ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ sophomore forward was a late addition to Canada's preliminary senior team as camp opened on Wednesday in preparation for an Olympic qualifying event.
A product of Montreal, Mathurin was not initially one of 21 players named to the senior team roster but was posted to the FIBA website.
(The Athletic's Blake Murphy posted a version of the roster that is attached to the right:)
If nothing else, the invitation will give Mathurin a chance to gain experience playing with a group of predominantly NBA players while he might also have an outside shot at making the senior team -- especially if keep prompting some departures.Â
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"He's a nice player, man," Team Canada and Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Mathurin, according to a . "He's a nice player. He's made some really strong plays. He's not a million miles away from being ready for this team."
Canada's senior team is preparing to host in Victoria, British Columbia, from June 29-July 4, with the winner gaining one of the four final spots for Tokyo.
If Mathurin is sent back to Canada's U19 team , he will likely join it for camp in Tampa or in Latvia for U19 World Cup tournament to be played there between July 3-11.
Two of Mathurin's UA teammates, Azoulas Tubelis (Lithuania) and Oumar Ballo (Mali), are all but certain to be playing in the U19 World Cup, while Dalen Terry (USA) and Tautvilas Tubelis (Lithuania) are also competing for spots with their national U19 teams.
