A lot of the focus of Canadian basketball fans now turns to the composition of the men’s team that will chase an Olympic berth at the qualification tournament starting late next month in Mexico. It remains a fluid situation —the next camp doesn’t start until Aug. 17 — but here’s some guesswork on who might be on the squad.

The locks

Cory Joseph: An NBA championship pedigree from San Antonio will help and his defensive abilities will be heavily counted upon. New Raptors point guard has to take on a leadership role to create much needed chemistry.

Andrew Wiggins: Current NBA rookie of the year expected to make national senior team debut a special one. He’ll attract the majority of the attention but handled it through the NBA season and should b able to handle it in international game.

Nik Stauskas: Coach Jay Triano said during sprint to the Pan Am Games silver medal that his team couldn’t have enough shooting. That’s Stauskas’s specialty and the somewhat slower international game should allow him to thrive as a scorer.

Anthony Bennett: No one appeared to have as much fun playing for Canada at the Pan Ams as Bennett did. He’s in good shape, has the multi-faceted game that’s necessary and will be given a major role by the coaching staff trying to revitalize him.

Andrew Nicholson: Another NBA veteran whose skills translate well to FIBA play. He has to learn to keep his composure with dubious officiating because his ability to play inside and out on offence gives the team a huge dose of flexibility.

Kelly Olynyk: The international style — lots of drive and kick offence with big men who can step out and shoot — seems tailor-made for the national team veteran. He’ll be fresh after getting some rest, could emerge as the team’s most important big.

Brady Heslip: If they need shooting as Triano says, and all teams do, Heslip’s basically a must for the roster. Teams will key on him — he’s not a secret any more –—but he’s also solid in a high pick-and-roll to get himself open to fire away.

The likelies

Tristan Thompson: He’s still without an NBA contract and he’s not going to be part of the team if he doesn’t have one by the time camp and the tournament roll around. But if he’s signed and plays, it’s a huge frontcourt rebounding bonus.

Jamal Murray: He did an admirable job in his senior team debut at the Pan Ams. But he’s also only likely to be in school for one year and getting him out of Kentucky for another month might be an issue. If it isn’t, he’s going to help.

The others

Melvin Ejim: Was solid in the Pan Ams, the kind of unassuming depth guy good teams employ. He might not be the most gifted offensive player but he could help by being able to guard multiple positions and add depth over the grind of a long tournament.

Kevin Pangos: Canadian general manager Steve Nash said early in the Pan Am tournament that the competition at backup point guard was going to be interesting as the summer unfolds. Depending on his European team needs, he might be in the mix.

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Carl English: He didn’t show an awful lot during the Pan Am tournament but he’s a wily veteran of the international game whose presence might help his teammates adjust. And over the years, he’s shown he can score in bunches at times.

Aaron Doornekamp: Another who’d fit in the Ejim-English mould, a savvy veteran who knows how to play and who could provide some depth later in the event. Big basketball IQ a huge plus and he also guard multiple positions.

Phil Scrubb: Scuttlebutt around the Pan Ams was that the Carleton start was sifting through European offers. Canada could do a lot worse than to have the CIS product as its backup point guard, he’s got the skills — an experience — to handle it

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