Footage of my daughter Seylah Bains in Rock Hill, South Carolina for the Adidas 3SSB Championships. She just turned 12 in July and was playing up in the 15U division. She finished as the leading scorer in the 3SSB 15U Division (19.8ppg). Huge thx to her coaches! @seylahbains

Host @libaanstar1 and @william_lou nailed it on today’s Canadian Basketball Show. Canada BBall needs to make the most of SGA’s prime. We’ll keep producing NBA players, but a talent like SGA comes around once a generation. This is a special window. We can’t take it for granted.

SGA isn’t appreciated nearly enough. Already one of the all-time greats and still getting better every year. Elite mindset. Looks quicker and faster this season, getting to his spots even easier. People are seriously underestimating how much room he still has to grow.

Signs of a great youth coach: The kids drive and kick, understand shot selection and play to their strengths. They love playing and celebrate each other’s success. They want to win and care more about the team than their own stats.

One of the worst things a young player can do is only play locally. “If you’re good, they’ll find you” might be true for recruiting. But you need to see how hoops is played elsewhere, experience different styles and face players you don’t see every weekend.

Young players have a distorted view of D1 basketball. It’s not just dribbling around cones or working on your jumper. It’s about playing hard, being physical, tough and competitive. Skill matters, but grassroots basketball doesn’t emphasize the other stuff nearly enough.

One drawback of social media: kids don’t look up to older, better players the way they used to. Everyone gets a mixtape and a graphic now, so the recognition often comes before the achievement. There’s less appreciation for the levels you still have to reach.

There’s always an AAU team with 7 players, reversible jerseys and no logo that you should be very afraid of. No hype, no emotion, just a team name you’ve never heard of. Then they hit you with flare screens and Princeton stuff and make you look silly. Coach barely says a word.

Every game at the Border League and NPA sessions this weekend is easy to find on BallerTV or YouTube. Meanwhile, finding a stream for U SPORTS exhibition games is a challenge. Sometimes even finding a box score is difficult. We have to put more effort into marketing and promoting U SPORTS basketball if we want it to stay relevant. We have great players and programs. People need to be able to watch them.

People chastising CC for being too emotional or complaining to refs is funny. Almost every superstar does it. Kobe, MJ, Luka. We say we want players who are ultra-competitive and hate losing, but when CC shows that same fire and emotion, somehow it’s a problem.

If the Fever bring back their core, I’d love to see them build some of their offense around Golden State’s principles. AB in the Draymond role, facilitating DHOs, post splits and some motion weak stuff. CC and KM as Steph and Klay, creating advantages off the ball, too.

It’s early, but watching these prep games is a reminder of how important chemistry and understanding roles are in basketball. Some teams have absolutely loaded their rosters with talent and are losing to teams that might have less talent, but have way more chemistry. Makes me think of the great Bill Simmons line: “The secret of basketball is that it’s not about basketball.” Talent matters. But so does knowing your role, trusting your teammates, playing for each other and actually fitting together. Sometimes five players who make sense together beat five better players.

Some of the best content on this app. @HairCanada1 is a wealth of knowledge.

Caitlin Clark is amazing. I’ve been a fan of her game for a long time, but I think there’s another level she can unlock: being trickier off the bounce, using angles and getting more creative finishing around the rim. I’d love to see her work with Steve Nash. The hang dribble, changes of pace, all those different finishes. Add some of his tricks to her game and she’d be even more spectacular.

As a coach, I never understood complaining to refs about the foul count. “We have 7 and they only have 2!” Okay? The fouls don’t have to be equal. Maybe you’re just fouling more.

It’s so hard to beat a good team with a 90%+ free throw shooter. That part of the game gets overlooked. Having someone mentally tough enough to step to the line and knock them down down the stretch is a cheat code. Especially when they’re the one handling the ball.

Best-of-3 is too short for the WNBA playoffs. We’ve seen NBA series completely flip after two games. Adjustments are part of playoff basketball. Give teams time to make them. The first round should be at least best-of-5.

Clark has possessions where she dribbles the air out of it and takes a tough shot without anyone else touching it. But she was great tonight and they won. She took Iowa to two Final Fours playing that way. You have to live with some of those possessions and let her go.

I attended the 1998 Nike All-American camp in Indianapolis and JaRon Rush was by far the best player there.

“Offense wants contact. Defense doesn’t.” Passing is a problem in youth basketball. So is getting open, sealing your man and winning the foot fight. We spend so much time teaching kids what to do with the ball that we forget to teach them how to get it.

One of my favourite accounts on here. People are doing such cool things with old footage. Shaq was a beast and has somehow become underrated over time. That second move would go viral on IG and TikTok today.