Canadian men left with big shoes to fill

Edey opts out of Olympics to focus on NBA

- DOUG SMITH

Zach Edey announced Sunday that he was pulling out of training camp for the Canadian basketball team to focus on the upcoming NBA rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies.

It might tax Jordi Fernandez's coaching creativity but, as he surveys the possibilities for Canada's Olympic men's basketball roster, he knows he'll come up with something to deal with a rather large hole.

Zach Edey's decision to pull out of the Olympics, three days into training camp and 10 days before the team's first exhibition game, has created a seven-foot-four void in the roster.

"It's definitely going to effect the roster and our choices," Canada general manager Rowan Barrett said Sunday night. "I'm going to leave that between Jordi and I but, yeah, it's definitely going to impact things.

"When you come into anything like this you're preparing for all contingencies. I think that's why you see the numbers in our camp the way they are. That's why we didn't just pick 12, we came with more players to prepare for what ever comes."