Canada-Greece had former Wildcats and mic'd up Pitino

There are four open spots in the sport of Men’s Basketball at the 2020 Olympics and the qualifying tournaments are now underway to determine the four countries that will join the United States, Spain, Argentina, France, Australia, Iran, Nigeria and Japan in Tokyo. Seven of the eight countries I just named qualified in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Japan is the eighth with an automatic bid as the host country, and the other 24 hopefuls are currently playing it out in four sites across the world.

One of those sites is Victoria, Canada, where last night’s game between Canada and Greece featured three former Wildcats with Trey Lyles and Mychal Mulder playing for Team Canada, and Rick Pitino back on his Greek diet as the head coach of the Greek national team. Canada and Greece are chasing the same Olympic bid, and it was the home team earning the win, 97-91, in the first game of group stage play Tuesday night.

“Maple Jordan” Andrew Wiggins and RJ Barrett combined for 55 points to lead Team Canada in the comeback win after Pitino’s Greece took a surprise lead into halftime, only to come up short in the end. Former Kentucky platooner Trey Lyles started for Canada with Wiggins, Barrett, Cory Joseph and Dwight Powell, and the one-time Wildcat finished with eight points, two rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes. Kentucky alum Mychal Mulder hit a 3-pointer off the bench, his only shot attempt in limited minutes.

Then there was Pitino, whose hot mic moment made its way around the internet today. Pitino dropped a couple of F-bombs in the huddle and the TV producers weren’t quick enough to the mute button.

Rick Pitino cursing out Greece, lmaooo pic.twitter.com/IqzDPqQe7I

— Reid Goldsmith (@reidgoldsmith) June 30, 2021

After the game Pitino showed some of his best Pitino hyperbole when he suggested Greece’s fight against Canada was one of his five proudest efforts in his career. “I don’t think in my 45 years of coaching I’ve ever said more than five times that I was super-proud of a team after a loss… I really am.”

It will take more of that fight for Greece to make the Olympics, especially with two Antetokounmpos still in the NBA Playoffs and now the injury to Giannis. The other Antetokounmpo, Kostas, played nine minutes for Greece last night, backing up another familiar name from the past, Georgios Papagiannis of summer 2015 recruiting fame.

A couple more UK connections to this game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hopes to join Canada in time for the Olympics once he fully recovers from a foot injury, while Jamal Murray will have to wait until 2024 to represent his country as he rehabs a torn ACL.