Barely more than a year removed from being promoted to head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Nick Nurse is already taking the lead in helping develop Canada's national program. The championship-winning coach is currently roaming the sidelines for Team Canada at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, his first tournament as coach of our neighbors to the north.

While Canada is producing more NBA talent than ever before, the national team's performance hasn't exactly reflected that reality in China, as it fell by double digits to Australia and Lithuania in the first two games of pool play. Why? League stalwarts like Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Kelly Olynyk, and Dwight Powell all opted against suiting up for their country this summer, a situation Nurse hopes to avoid going forward in part by working to establish relationships with Canadian players across the NBA.

“I think I have got to try and develop some relationships with some of these guys and see where they are at,” he said, per Lori Ewing of The Globe And Mail. “But I need more information. I need a better understanding of why or why not. Will they or will they not participate, and why or why not?”

Canada is producing NBA players at an all-time rate. In addition to those mentioned above,  No. 3 overall pick R.J. Barrett of the New York Knicks, whose father is Team Canada's general manager, and fellow first-round pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker also are sitting the World Cup out. The latter's cousin, promising Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, isn't playing in China, either.

If Nick Nurse is successful, it should be only a matter of time before Canada re-asserts itself as an up-and-coming power on the international stage.