{"id":5454,"date":"2017-03-27T14:55:19","date_gmt":"2017-03-27T18:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=5454"},"modified":"2017-03-28T11:30:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T15:30:23","slug":"canadians-final-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2017\/03\/27\/canadians-final-four\/","title":{"rendered":"Representing Canada in the Final Four"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been happening for a while now. It seems like every season, another couple of Canadian players get drafted to the NBA. But they are also beginning to make a name for themselves in the NCAA tournament as well. Previous tournaments have featured talented Canadians such as Andrew Wiggins<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0whose Kansas Jayhawks were defeated by Dwight Powell<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Stanford Cardinals in 2014. While in 2015 Trey Lyles<\/a><\/strong> and his Kentucky Wildcats were upset in the Final Four, destroying what could have been a perfect season. This year is different, there has never been such a major Canadian connection in the Final Four. Three of the four teams have Canadians on their roster. Had Kentucky beaten North Carolina, all four of the teams would have boasted a Canuck on their team with three-point specialist and Windsor, Ontario native Mychal Mulder<\/strong> being a member of the Wildcats.<\/p>\n

Gonzaga Bulldogs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dustin Triano – Junior Guard<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is a team that has a long history with Canadian players and has boasted Canadian internationals Kelly Olynyk<\/a><\/strong>, Robert Sacre<\/a><\/strong>, Kyle Wiltjer<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0and Kevin Pangos<\/strong>. The first three of those players have all played in the NBA. This is a down year for the Bulldogs in respects to this season’s roster, despite their long history of players from the North. They have just one Canadian – Dustin Triano<\/strong>, a 6\u20193″ junior guard from Vancouver, British Columbia. His father is the current head coach of the national Canadian Men’s National team, while his cousin Brady Heslip<\/a><\/strong> is a former Baylor Bears star and currently plays for the Toronto Raptors D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905.<\/p>\n

Triano is not a big player for Gonzaga, a team that’s\u00a0loaded at guard with the likes of Nigel Williams-Goss, Silas Melson<\/strong>, and Josh Perkins<\/strong>. He has only played 3.1 minutes per game this season and is scoring 0.6 points per game. Triano has appeared in two games in the NCAA tournament, against Saint Mary\u2019s and Xavier and has not attempted a shot. Triano is not a key player on this team, but still has a roster spot on one of the best teams in the country.<\/p>\n

South Carolina Gamecocks<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Duane Notice – Senior Guard<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Unlike Gonzaga, South Carolina does not have a long history of Canadian players. However, one of their key guards, Duane Notice<\/strong> hails from Woodbridge, Ontario. The senior guard is a member of Frank Martin<\/strong>\u2019s first recruiting class at South Carolina and has been one of the best players in the tournament for the Gamecocks. Notice is a 6\u20192 guard who his teammates call the best perimeter on the roster. Notice credits his defensive ability from playing on the same AAU team as NBA players Andrew Wiggins and Tyler Ennis<\/a><\/strong> as well as top 100 ESPNU recruit and current Florida State point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes<\/strong>. A member of the Canadian u19 team back in 2012, Notice has represented Canada at multiple youth levels.<\/p>\n

The 2016 SEC Sixth Man of the Year, Notice has carved out a place in the starting rotation as a \u201cthree and D\u201d player. Notice is averaging 10 points per game this season while shooting a respectable 34% from three. His best game of the tournament came in that thrilling upset over the Duke Blue Devils in the second round. Notice scored 17 points on 6-8 shooting from the field while shutting down superstar Luke Kennard<\/strong>, who only had 11 points. He will probably be remembered best for his game sealing breakaway dunk against Florida in the Elite Eight.<\/p>\n

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Duane Notice's jam punctuates South Carolina's first trip to the #FinalFour<\/a>. #gamecocks<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/plPBUEloDh<\/a><\/p>\n

— Michael Grant (@MichaelGrant_CJ) March 26, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n