Carl English has seen some dark times as a member of Canada Basketball’s senior men’s team.

Which is a big part of why he is loving life these days as part of a program that is very much on the rise.

“I’m happy with the direction that the program’s going in,” said the pride of Newfoundland, now 32, who has been a contributor for the senior men for well over a decade.

“Jay’s (Triano, the head coach) back involved and Steve (Nash) and Rowan (Barrett), a lot of guys that did great things for team Canada, so it’s from my perspective, a great time to be involved.”

English is in Toronto as a very capable elder statesman as Canada transitions from a senior team that has been absent from recent competitions to one that is expected to be an international power in the coming years.

Though he led the Spanish ACB League in scoring last year, the University of Hawaii star remains as humble as ever.

“Quite frankly, I’d understand if they just left all the old guys home and went young, there’s tremendous talent here in all of Canada now with the young guys,” English told the Sun, referring to himself and players like Jermaine Anderson and Jevohn Shepherd.

But Brampton’s Tristan Thompson, a leader already for the program at just 22, was having none of that talk.

“That’s Carl who he is, a first class individual, he understands that this young group is up on the rise but we as young guys know that we won’t be able to accomplish much internationally without the older guys with (international) experience,” Thompson said.

“We’re fortunate to have him come. He’s played overseas, had a long season. Having those older guys come back and mentor us is good for the team.”

Players with experience in Europe are key, according to English because “it’s a completely different game than the NBA. The spacing, the rules, the refs, it’s a whole new game. Even if they’re extremely talented, there’s always stuff to learn,” English said.

One of Triano’s strengths is building team chemistry, so it’s no surprise neither English or Thompson expect the process of coming together as a group to take long for Canada, which takes on Jamaica next week in preparation for competition later this summer.

“I think it will jel pretty fast because there’s a lot of good guys. I’ve talked to all the NBA guys and their attitude is tremendous. They don’t walk around with their head in the air, they’re very humble and they got to where they are thanks to hard work,” English said.

“That’s how the older guys are as well. The biggest thing we have is respect. We respect each other, we respect the program, and we cherish the chance to play for Canada and that’s what it should be.”

READY TO ROLL

The hype has been building for years in Canada and the players are ready to start backing up all the praise, all the expectations on the court.

After the games against Jamaica at Ryerson’s Mattamy Centre, Canada will play in the Tuto Marchand Cup a week before the FIBA Americas Championship tips from Venezuela on Aug. 31. Canada will be competing for a spot at next year’s FIBA World Cup after years in the wilderness.

Thompson’s ready to start making a statement.

“There’s been a lot of buzz about our team and the makeup of it and the structure so I think guys are excited to actually come together and start working and we can get ready for Venezuela,” he said.

Thompson will likely start at power forward or centre and long-time friend and teammate Cory Joseph is expected to lead the team at the point.

They’ll be reunited after two years in the NBA with Cleveland and San Antonio, respectively.

“It will be fun for me and Cory to team back up and play again. Me and Cory have a lot of history, know each other’s games, have won a lot of ball games together, won championships (in AAU with Grassroots Canada and in high school at Findlay Prep in Nevada) with each other,” Thompson said.

They also played a year together at Texas before entering the draft.

WIGGINS BLENDS IN

Hard as it is to believe, Andrew Wiggins was left alone to watch basketball the other night at Ryerson’s Kerr Hall. In town to check out the OVA Bounce Tournament, where players like Amir Johnson of the Raptors and Detroit’s Brandon Jennings took part, along with new Marquette grad Junior Cadougan and a host of top high school prospects, the biggest non-NBA hoops name on the planet was just another guy.

Sure, people were snapping photos and he was slapping fives with awed on-lookers, but they just let him be. Thompson got similar treatment, although this year’s No. 1 overall selection, Anthony Bennett, signed a host of autographs when he entered the gym.

AROUND THE RIM

More Raptors probably would have been at the OVO Bounce tournament, except Rudy Gay is getting married this weekend. Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving could be on hand on Friday for the championship game … Remember the name Thon Maker. He’s going into Grade 10 and already 7-foot-1, runs the floor well and is a solid jump shooter. He wasn’t even the tallest man in the building this week though. That honour goes to Brampton’s Tanveer Bhullar, who is bound for New Mexico State and stands 7-foot-3, though he’s small compared to his brother Sim, also at New Mexico State and 7-foot-5. Another name to remember: Montaque Gill-Caesar, also known as Teki. He’s the same height and build as Wiggins, plays for Wiggins’ old school, Huntington Prep in West Virginia, has similar mannerisms and even sounds like him. He’s also a solid player already and getting better ... The Raptors have officially signed depth forward Austin Daye.