When all the dust settled on Joel Anthony’s chaotic rookie season, he found himself in a position that, though well-deserved, may not have been entirely expected. Now, as he aids Team Canada in its bid for an Olympic berth, Anthony feels his experience in the NBA bodes well for his game and his country.

It goes without saying, then, that it was a pleasure for Hoops Addict to catch up with the 25-year-old forward/center before he and his Canadian teammates disposed of a Lebanese national club in exhibition play earlier this week. Be sure to catch Anthony and the rest of Team Canada at the Jack Donohue International classic this weekend and at the Olympic Qualifers in Athens, Greece later this month.

Hoops Addict: For lots of the Toronto basketball fans - that’s where we’re based out of - I was wondering if you could describe the Montreal basketball scene. You’re fairly well represented here [Samuel Dalembert and Juan Mendez each spent time in Montreal].
JA: The Montreal basketball scene has been around for a while. A lot of good players have been able to come out of Montreal, so it’s good on a team like this where you’re able to have three guys out of Montreal on this team. It’s obviously good for the entire Montreal basketball scene because it shows that there are a lot of players out there. Obviously we’re not as big of a city as Toronto but we still have a lot of players that are able to play.

HA: Another thing I wanted to talk to you about was the approach you took to getting into the NBA. You kind of took a back door. I was wondering if you could elaborate on that process, you know, signing with Miami after the draft and everything.
JA: I just worked out with teams before the draft and Miami was one of the teams I had a good workout against. They liked some things that they saw and they wanted to bring me in for the Summer League. So they signed me to come in and I had to work my way up. I pretty much just worked my way in, making it to training camp, and from training camp to being on the opening roster.

HA: How has your involvement with Team Canada [Anthony played in 2006] developed your personal game?
JA: It was a good experience to be here with the guys. I think it’s made things a lot easier this year, because being with them for about six weeks while we were on that little tour, we really got to know everybody on the team. So coming here, there wasn’t that unfamiliarity, not knowing guys or how they were. I was comfortable as soon as I stepped into the gym. These are all guys that I know and friends of mine so it has helped me a lot, especially coming into this year.

HA: I was also wondering how, playing at the professional level and all the work you put in this year, what, from that, can you take and put towards Canada Basketball?
JA: You know, it’s just continuing to work and get better. I feel that may skills have improved and I feel myself getting better and I feel a lot more confident in what I’ve been able to do to help the team. So it’s done a whole lot for me, I feel that there’s been a big difference in me from the beginning of my first year to the end of the year, and even from the end of the year until now with all the work that I’ve put in. I think it has really helped me a lot in terms of making sure I am ready to come and help the team in any way that I can.

HA: I’m under the impression that with Miami you’re kind of waiting on July 25th [the date Anthony's contract will become guaranteed with the Heat if nothing happens prior]?
JA: I’m just going to see how the month of July goes with free agency. Free agency starts on the first of July and from there I’m going to see what happens until the end of the month. See what type of moves Miami makes, what types of decisions they make in terms of personnel.

HA: Much has been made of the drafting of Michael Beasley and one thing that has been mentioned on ESPN is the temptations of South Beach. I was wondering, as a professional yourself, if you could elaborate. What are these temptations and how does a professional go about dealing with them?
JA: South Beach, you know, is real lively. It’s a young town. In South Beach there are a lot of things to do. There are a lot of clubs and stuff like that. People are always trying to go out and have a good time in South Beach. Tourists go down there all the time to have a good time. There aren’t too many cities like that in the US that are really lively all the time, so if you’re not used to it, I guess you can get caught up. But it was no different than when I was going to school in Vegas and I was staying down the street from The Strip. So I guess the temptations are there, but really they could be anywhere and it’s just how you handle it. You have to understand that you’re a professional, and although that may be there, you still have to know what you’re there for. You’re not there to party like everybody else, you’re there to play basketball and you have to make that adjustment.

HA: Going with the Miami theme, last year you guys suffered a lot of injuries, which happens, but I was wondering; how did the team adjust when lots of the guys that were playing may not have really expected to be in that sort of position at the onset of the year? How did that affect the moral on the team?
JA: It was tough when guys started going down and getting hurt. It’s difficult when those important parts of your team are no longer there. I think one of the toughest ones was when Alonzo got hurt. Seeing Zo down really hurt us because he was such a huge part of the team. But basically at the end, you still have to play, so guys had to come in and try and step up, to try and do whatever they could to help out and fill that void.

HA: For my last question, I wanted to bring it back to Team Canada. For somebody who is not familiar with the international scene, how do you feel about this team coming into this? I know for the last few years, at least the last few Olympic years, Canada hasn’t been represented. How do you feel heading into this qualifying tournament?
JA: It feels good. The guys have been around each other a lot and we’ve been able to play and adjust to each other. We’re confident that we’ll be able to focus and do the right thing to try and qualify. We understand our margin of error is really small and it definitely won’t be easy, nothing will be handed to us, but we feel confident in our ability to make it happen.

HA: Well that’s all for me, thanks Joel, I appreciate it.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media

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