Mirkovich experiences national team camp

By Lethbridge Herald on July 16, 2024.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The current Canadian men’s basketball team experienced the reunion of five past men’s  Olympic basketball teams during their training session as they prepared for Paris recently.

The reunion plan was made by Howard Kelsey in conjunction with Basketball Canada to bring in five Olympic basketball teams from 1976, 1980, 1984 and all the way up to 2000 in to support the current team that will vie for gold at this year’s Summer Olympic Games.

Local Perry Mirkovich, who was on the 1980 Olympic men’s basketball  team that boycotted going to Moscow, made the trip to the reunion in Toronto.

It was the morning after arrival that those players got to experience a shoot around by the current team players at the Toronto Raptors practice facility.

“They’re very precise , they’re working their butts off,” said Mirkovich, who played for the U of L  men’s basketball team for five years beginning in 1975.

The teams learned about Basketball Canada through and what the organization is trying to do and their goals.

“They’re asking for support, in which all of us are glad to do because basketball (or) any Olympic team I think is really important, simply because (of) the benefits that  we get as citizens when they come back into and contribute to society,” said Mirkovich.

The past Olympians then got to sit in on a scrimmage and another practice.

“It’s incredible basketball,” said Mirkovich.

“They’re going hard, they’re fighting, because there’s 12 spots on the team. At that time, they picked the team already and there’s 20 people trying out and they’re so good that some NBA players weren’t even invited to the try-out camp. That’s how deep they are. So they’re sensational and they represent Canada very well.”

Mirkovich heard the feeling about the team heading to Paris.

“I think they’re very optimistic and they’re very positive,” he said.

Mirkovich felt it was important to go because of his strong feelings with the national basketball programs and the importance in developing youth.

“These people all put back into our society,” said Mirkovich.

“It’s great to see these people who are literally multi-millionaires coming and playing for nothing to represent their country because I did that.”

Mirkovich played for nothing for his country because he was a university student at the time of his Olympic run.

“We were all amateur and a lot of us were in university at the time, (and) very poor and destitute … because of the cost of education, he said.

Mirkovich saw the experience as enriching with the reunion.

“I got to see the guys I played basketball with,” he said.

“It gave me a bit more of a drive in terms of my life, in terms of what I want to do (with) what I have left. I see what successes these people were and you can learn from them.”

Mirkovich helped that 1980 Canadian team to a silver medal in qualifying and later that summer was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers.