TORONTO — Jay Triano has had a full plate as he’s worked to prepare the Canadian men’s national team for a pivotal summer of basketball.

It starts on Tuesday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre when Canada tips off against the Dominican Republic in the opening game of pool play in the Pan Am Games tournament.

To win a medal they’ll need to play five games in five days, this after a rapid nine-day training camp.

But Triano has found the time to see what some of Canada’s other athletes have accomplished at the Pan Ams and it has whet his appetite.

He saw the men’s baseball team win a gold medal over the U.S. in the most dramatic way imaginable on Sunday night.

Speaking before the women’s national basketball team’s dramatic gold-medal effort over the U.S. on Monday night, he forecast how big a moment it could be.

“We’re excited for them,” said Triano, the two-time Olympian who led the Canadian men to their last Olympic appearance at Sydney in 2000. “This is a big summer for them, just like it is for us [and] … this is a great kick start for them and to see them being able to play for a medal is fantastic. It’s great for our country, it’s great for Canada Basketball and hopefully it kick starts them into a position where they can qualify for the Olympics and continue this great ride they’ve got going.”

So the question becomes: Can the men get their own ride going at the Pan Am Games? And can it kick start Canada towards a long sought after Olympics berth?

The explosion of Canadian basketball talent and interest is not just a story. It’s a real thing. If Canada qualifies for the Olympics in 2016 no other team in the world besides the U.S. will have as many first-round NBA picks on their roster.

Where in 2000 the Canadian team led by Steve Nash and coached by Triano had only two NBA players — Nash and Todd MacCulloch — as they went 5-1 before being turned away from the medal round by France in the quarterfinals, all 12 of the roster spots in Rio could conceivably go to NBA players. An NBA player might end up being cut.

But Canadian basketball fans have been hearing that story for years. The moment has arrived for the Canadian men to turn potential into results, even if in the grand scheme the Pan Am Games doesn’t matter a whole lot the immediate future of the men’s team hinges on earning one of two spots in Rio available at the Olympic qualifying event in Mexico City beginning August 31.

However, as the women proved on Monday night, a packed house of Canadian basketball fans don’t care all that much about whether it’s an A-list event or not or if the opposition has travelled with their best roster. They are hungry for success.

Before Kia Nurse led the women to gold the 19-year-old was referred to as the ‘Andrew Wiggins of women’s basketball.’ After her 33-point breakout in leading Canada to basketball gold over the U.S. had her trending on Twitter, maybe a better question heading into the men’s event is who is going to become the Kia Nurse of men’s basketball?

The mind reels at what the atmosphere would have been like had all of the top Canadian men been available to play this week. Canada would have been the favourite and it would have been a five-day celebration for the Canadian basketball community and Toronto hoops scene in particular.

Unfortunately, logistics spoiled the ready-made opportunity for the Canadian men to provide something like that at home this week in Toronto, at least with any certainty.

It’s not a strong field as most of the competing countries have similarly saved their best for Mexico City, but it’s impossible to handicap: Canada could compete for gold or they could stumble far short with a lineup both new to the international game and new to each other.

The more established names in Canada’s player pool — Andrew Wiggins, Cory Joseph and Kelly Olynyk, for example — were only going to get clearance from the NBA teams to play in one international event this summer. Clearly it made sense to save them for Olympic qualifying.

Meanwhile, some of the other players that could have helped this week — Dwight Powell, Kevin Pangos or Trey Lyles — were tied up with NBA Summer League.

Add in Tristan Thompson’s contract situation and Tyler Ennis’ injury and there is a lot of talent not playing that could have lit up the gym at the Ryerson University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Can the talent on hand do it regardless?

In all honesty no one can be sure, including Triano.

“We’ve got a unique roster,” he said. “We’ve got some guys who are new to the senior national team and some guys who are veterans who have been on the national team through the years, so it’s about trying to mix and mesh as a team.”

Of the returning national team players, look for Andrew Nicholson, the lightly used forward for the Orlando Magic, to be the focal point of the offence. Nicholson averaged 15 points per game playing for Canada at the FIBA Americas in 2013. The last time he played the Dominican Republic he went off for 29 in a losing cause.

Similarly it will be interesting to see if former No.1 Anthony Bennett — who has struggled mightily in his first two NBA seasons — can find his legs making his senior national team debut playing in front of friends and family from Brampton.

Will Brady Heslip — who lit up the NBA D-League and starred in Bosnia — be able to translate that success while playing for Canada?

How big a role will Jamal Murray, the 18-year-old headed to the University of Kentucky this fall, have on a team that may end up using a committee of players at the point guard position?

All interesting questions that will be answered in the coming days, but the biggest question of all will remain after the Pan Ams wrap up.

What is Canada’s true potential as a basketball country and when will the men begin the march toward reaching it?