TORONTO — Wayne Parrish, the president and CEO of Basketball Canada, read off a list of accomplishments by Canada’s basketball community this week that was almost dizzying to behold.

Before introducing senior men’s national team general manager Steve Nash and head coach Jay Triano at a news conference at the Air Canada Centre, Parrish explained why basketball could be transitioning into the sport of choice among a younger generation of Canadians.

• Anthony Bennett taken first overall in the 2013 NBA draft, joining Kelly Olynyk (13th) to become the first two Canadian lottery picks in the same year.

• Thirty-six Canadians participated in the NCAA tournament known as March Madness.

• Kayla Alexander drafted eighth overall by the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA.

• A silver medal for the cadette women’s national team at the FIBA Americas under-16 tournament.

• A bronze for the cadet men’s national team at the FIBA under-16s.

• The developmental men’s national team just missing a medal (fourth) at the World Student Games.

• The Canadian junior men’s national team placing sixth at the FIBA under-19 world championships, their highest finish in the event.

For the sake of some brevity, the achievements must end there.

Yet, as Nash mentioned later, Canadian basketball is sailing into a “golden age” -- one that he helped promote more than 20 years ago as a student at St. Michael’s University School in Victoria. From MVP at the 1992 B.C. high school boys basketball tournament, to Santa Clara University, to Phoenix Suns draft pick, to two-time NBA MVP, to general manager of the Canadian men’s national team … Nash has been a charismatic trailblazer, pulling along others in his slipstream and raising the consciousness of basketball in Canada.

“Steve has been absolutely tremendous,” Parrish said. “He is the catalyst for all that’s happening. When Steve and I first discussed him taking this (senior men’s) program on, it was based on his own experience. He is absolutely compelling for athletes and corporate sponsors, high net worth individuals in a program we call The Sixth Man. He has the ability to articulate his vision to that group and get them on board. Then, to watch his dynamic personality on the floor with young players, as he works out with them, as they see his work ethic, conveys to them a sense of purpose I don’t think anybody else could. His heart and his passion instil what this can mean for their careers. He could easily be a tremendous GM in the NBA one day. I don’t know if he wants to do that. But his eye is certainly expert in spotting talent, and in knowing how certain players can work together.”

The Canadian men have not earned a place in the Olympic Games tournament since 2000, when Nash was the team’s point guard, spiritual and practical leader, virtually carrying the team on his back.

Now, the 39-year-old GM, coach Triano and Parrish, who supplies the business savvy, are pointing toward berths in the 2014 FIBA world championships in Spain and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The process continues on Friday with 18 players reporting for a national training camp in Toronto — but with some notable absences. Bennett (shoulder) and Olynyk (foot) are unavailable. Andrew Wiggins, considered the best high school-aged player in the world, has commitments as a first-year student at the University of Kansas that will prevent him from playing.