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.

Nash, Triano and Parrish all have roots or basketball backgrounds in British Columbia. Though he grew up in Niagara Falls, Ont., Triano played college basketball at Simon Fraser University before joining legendarycoach Jack Donohue on the men’s national team. He played in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics as the team captain. When the NBA arrived in Vancouver in 1995, Triano became director of community relations for the Vancouver Grizzlies and worked as a colour commentator on their radio broadcasts.

Parrish was born in Vancouver, graduated from Winston Churchill secondary school and went on to a career in sports journalism before he transitioned into a media executive.

“At one time, the Canadian national team was made up primarily of players from the West,” Triano remarked. “But that’s not the case any more. This (Toronto) is going to be our home base for most of the time we’re training. Most of the players are from this area.”

Indeed, the roots of players at the