Amid star absences, Scrubb brothers remain Canada Basketball’s constant

When Phil Scrubb got up to speak as the best man at his brother Thomas’ wedding on Aug. 3 in Ottawa, all bets were off. No one could really remember him giving a speech before — and he’s the outgoing Scrubb brother, which only means he’s less introverted than Thomas, who is older by a year and quieter by an order of magnitude. But it was a special occasion, and the Scrubbs have a history of rising to meet the moment, if their basketball pedigree is any measure. “I had very low expectations for Phil because I’d never really heard him give any kind of speech,” said Catherine Traer, the bride-to-be and fellow Carleton hoops alumnus. “So I did not know what was going to come out of his mouth.” But Phil came through. As the Canadian men’s national team knows, the Scrubbs always do. The crowd gathered at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club heard stories about Tommy as the protective older brother, chasing off sandbox bullies with a plastic shovel and about how his quiet intensity sometimes bubbled over — unbeknown to most — like the time he threw a ball in anger and came within inches of accidentally decapitating one of Ravens head coach Dave Smart’s kids. The gym went silent, save for the slowly bouncing ball, everyone shocked at the outburst and waiting to see how Smart — who runs hot more routinely — would respond. After a moment Tommy went, got his ball and resumed his workout. In the Scrubbs’ world, the task at hand always rules the day. As the men’s national team tips off the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Guangdong, China in the wee hours of Sunday morning against Australia in pool play, Canadian basketball couldn’t be more fortunate to be able to rely on the Scrubbs’ singularity of purpose — such as the newlyweds booking their wedding so it would coordinate with the national team schedule and Thomas forgoing a honeymoon with his wife’s blessing as he and Phil left the day after the ceremony for training camp. With Nick Nurse’s team facing a pair of virtual must-win games right out of the gate against Australia and then Lithuania on Tuesday — teams ranked 11th and sixth in the world, respectively (Canada is 23rd) — it is likely that both Phil and Thomas will be in the starting lineup as they were in Canada’s final pre-tournament exhibition game against Team USA. It is believed to be the first time a pair of brothers have played for the national team at a World Championship or an Olympic Games in more than 50 years (the women’s national team had Katherine and Michelle Plouffe on the roster at the 2014 World Championships and the 2016 Olympics) and almost certainly the first time siblings have started internationally for Canada at the senior men’s level. The Scrubbs’ versatility helps. At six-foot-four Phil can play either guard spot while at six-foot-seven Thomas can comfortably guard three positions and has developed into a reliable spot-up three-point shooter. Their familiarity with the international game is another attribute that Nurse has come to rely on. But their presence is all the more remarkable because the 2019 World Cup was supposed to be an event where players like the Scrubbs were supposed to be deemed surplus, as the national team program was to be over-run with NBA talent by this point. Instead, as Canada’s NBA players said ‘no’ or cited injury in droves — of the 17 Canadians with contracts next season, only Khem Birch of the Orlando Magic and Cory Joseph of the Sacramento Kings will be with the team in China after the Heat’s Kelly Olynyk went down in exhibition play with a knee injury — the Scrubbs and Canada’s base of European pros are suddenly essential. There is an added satisfaction too in that, with the change in the coaching staff this summer, any whispers that their status was somehow tied to the presence of Smart as an assistant to former national team coach Jay Triano can be quieted for good. No one is happier about that than Smart. “No one ever said it directly to them or to me, but you heard the rumblings,” said Smart, who coached the Ravens to 14 national championships in 19 seasons before moving to an administrative role this year. “And it hurt me because I knew that everything they did, they earned and I knew that if I wasn’t there Jay probably liked them as much or more than I did and Jay always supported them. And Jay actually called me last week and said, ‘It’s weird how the two Scrubbs are starting yet apparently the only reason they were on the team was because of my relationship with you.’ “I’m really happy for them. I don’t think they should be under my shadow — I should be under their shadow. But I feel like people put them under my shadow unfairly, and now it’s gone.” The fight to prove themselves worthy has always been motivating for the Vancouver natives who led the Ravens to five USports championships in the five seasons they played together, regularly knocked off top-flight D1 programs along the way in exhibition play and who have each marched up the ladder year-over-year in Europe. They made their national team debuts together on the 2011 development team that finished fourth at the World University Games and have answered the call on every occasion since — weddings or honeymoon plans be damned. “Our parents were big on [playing for Canada] growing up but a lot of people have done a lot for me to get to this point,” said Phil. “Like Dave Smart and Jay, fighting for me to be on the team, so it would be a disservice to them if now I just kind of say I’m not going to participate. I feel like I owe it to those people to play every time they call on me and it means a lot when I play.” Said Thomas: “I’ve got cut before [from the national team in 2015 prior to the Pan Am Games and FIBA Americas Championships] so I don’t take it for granted, I don’t expect it to come for the rest of my career, so I want to take advantage when they ask me to play and just enjoy it. They took good care of us, the guys are good, it’s just a good experience.” As an added bonus they get to spend time together. They played on the same high school team at Vancouver College and it was natural that Phil would follow Thomas to Carleton where after a red-shirt year they were able to play five seasons together. They have never even played in the same country over their European careers, so playing for the national team is a chance to catch up in their unique manner. “The Scrubb brothers are very different than most people, they’re very quiet, pretty reserved guys,” says Traer who met the brothers while she was playing on the women’s team at Carleton and can relate well to their basketball goals as she is in the midst of trying earn a berth for Canada in the inaugural three-on-three Olympic tournament next summer in Japan. “They have this bond. It’s a weird brother bond … they don’t really talk a lot to each other but they joke about weird stuff with each other, silently, and they’re obviously best friends and they love, love, love playing for the national team and they love it because they get to spend time with each other because they’re apart all year.” They are together again in China, just when Canada needs them most, and can do their talking on the court.