Gonzaga sophomore point guard Kevin Pangos called it the highlight of his summer.

Pangos, teammate Kelly Olynyk and ex-Zag Robert Sacre were among 27 players to attend the Canadian senior national team’s five-day training camp in late August in Toronto. Pangos tested his skills alongside NBA players Joel Anthony, Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph while absorbing instruction from two-time MVP Steve Nash, who is general manager of Canada basketball, and head coach Jay Triano.

“When I got invited it was one of the best things that could happen,” said Pangos, shortly before Gonzaga’s first official practice last Friday. “Just working with NBA guys and Steve Nash, getting individual time just to talk to him. Everyone that is big in basketball in Canada was there. I had a lot of fun in five days.”

Pangos has long admired Nash, whose first assist as a Los Angeles Laker went to fellow British Columbia native Sacre in a recent exhibition game. Nash, an eight-time NBA All-Star, was twice named West Coast Conference Player of the Year for Santa Clara in the mid-1990s.

“It was the subtle things, just talking to him and watching him do drills, just the way he moved,” said Pangos, who is from Holland Landing, roughly 40 miles north of Toronto. “It wasn’t one thing that stood out, it was general things I could try to pick up on. His professionalism is contagious.”

To read the entire article by Jim Meehan, from The Spokesman-Review, click here.

‍