U Sports vs. NCAA

Can U Sports basketball compete with the NCAA’s best? Or are they still far off being at their level?

This coming August will be the debut of the Duke Canada Tour. The new freshman class of the Blue Devils will face off against McGill University, Ryerson University and University of Toronto. These Canadian teams are out to prove U Sports can compete with one of the NCAA's most decorated teams. The task won't be easy, especially against a team with 4 of the top 10 recruits in the US in Canada's own RJ Barrett, young phenom Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones. U Sports doesn't have any notable star compared to the guys down south, however, the different style of play, rules, and the age difference might serve as an advantage for the Canadian teams. Will it be enough to take Duke down? Is U Sports even on the same level as the NCAA?

Canadian universities have played against NCAA teams in past years, but never against a top school like Duke. The schools, the players, the fans are all looking forward to it. “I’m excited honestly it’s such an amazing opportunity for our team. They have a lot of exciting players too who will surely be NBA players in no time so it’s a huge honour to be one of the few teams they will play”, said Noah Daoust of McGill University. He’s definitely right. The Blue Devils are loaded with NBA talent. Knowing that, what exactly are the keys to beating Duke? “Our one advantage is our age. They have more talent, but we are older and have played more basketball than them”, adds Daoust. Ryerson Rams guard Myles Charvis on the other hand is confident they’ll match up well. “Regardless of the opponent, the mindset stays the same, getting a W. It’s going to be competitive, they got talent, but then again so do we”, he says. Ryerson, who lost in heartbreaking fashion in the past national championship against the Calgary Dinos, definitely have something to prove on a big stage like this. While Toronto will host 2 games, one by the Rams and the other by the Varsity Blues of University of Toronto, Montreal will host one and the Redmen of McGill will be Quebec’s representative. Now it’s only a total of 3 games the fans will be able to see, but I think it’s a testament to how far Canada basketball has come. This probably wouldn’t have happen 5 years ago. Regardless of Canada’s strides, it’s still a consensus that the NCAA is on a higher level than U Sports, as far as talent, publicity, and marketing goes, but how far off are Canadian universities?

Most will agree that the NCAA is on top of U Sports, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t NBA talent over here. “Guys in U Sports have gotten training camp invites to NBA teams so it’s just a matter of time before someone actually gets drafted straight from U Sports”, explains Myles Charvis. Phillip Scrubb and Johnny Berhane are two notable U Sports players who have had invites on NBA Summer League teams and to NBA workouts. Some even play in the NBA G-League. The talent is here, it just takes the right people to notice and recognize what’s going on here. Noah Daoust touched on age being a factor favouring some U Sports players, but he also talked about the different rules in place here that might be of an advantage as well. For example, the fact that his peers play 4 quarters and have a 24 second shot-clock compared to 2 halves and a 35 second shot-clock. Guys from here transitioning to pro might find it easier to adapt. If talent and experience are things to gain in Canada, why aren’t more players staying here despite Canada basketball’s rise the last couple years? Well it’s because players believe they will get more exposure in the states and with reason. Joel Anthony (UNLV), Kris Joseph (Syracuse) and Chris Boucher (Oregon) have all played D1 in the NCAA, along with Steve Nash (Santa Clara), Andrew Wiggins (Kansas), and Jamal Murray (Kentucky), amongst many others. It’s even more understandable seeing as basketball up north in the past wasn’t like it is nowadays. The narrative might change soon though. “I think people should feel proud to be able to play on a U Sports team. The best players I’ve played against are U Sports guys and frankly, I believe people should prioritize getting their education and thinking pragmatically about life after basketball”, says Noah Daoust. Maybe putting more of an emphasis on education might result to guys staying here were schools have a better reputation, education wise. You can only play basketball but for so long. This could be a thing players start to think about before picking a team in the states just because it’s D1.

All in all, there is talent in Canada and U Sports basketball isn’t as weak as people might think it is. Whether it can match up well against the NCAA’s best is left to be seen. Duke’s first stop in their Canada Tour will be against Ryerson on August 15^th and then on August 17^th they’ll play the University of Toronto, both at the Hershey Center. Finally, McGill will be their last opponents on the 19^th at Place Bell. Let’s see what U Sports got.