PHOENIX – A two-time Olympian for Canada and coach of their national team now twice as well, Phoenix interim head coach Jay Triano well knows the basketball history of his country.
That means he knows a lot about the Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins as well.
When he was coaching with the Toronto Raptors more than a decade ago, he remembers the thumping Wiggins put on his son Dustin's team.
"They're pretty much the same age, the same league, and he was dominating," Triano said about Wiggins before Saturday's Suns-Wolves game. "Running up and down the court doing things nobody had ever seen a 10-year-old do. So I've always been a fan of his obviously. He's just one of the great players of all time in Canada and I think worthy of his contract he just signed. He's got a great skillset and [he's] a proud Canadian."
Wiggins doesn't remember those games but surmises Triano must be remembering an Ontario inter-province league in which Wiggins played.
When told Triano mostly remembers Wiggins dominating, Wiggins said, "I don't remember it, but it sounds about right."
Back in the NBA
Timberwolves guard Marcus Georges-Hunt was back in uniform and available for Saturday's game at Phoenix, two days after he played a one-game assignment in Prescott Valley, Ariz., with the new Iowa Wolves team in the G League.
He played 11 minutes in the Timberwolves' first 11 games, but played 39 ½ minutes and scored 34 points against the Northern Arizona Suns on Thursday night. He called himself "kind of sore" after the game but said he felt "great" by the time he rejoined the Timberwolves for practice in Phoenix on Friday.