From his (very good) seat in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, Tony McIntyre saw a matchup that brought a smile to his face.

The coach, the co-founder of CIA Bounce and the director of basketball operations at Athlete’s Institute Academy in Orangeville, McIntyre watched his son, Tyler Ennis of the Bucks, line up against Cory Joseph of the Toronto Raptors.

“Watching Pickering vs. Henry Carr all over,” he tweeted, as he posted a picture of what was in front of him.

Both players made their local high school teams a launch pad to brighter lights and tougher competition in the U.S.

Joseph went from Pickering on to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., and Ennis went from Henry Carr to St. Benedict’s in New Jersey.

“It was great (seeing Ennis) playing against his hometown and obviously Cory and him being good friends, competing and playing for Canada together,” McIntyre said by phone Wednesday.

Three years apart, the 24-year-old Joseph and 21-year-old Ennis didn’t see much of each other on the court in their high school years but did play in the same youth leagues.

Tuesday’s game was especially enjoyable for McIntyre because he got to see Ennis log some substantial minutes. The Bucks’ calamity of guard injuries — Michael Carter-Williams, O.J. Mayo and Steve Novak are out for the year and Greivis Vasquez only just returned to practice Wednesday after ankle surgery — has opened the door for Ennis.

The 28 minutes and 10 points he had in the Bucks’ loss to the Raptors were season highs.

“I’ve been waiting for my moment all season,” Ennis told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week. “I figured with Juice (O.J. Mayo) out and (Jerryd) Bayless moving to the starting lineup that I’d have a chance to get out there.

“I just tried to stay ready and take advantage of it.”

It’s a similar situation to one Joseph went through while he spent the first four years of his career with the San Antonio Spurs. Joseph got his first real opportunity to start in 2013-14 when Tony Parker was injured. He started 19 times that year and was able to give a glimmer of what he could do with the keys to an offence.

“I think they’re following along on kind of the same path,” McIntyre said. “Tyler’s going through what Cory went through in San Antonio and he got his chance through various things that happened in San Antonio. He was able to sign with the Raptors in a great situation and he benefitted from all the hard work he put in.”

Both players are still growing and in search of a greater role on their respective teams, but for one night, McIntyre at least felt like he was able to appreciate what is a notable moment for basketball in Toronto and Canada, where two homegrown point guards were battling on an NBA court.

“I think (Tuesday) night was a time where you kind of got to sit back and enjoy it,” he said.

“There were so many different aspects to the game, whether it was Tyler getting playing time, subbing in and him and Cory guarding each other and playing the Raptors was huge.

“It was one of the first real times where I got away from Toronto, I’m on a vacation, I sit back, enjoy basketball and just take everything in. It was pretty calm and relaxing. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself and say, ‘Geez, is this real?’ ”

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Like many Canadians, McIntyre is looking forward to what Ennis might be able to bring to the national team this summer. He sat out last summer’s action rehabbing from shoulder surgery.

Canada has to win the last-chance qualifier in the Philippines in July to get to the Olympics in Rio this summer. The team lost in the FIBA Americas semifinal to Venezuela in August, with an Olympic berth on the line.

“If everyone plays I think they have a good chance to qualify and I think they have a stronger team this year than they did last year,” McIntyre said.

“I just think for the most part they have that experience of (losing last summer in) Mexico and that feeling that they don’t ever want to feel again. I think those are all things to work toward and use to their advantage this summer.”