Latest news with #NellFortner
CBC
25-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canada's women's basketball team takes first step toward 2028 Olympics at FIBA AmeriCup
Social Sharing As Delaney Gibb watched the Paris Olympics from her dorm room in Utah, she couldn't help but feel motivated. The Raymond, Alta., native cheered from afar as friend, peer and fellow teenager Syla Swords competed for Canada's basketball team. While Swords and her squad in Paris left winless and disappointed, Gibb's eyes were opened. "It got me excited and ready for the future, just to try and continue getting better for maybe one day being an Olympic athlete. … It's fun to be able to watch those games when you have relationships and connections with the girls," Gibb said. Less than one year later, the 19-year-old Gibb has authored a freshman-of-the-year season at BYU and now could be set for her first game action with Canada's senior women's team at the FIBA AmeriCup. Action begins Saturday and runs through medal games July 6 in Santiago, Chile. The winner earns a berth to the 2026 World Cup, while others will be relegated to qualifying tournaments. The World Cup, set to take place in Germany, serves as an Olympic qualifier. And so the journey to Los Angeles 2028 has already begun. "I really want to have a successful career and being an Olympic athlete is the No. 1 [goal]," Gibb said. Gibb was one of a few newcomers to the team at training camp, which will also play its first games under head coach Nell Fortner, hired in May, and general manager Steve Baur. Fortner, 66, is the winningest women's coach in the history of USA Basketball, having led the Americans to gold at the 2000 Olympics. Now with Canada after stops in the NCAA and WNBA, her long-term goal is to return to the top of the podium. At the AmeriCup, the aim is to establish a winning foundation. "You help them see what that process is every day in practice, when we come together, that culture build of what this is about every time you step into the doors of Canada Basketball, that you know you're at Canada Basketball," Fortner said. On the court, Fortner has an idea of what she'd like Team Canada to look like. "We're trying to play faster and really push pace. And we're trying to really defend at a high level," she said. But the AmeriCup, and the training camp in Toronto that preceded it, are also serving as an evaluation period for Fortner. Since the tournament occurs during the WNBA season, she'll be without key players such as Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton and Aaliyah Edwards. "I'm trying to learn them more, get a feel for who they are as individual players first and then what they're capable of doing right now and then what style can we play? So we're still trying to figure that out right now. And then we don't have all the players here, so it's a process," Fortner said. For Gibb, Fortner's mindset is an opportunity to take a step toward her Olympic dream. The five-foot-10 guard placed third among NCAA freshmen with 17.5 points per game and sixth with 4.2 assists per game last season at BYU. While she said the increased physicality was the biggest difference she noticed at the senior women's team level, it appears she's ready to make an immediate impact. "Just really being ready for anything and trying to be supportive, bring energy. And then also having a new coach, I think it's really cool that I'm going to be able to from her and create a relationship with her because moving forward that's what I want," Gibb said. On the other side of the roster spectrum, two-time Olympian Kayla Alexander is back with the program after a season in Spain. Alexander, 34, has become one of Canada's most reliable bigs over the past two Olympic cycles. Now, she may need to step into a leadership role as well in the wake of Natalie Achonwa's retirement and without the WNBA players. "I've always come in with the mindset of 'I'm gonna work my butt off' and then I'm gonna lead by example, use my voice when I need to and just show, especially the young ones coming in, like you're here for a reason, play your game [and] what you bring to the table because we need you," Alexander said. Alexander said she's bought in on Fortner's revamped play style. "We're starting with our defence. In the past, Canada was known for their defence. I think we got a little bit away from that," she said. Months before Fortner was hired, a group of players gathered in Toronto for what was ostensibly a training camp, but instead turned into a culture reset. The players committed to sacrifice for each other with the shared goal of winning a medal at the Olympics. The AmeriCup, then, presents a first test, with rookies and veterans alike coming together without the WNBAers to take an initial step toward Los Angeles. "I think for, especially most of us who went through Paris, the disappointment, just realizing if you want different results you gotta do something different. So I think that we're trying to implement and create a culture and new standards that will help us get the results that we want moving forward," Alexander said. Canada, ranked seventh worldwide, is grouped with No. 10 Brazil, No. 31 Argentina, No. 34 Dominican Republic and No. 56 El Salvador. The top four teams in each of two groups advance to the knockout rounds. Canada has won the regional tournament three times in 1995, 2015 and 2017. It reached the gold-medal game four straight times from 2013 to 2019 before it placed fourth in 2021 and third in 2023.
CBC
18-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Can new coach Nell Fortner solve the mystery that is Canada's women's basketball team?
At Canada Basketball's women's training camp, there's fresh energy and a new coach. There's also mystery. As in: veteran Sami Hill has organized an ongoing game of Million Dollar Secret, wherein someone is the so-called millionaire, charged with completing odd tasks while not raising suspicion, and everyone else must vote on who they think it is each night. Delaney Gibb, who is set for her senior team debut at the FIBA AmeriCup later this month, has yet to figure it out. She insists she is not the millionaire. Of course, there is another, more pressing mystery: how can this team, full of talent and consistently ranked among the top five or 10, break through and win an Olympic medal? That is the task at hand for new head coach Nell Fortner. "That's a challenge. I really like challenges. I enjoy that. I'm not afraid of them. They motivate the heck out of me," Fortner told CBC Sports. Her first challenge as Canada's head coach will come at the AmeriCup, which runs June 28 to July 6 in Santiago, Chile. Win, and the Canadians get into the 2026 World Cup, where Olympic qualification is at stake. Lose, and there's more hoops to jump through. In a twist of fate, Canada's destiny at the tournament could well come down to a championship game against the U.S. Fortner, the 66-year-old from Jackson, Miss., just so happens to be the winningest coach in USA Basketball women's history. "I had to kind of process, 'Oh, wait a second, I coached the U.S. team, can I coach another — like, is this OK? And that's just how international ball is, coaches coach everywhere," Fortner said. "But after I came, decided I was gonna do it, it was just an incredible feeling of what an awesome opportunity to be able to coach a country's elite players and to compete for the highest honour. I'm not sure there's anything better than that." Olympic letdown Canada came to last summer's Paris Olympics with three medal-hopeful basketball teams. None reached the podium. Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the women's team, which failed not only to make it out of the group stage, but to win a game at all. The quick 0-3 exit marked the latest step in the wrong direction after a 1-2 record failed to boost Canada into the knockouts at Tokyo 2020. Canada lost in the quarterfinals at the previous two Olympics. In the Paris aftermath, both general manager Denise Dignard and head coach Victor LaPena left their positions. Steve Baur, a former assistant, stepped into Dignard's role. Together with Canada Basketball CEO Mike Bartlett, he identified and hired Fortner. "The future is incredibly bright here. And so that was one thing. My conversation with Steve, his vision, I could see it. And I just enjoyed our conversations and where they wanted this program to go." Fortner said. "And I'm like, yes, I wanna do that. I've been there, I've done that. And I'm hungry to do that again." When Fortner says she's "done that," it's not an understatement. She has coached at every level from high school to NCAA to WNBA to Team USA and even tried her hand in media with multiple stints at ESPN. As the American's head coach, she led the team to a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics against Australia in Sydney, racking up a 101-14 record along the way. On March 31, after six years leading Georgia Tech, Fortner announced her retirement, later saying college basketball had changed so much that it was no longer enjoyable for her. A few days later, Baur came calling. On May 5, she was introduced as the new Canadian women's basketball team head coach. "I like competing at the highest level. I'm a very competitive person, and these are players that are driven. Well, that's fun to coach," Fortner said. Through five practices, Fortner was already beginning to make her mark on Team Canada. She said she wants to ramp up the offence, using more speed and letting players read and react. But her biggest goal is for Canada to regain its tough defensive identity. And the players are bought in. Even before Fortner's arrival, a group of players gathered in November, discussed their ambitions and vowed to sacrifice for each other to achieve them. "We talked about the things that they came up with, what they wanted to commit to and what they were willing to. There's a sacrifice that has to be had because national teams aren't together all the time," Fortner said. The scarcity of practice time has been a thorn in the side of previous coaches in LaPena and Lisa Thomaidis, with just three-to-four opportunities per year for everyone to gather. In Fortner's first training camp, she is missing WNBAers Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton and Aaliyah Edwards. Embracing the challenge But she's embracing the challenge by unifying the team around its goal of reaching the Olympic podium. "You help them see what that process is every day in practice, when we come together, that culture build of what this is about. Every time you step into the doors of Canada Basketball, you know you're at Canada basketball. Here we go," Fortner said. Two-time Olympian Kayla Alexander said the bitterness of defeat in Paris is fuelling the returnees from that team. "Just realizing if you want different results you gotta do something different. So I think that we're trying to implement and create a culture and new standards that will help us get the results that we want moving forward," Alexander said. Alexander added that she's noticed a difference in practice, with every player being held accountable. "There's repercussions and there's consequences for every action that you take. So I think we're trying to set a standard early so that we can stick with it and keep that consistent," she said. For Gibb, who is coming off a season at BYU where she was named conference freshman of the year, a new coach provides new opportunity. "It's good for me as a younger player, because I am learning so much and I just love taking everything in and trying to grow my basketball knowledge. They've been intense, which is exciting because I feel like to be a great team you have to give it your all and work really hard," Gibb said. It's a refrain that Fortner, who said sacrifice was the key to Olympic gold, might be heartened to hear. "It's totally about the we, not the me. Totally. And so checking your ego and checking whatever you need to check," Fortner said. "When you get your time on the floor, go get it. Bust it for that gold medal."
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Can new coach Nell Fortner solve the mystery that is Canada's women's basketball team?
Nell Fortner's first challenge as Canada's head coach will come at the AmeriCup, which runs June 28 to July 6 in Santiago, Chile. (Chris Carlson/The Associated Press - image credit) At Canada Basketball's women's training camp, there's fresh energy and a new coach. There's also mystery. As in: veteran Sami Hill has organized an ongoing game of Million Dollar Secret, wherein someone is the so-called millionaire, charged with completing odd tasks while not raising suspicion, and everyone else must vote on who they think it is each night. Advertisement Delaney Gibb, who is set for her senior team debut at the FIBA AmeriCup later this month, has yet to figure it out. She insists she is not the millionaire. Of course, there is another, more pressing mystery: how can this team, full of talent and consistently ranked among the top five or 10, break through and win an Olympic medal? That is the task at hand for new head coach Nell Fortner. "That's a challenge. I really like challenges. I enjoy that. I'm not afraid of them. They motivate the heck out of me," Fortner told CBC Sports. Her first challenge as Canada's head coach will come at the AmeriCup, which runs June 28 to July 6 in Santiago, Chile. Win, and the Canadians get into the 2026 World Cup, where Olympic qualification is at stake. Lose, and there's more hoops to jump through. Advertisement In a twist of fate, Canada's destiny at the tournament could well come down to a championship game against the U.S. Fortner, the 66-year-old from Jackson, Miss., just so happens to be the winningest coach in USA Basketball women's history. "I had to kind of process, 'Oh, wait a second, I coached the U.S. team, can I coach another — like, is this OK? And that's just how international ball is, coaches coach everywhere," Fortner said. "But after I came, decided I was gonna do it, it was just an incredible feeling of what an awesome opportunity to be able to coach a country's elite players and to compete for the highest honour. I'm not sure there's anything better than that." Fortner, right, most recently spent six seasons at Georgia Tech, leading the Yellow Jackets to three NCAA tournament appearances before announcing her retirement earlier this year. (/File) Olympic letdown Canada came to last summer's Paris Olympics with three medal-hopeful basketball teams. None reached the podium. Advertisement Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the women's team, which failed not only to make it out of the group stage, but to win a game at all. The quick 0-3 exit marked the latest step in the wrong direction after a 1-2 record failed to boost Canada into the knockouts at Tokyo 2020. Canada lost in the quarterfinals at the previous two Olympics. In the Paris aftermath, both general manager Denise Dignard and head coach Victor LaPena left their positions. Steve Baur, a former assistant, stepped into Dignard's role. Together with Canada Basketball CEO Mike Bartlett, he identified and hired Fortner. "The future is incredibly bright here. And so that was one thing. My conversation with Steve, his vision, I could see it. And I just enjoyed our conversations and where they wanted this program to go." Fortner said. Advertisement "And I'm like, yes, I wanna do that. I've been there, I've done that. And I'm hungry to do that again." When Fortner says she's "done that," it's not an understatement. She has coached at every level from high school to NCAA to WNBA to Team USA and even tried her hand in media with multiple stints at ESPN. As the American's head coach, she led the team to a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics against Australia in Sydney, racking up a 101-14 record along the way. On March 31, after six years leading Georgia Tech, Fortner announced her retirement, later saying college basketball had changed so much that it was no longer enjoyable for her. Advertisement A few days later, Baur came calling. On May 5, she was introduced as the new Canadian women's basketball team head coach. "I like competing at the highest level. I'm a very competitive person, and these are players that are driven. Well, that's fun to coach," Fortner said. Through five practices, Fortner was already beginning to make her mark on Team Canada. She said she wants to ramp up the offence, using more speed and letting players read and react. But her biggest goal is for Canada to regain its tough defensive identity. And the players are bought in. Even before Fortner's arrival, a group of players gathered in November, discussed their ambitions and vowed to sacrifice for each other to achieve them. Advertisement "We talked about the things that they came up with, what they wanted to commit to and what they were willing to. There's a sacrifice that has to be had because national teams aren't together all the time," Fortner said. The scarcity of practice time has been a thorn in the side of previous coaches in LaPena and Lisa Thomaidis, with just three-to-four opportunities per year for everyone to gather. In Fortner's first training camp, she is missing WNBAers Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton and Aaliyah Edwards. Nell Fortner, pictured kissing her goal medal, coached the United States women's basketball team to an Olympic title at the Sydney Games in 2000. (Tim Sloan/AFP via Getty Images) Embracing the challenge But she's embracing the challenge by unifying the team around its goal of reaching the Olympic podium. Advertisement "You help them see what that process is every day in practice, when we come together, that culture build of what this is about. Every time you step into the doors of Canada Basketball, you know you're at Canada basketball. Here we go," Fortner said. Two-time Olympian Kayla Alexander said the bitterness of defeat in Paris is fuelling the returnees from that team. "Just realizing if you want different results you gotta do something different. So I think that we're trying to implement and create a culture and new standards that will help us get the results that we want moving forward," Alexander said. Alexander added that she's noticed a difference in practice, with every player being held accountable. Advertisement "There's repercussions and there's consequences for every action that you take. So I think we're trying to set a standard early so that we can stick with it and keep that consistent," she said. Kayla Alexander (14) said the bitterness of defeat in Paris is fuelling the returnees from that team. (Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press) For Gibb, who is coming off a season at BYU where she was named conference freshman of the year, a new coach provides new opportunity. "It's good for me as a younger player, because I am learning so much and I just love taking everything in and trying to grow my basketball knowledge. They've been intense, which is exciting because I feel like to be a great team you have to give it your all and work really hard," Gibb said. Advertisement It's a refrain that Fortner, who said sacrifice was the key to Olympic gold, might be heartened to hear. "It's totally about the we, not the me. Totally. And so checking your ego and checking whatever you need to check," Fortner said. "When you get your time on the floor, go get it. Bust it for that gold medal."
CBC
05-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Former U.S. women's basketball head coach Fortner takes over Canada's senior squad
Nell Fortner has been named head coach of Canada's senior women's national team, Canada Basketball announced Monday. The longtime NCAA, WNBA and international coach takes over from Victor Lapeña as the program looks to rebound from a winless showing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fortner guided the United States to gold at the 1998 FIBA World Championship and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, compiling a 101-14 international record. The 66-year-old from Jackson, Miss., most recently spent six seasons at Georgia Tech, leading the Yellow Jackets to three NCAA tournament appearances before announcing her retirement earlier this year. "I'm honoured to join Canada Basketball and help lead this next chapter for the senior women's national team," Fortner said in a statement. "I've followed the rise of this program for years and have great respect for the culture the organization and players are building. "This is a special group with the talent, toughness and togetherness, and they have the ability to achieve something great — I'm excited to get to work." Her hiring comes as 25 players commit to the national team through the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. In November, players and staff set team standards around commitment, accountability and culture — a foundation that now guides the women's program, according to Canada Basketball. "This commitment represents a shared belief in what we're building and how we intend to get there," said Steve Baur, general manager and vice-president of women's high performance. "Our athletes set a clear tone for this next chapter, and we're proud to see that vision backed by such a strong group of players." Canada finished fourth at the 2022 tournament and is turning to a younger core following the retirement of several veterans. The team will compete at this summer's FIBA AmeriCup and hold a training camp in Victoria this fall. Canadian basketball star Natalie Achonwa discusses what it means to represent Canada 9 months ago Duration 1:29 The 16-year Canadian women's national team member reflects on journey at Paris 2024.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Former U.S. head coach Fortner takes over Canada's senior women's basketball team
TORONTO – Nell Fortner has been named head coach of Canada's senior women's national team, Canada Basketball announced Monday. The longtime NCAA, WNBA and international coach takes over from Víctor Lapeña as the program looks to rebound from a winless showing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fortner guided the United States to gold at the 1998 FIBA World Championship and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, compiling a 101-14 international record. The 66-year-old from Jackson, Miss., most recently spent six seasons at Georgia Tech, leading the Yellow Jackets to three NCAA tournament appearances before announcing her retirement earlier this year. Her hiring comes as 25 players commit to the national team through the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. Canada finished fourth at the 2022 tournament and is turning to a younger core following the retirement of several veterans. The team will compete at this summer's FIBA AmeriCup and hold a training camp in Victoria this fall. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
