27/01/2015
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Langlois excited about Canada's prospects

LULEA (FIBA World Championship for Women/2015 FIBA Americas Championship for Women) - This fact will come as a surprise for anyone that watched Canada at the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey.

Miah-Marie Langlois, the point guard who played an average of 21.43 minutes per game, didn't even know if she'd be on the team a few months earlier.

That's correct.

The energetic and at times electrifying playmaker had no expectation of being in the team, never mind making dazzling lay-ups and drilling three-pointers as she did in games like this against hosts Turkey.

Fresh out of the University of Windsor in Ontario, though, Langlois arrived at the Canadian tryouts and showed off the form that helped her twice gain recognition as her school's top female athlete.

Langlois had also been the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) Final 8 Tournament MVP in 2011, 2012 and 2014, and the CIS Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

She genuinely did not know if the coach, Lisa Thomaidis, would take her to Turkey.

"I had no clue," Langlois said to FIBA.com. "I was going to try, coming out of university. I had nothing to lose and just wanted to show them what I had. 

"A lot of players had come from overseas, the NCAA and I was coming from CIS. 

"There were a lot of good players, a lot of up-and-coming point guards, so no, I didn't know."

It's a good bet that if Langlois remains healthy, the 1.70m dynamo will be in the Canada team for many years to come.

The experience of the World Championship, and the chance to go up against the best players in the sport, has allowed her to have an awakening of sorts.

After last summer, I found a new respect for women's basketball. - Langlois

"I had never played at that level or seen that level, but actually being there and seeing the girls I did see, it made an impression."

By playing for her country, and doing so in such a competitive tournament, she grew in self-belief.

"I'm pretty confident, but it all seems more attainable now," she said. "When you'd think Olympics, you think it's so far away. But it's actually closer than you realize."

Canada will attempt to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games when they host the 2015 FIBA Americas Women's Championship in Edmonton, Calgary (9-16 August).

Right now, Langlois is spending her first professional season with Northland in the Swedish league.

She is likely to feature for the team next year, too, if they play in the EuroCup Women.

As for Canada, it's Thomaidis who will ultimately decide if Langlois will be in the team and continue to have an important role.

The 23-year-old enjoys playing for Thomaidis.

"She has been with the program so long, she knows the history, the potential, she's invested time and it makes you want to give your all," Langlois said. 

Thomaidis is also the coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

"She definitely knows the offense and adjusts it to the players she has," Langlois pointed out.

I know the coaches will prepare us to get the results we want in our short time together. - Langlois

However, she won't be taking anything for granted.

Afterall, she is not the one who will be announcing the squad for Edmonton.

"Honestly, I am just focusing on making the team this summer," Langlois said.

FIBA