Canada beat Spain 88-85 in Paris Olympics

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez led Canada to a 88-85 win over Spain on Friday in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez came into this summer looking to lead the Canadian Men’s National Basketball Team to a gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fernandez and Team Canada had a tough test coming up against Spain, but it looks like Fernandez and his players were ready for the challenge.

Canada beat Spain 88-85 on Friday in a nail-biting game that required some heroics from players like Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett. Canada led by as many as 14 points in this one before Spain fought back valiantly to bring the game down to one possession before Barrett hit a dagger three-pointer with 38.8 seconds to give the Canadians a 85-80 lead.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points and three rebounds while Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard had 18 points and two assists. Barrett finished with 16 points and Houston Rockets guard Dillon Brooks had 13 points in the crucial win for Canada.

The Canadians are now 3-0 in the Olympics as they wait to see who they will be facing in the quarterfinals of the tournament. With Canada’s win over Spain, they will advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2000.

[lawrence-related id=59566,59564,59562]

Former Gonzaga guard takes over for Canada in win over Spain

Andrew Nembhard led Team Canada to a victory over Spain with a dominant stretch in the fourth quarter.

It’s been a great year for Andrew Nembhard.

The Indiana Pacers guard first made headlines with an outstanding performance in the NBA playoffs, averaging 14.9 points and 5.5 assists including a pair of monster performances against the Boston Celtics when Tyrese Haliburton was sidelined.

The former Gonzaga guard parlayed that success into a lucrative extension with the Pacers, as well as a spot on Team Canada’s Olympic national team alongside star guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray.

On Friday he proved exactly what he can bring for Canada’s medal hopes, ensuring the country would go undefeated in group play with an outstanding performance in a win over Spain.

Nembhard finished with 18 points, second on the team behind Gilgeous-Alexander, while tacking on two assists and one steal.

He was a menace particularly out in transition, scoring back-to-back fastbreak layups in the fourth quarter and swinging momentum back Canada’s way at a critical juncture.

Nembhard was not just getting after it in transition, he hit a highly contested three point shot as the shot clock expired and finished 8-10 from the field. His facilitation skills opened up Canada’s offense, and proved he belongs on the floor for this team in close matchups.

Canada advances to the quarterfinals as they look to medal against strong competition in France, Serbia, and the United States.

Former Duke star thriving for Team Canada in Olympic Games

Former Duke star RJ Barrett is leading Team Canada in scoring in the early stage of the 2024 Olympic Games in France.

College basketball fans who tune in to Team Canada during the 2024 Olympic Games will be treated to quite a few familiar faces.

Whether it’s a trio of former Kentucky stars in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, and Trey Lyles, a pair of former Zags in Kelly Olynyk and Andrew Nembhard, or other prominent CBB alumnus like Dillon Brooks (Oregon), Lu Dort (Arizona State) or Dwight Powell (Stanford), the Canadian roster is chalk full of former college stars.

Perhaps the most electric college basketball player suiting up for Canada is R.J Barrett, who was a consensus All-American with the Duke Blue Devils as a freshman in 2018-19, teaming up with Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish to create a formidable three-headed monster under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Barrett has had an up-and-down NBA career since going No. 3 overall in the 2019 NBA draft, but he has risen to the occasion for Team Canada so far in France – leading the country in scoring in each of their first two games, a win over Greece on Saturday and a win over Australia on Monday morning.

The 6’7 forward dropped 23 points with four rebounds and three assists on 8-13 shooting in an 86-79 win over Greece, who got 34 points from superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Then on Monday, Barrett once again paced the Canadiens – this time dropping 24 points with seven rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals in a 10 point victory over Australia.

Barrett’s aggressive maneuvering with the ball in his hands works well in FIBA rules, helping him to thrive in this setting despite having an MVP candidate and All-Star caliber guard alongside him in the backcourt in SGA and Murray.

Canada will face Spain in the final group-stage matchup on Friday, August 2 at 11:15 AM ET.

Nets’ Jordi Fernandez, Canada beat Australia 93-83 in 2024 Paris Olympics

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez and Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett lead Team Canada to a 93-83 win over Australia on Tuesday.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez has had a busy summer as he is currently the head coach of the Canadian Men’s National Basketball Team with the hopes of winning a gold medal. Fernandez and Team Canada is well on their way to winning it all after another impressive victory over a formidable opponent.

On Tuesday, Canada beat Australia 93-83 to earn a 2-0 record thanks to a strong performance from Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett, who put up 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in the winning effort. Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 16 points and four rebounds of his own while Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks amassed 16 points and three rebounds.

Canada had a tough task ahead of them as they had to face an Australian team led by Miami Heat guard Patty Mills and Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey. Mills had an off game as he put up just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field, but Giddey played well as he put forth a stat line of 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists to keep the Aussies somewhat close in the contest.

With a game that included 13 lead changes and nine other times where the score was tied, it became clear that this was a matchup between two teams that were capable of making it far in the Olympics based on the amount of talent on both sides. Ultimately, Canada came out on top thanks to the play of Barrett and the Canadians forcing Australia into 18 turnovers over the course of the game.

[lawrence-related id=59544,59537,59534]

Shay Colley excels, Canada loses in Olympic opener

Shay Colley had a strong effort in Canada’s Olympics opener, despite a loss to France

Former Michigan State women’s basketball guard Shay Colley is competing in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Colley, a professional basketball player in France, is competing for Canada in the games.

In Canada’s opener against the hosts France, the Canadians lost 75-54, but Colley gave a strong effort.

The former Spartan racked up a team high in points and assists, finishing with 11 points and 6 assists in the contest.

Canada will be back in action against Australia on Thursday at 7:30 a.m.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner

Photos of former Notre Dame fencer Lee Kiefer winning second gold

Back-to-back for Lee!

[autotag]Lee Kiefer[/autotag] made history at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She became the first U.S. fencer, male or female, to win a gold medal in the individual foil. A few years later at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, she’s proven she’s not ready to give that gold medal up.

Kiefer won her second individual foil gold medal in as many Olympics. The former Notre Dame fencer did so by defeating fellow U.S. fencer Lauren Scruggs, 15-6. Scruggs is the first U.S. fencer to win a silver in this event. The bronze went to Canada’s Eleanor Harvey.

Kiefer became the second U.S. fencer to win two individual Olympic golds, joining two-time sabre gold medalist Mariel Zagunis. And she did in front of husband and fellow former Notre Dame fencer [autotag]Gerek Meinhardt[/autotag] 24 hours ahead of his own quest for an individual foil medal.

If you missed Kiefer’s historic day, take a look at these photos:

Nets’ Jordi Fernandez, Canada beat Greece 86-79 in Paris Olympics

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez led Team Canada to their first win of the 2024 Paris Olympics by beating Greece 86-79 on Saturday.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez has been a busy man ever since the NBA playoffs as he was hired to be the franchise’s next head coach. Despite the promotion, Fernandez still had the honor of being the head coach for the Canadian National Men’s Basketball team, a squad that got off to a great start in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Team Canada, led by Fernandez, began the Olympics with a great 86-79 win over Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and Team Greece on Saturday. It was a close win as the Greek National Men’s Basketball team did what it could to stay in the game since both teams are trying to win the gold medal.

Heading into the Paris Olympics, Fernandez was going to rely on players like Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to lead a Canadian team that is deep with NBA talent. Gilgeous-Alexander put up 21 points, five rebounds, and seven assists while Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett put 23 points and four rebounds.

Despite Greece getting a stellar 34-point, five-rebound performance from Antetokounmpo, the next highest-scorer was Kostas Papanikolaou as he finished with 17 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Ultimately, Team Canada came out on top thanks to the depth of the team and the quality of Fernandez’s coaching.

[lawrence-related id=59523,59517,59514]