Interview with Basketball Canada VP Rowan Barrett: Steve Nash retirement, Thon Maker

Interview with Basketball Canada VP Rowan Barrett: Steve Nash Retirement, Thon Maker

With Steve Nash officially announcing his retirement on Monday, it ends the career of the greatest Canadian basketball player to ever take the court.

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With the announcement, Nash will be looking on to the next part of his life that will undoubtedly include his involvement as the general manager of the Canadian men’s senior national team.

I had a chance to chat with the Executive Vice President of Basketball Canada yesterday, Rowan Barrett, who was also a former teammate of Nash’s during Canada’s run at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Since then, the two have worked hand in hand trying to promote the game here at home through Basketball Canada, and continue to help assemble the teams that will be playing both in the 2015 Pan Am Games here in Toronto, and in the summer olympics in Rio de Janeiro during 2016.

We spoke about those two upcoming tournaments, his relationship with Nash, and some of the new up and coming talent that will be on display during the Biosteel All-Canadian All Star Game, on April 14at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletics Center in Maple Leaf Gardens.

Ryan Greco: Rowan thank you for taking the time with us.

Rowan Barrett: Thank you for having me.

RG: As we all know, the huge news around the basketball world this past week was future hall of famer (we hope) Steve Nash announcing his retirement from the NBA.

As someone who has been right next to him for a number of years, whether it was playing on the court or working to build up the men’s national program, you have got a better insight to him than most people on this planet.

Describe your relationship with Steve Nash and how he came into the fold, both with the executive team at Basketball Canada and even as far back as 2000 with the Olympic team during your playing days.

Canada’s Steve Nash (7) participates in basketball action against Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. (CP Photo/ COA)

Barrett: Where do I start, Steve is just a great human being. His greatness on the court is only surpassed by the type of man that he is, even back when were just 16-17 years old playing on the junior team, just always very humble, always very giving, just a good all-around guy. Coming from Victoria BC, he was always open to new things, and even back then he had a thirst for knowledge and a drive to be better than his contemporaries that was unmatched by those around him.

As far as building up the program, it was always one of those things that we would talk about as we got older in our playing careers. You get to year 14 and 15 into playing for your country, and you start to understand the system a little better and you see some of the younger guys coming up and you start thinking ‘what can we do to help them? What can we do to give them more knowledge in how this whole thing works?’. Pieces of info that maybe we didn’t know coming in that could help them understand quicker than we did. That’s how this whole thing pretty much started as far as him getting as involved as he is now being the general manager of the national team.

Originally, he and I discussed the possibilities of getting involved with Team Canada after our playing days. But when we saw the amount of talent that was starting to sprout up back in 2012, and facing the prospect of having up to 15 guys playing in the NBA by 2015, he knew that was the time to start getting involved with the program, it couldn’t wait (until he retired).

RG: To have a future hall of famer like Nash telling a Canadian player “we need you” can certainly bring legitimacy to what you are all doing.

Canada’s Rowan Barrett (9) plays offence at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. (CP Photo/ COA)

Barrett: Of course, and to mean it. Steve has been able to reach out to this generation of players and show them the kind of genuine person that I grew up knowing. A lot of these guys are playing in the states (in the pros) or the NCAA and might be feeling a little lonely, or going through a rough patch, and might need to hear an encouraging voice, or hear the harsh truth.

Steve goes to that extra level. It’s not just the call to invite them (to the national team). Whether it’s helping Nik Stauskas on his pick and roll game back when he played for Michigan, or his close relationship with Tristan Thompson, who refers to Steve as ‘a bigger brother’. Steve is that extension on top of all the tireless work that both he and the rest of our organizers and coaching staff do on a regular basis to help make this program successful.

RG: One of the other things I wanted to talk to you about was regarding the upcoming Biosteel All-Canadian All Star Game, personally I think it’s an amazing idea, some could even make the case as to what took so long? But what kind of role has Canada Basketball taken in this event?

“Thon is separating himself from the rest of the players in his class, while Matur has become a much more aggressive player at the rim utilizing his length. But overall yeah absolutely they are both players we would definitely take a long hard look at moving forward.”

Barrett: We’ve come on to partner with them, but for the most part this is Biosteel and Athlete Institute’s event. They have been pulling in the sponsorship support, and we have been trying to find a way to make this an event for all Canadians, and not just Toronto. How do we include all of the provinces, and that high performance is represented through our entire nation? How do we let people take this event home to their own (regions) and push them?

There are some other things that we do at the higher levels that are best left unsaid, but we do a lot of support as far as putting together the committees that run this event and support the players.

RG: Speaking of upcoming talent, what are the odds of the Maker brothers (Thon and Matur) playing for Canada in the next three years?

Barrett: (laughs) Great question! I mean that’s up to them. There’s a process that you must go through to become a Canadian citizen. I think Thon is separating himself from the rest of the players in his class; Matur has become a much more aggressive player at the rim, utilizing his length. But overall yeah absolutely they are both players we would definitely take a long hard look at moving forward.

Be sure to check out the full interview here:

Next: BioSteel All-Canadian Game Roster Announced

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