CROSSED THE LINE

The Rautins of Team Canada
with coach Leo (right) and son
Andy.

The way he sounded, it seems like Team Canada coach Leo Rautins is blaming himself for his son Andy’s injury, which will keep the latter out for the remainder of the FIBA World Championships in Turkey, according to the Toronto Sun. Andy aggravated his knee injury during Canada’s game against Lithuania. The elder Rautins, who saw action with current Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano and ex-PBA import Jim Zoet for Canada in the 1978 FIBA Worlds in Manila, thinks he may have pushed his son to the limit knowing that Andy has an old injury. He did it because he knows his son very well but at the same time, he said he might have crossed the line.

“The pain is too restrictive and he's got a high threshold. He has played through a lot of (crap). I feel like I compromised that father/son relationship (on Sunday). I know him so well. Put it this way. If it were any of my other players, I might not have played him when I did. Because I know him, I figured I could see things and know where to draw the line and I think I crossed that line, which I would never cross with any of the other guys because, obviously, I don't intimately know them. The one advantage I have with Andy is that I do, but I think I crossed that line. It's just not worth it.”