Among the finalists: Connor Jay one of 10 to experience rare Raptors opportunity

If you’ve been around Huskie Athletics over the last ten years, there’s a good chance you know the name or face of Connor Jay.

Whether it be his ever-evolving work for the Huskies women’s basketball team, or being the face behind ‘Carpool Karaoke’ or his various roles within Huskie Athletics — Jay has nearly done it all since joining the athletic department in 2013 when he was a first-year student in the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Kinesiology.

Ever since, Jay has been a regular for Lisa Thomaidis and the Huskies women’s basketball team and has played a role in helping the program become the perennial powerhouse it is today, having been a part of six Canada West championships and two U SPORTS national championships. As one of the team’s performance analysts, he helps organize a scout team that practices against the Huskies, while also delving into film, scouting opposition and preparing plans for practices with upcoming matchups in mind.

And now his work with the Huskies is helping him earn recognition in the pros.

After applying for the Wayne & Theresa Embry Fellowship — an initiative run by the Toronto Raptors that provides two Canadians a year-long opportunity to work with the team — he was selected as one of the final 10 candidates for two positions.

The fellowship provides firsthand experience within the world of professional basketball in roles such as coaching, scouting, team services, player development, medical and financial — with various rotations throughout the season.

Jay applied for the fellowship in 2020 and was approached by a Raptors staff member about putting his name in the hat once again in the selection process come 2022. This time he was rewarded.

He was flown out to Toronto for a two-day interview process along with the other nine candidates, which concluded with attending a Raptors game at Scotiabank Arena.

The Evan Hardy Collegiate graduate was able to tour the OVO Athletic Centre, partake in various workshops with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment staff, prepare and present a scout of the Brooklyn Nets to a panel of various Raptors personnel, have a noodle bowl lunch with amongst others, Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, and meet the Raptors coaching staff — including Nick Nurse.

“He was playing his piano in his office. He greeted all of us and joked that the next step for any of the fellows is to play guitar with him,” said Jay. “It was nice to kind of see him in a non-coaching environment and see the musical side of him.”

The opportunity is all made possible by Wayne and Theresa Embry.

After an 11-year playing career in the NBA, Wayne Embry moved into the front-office, where he eventually would become the first African American general manager in the NBA after being hired by the Millwauke Bucks. Embry would later become the Toronto Raptors general manager in 2006 and is still in the organization today as a senior basketball advisor with the team.

“I asked Mr. Embry after everything he’s done and accomplished, ‘why does he still do this?’ And he said ‘I do this for you guys, because I see so much in what we can do for the game, how we can make it better and how it’s now a very diverse place.”

Canadian basketball continues to grow — both on the men’s and women’s side. There are seemingly more Canadians than ever before playing in the NBA, WNBA and NCAA. And the fellowship presents an opportunity for growth who play a role in supporting the game in off-court roles. 

“You’re seeing all this investment in Canadians in other aspects other than just being on court. The fellowship and what they’re doing is really growing the game in that aspect,” said Jay.

“There’s so many behind the scenes pieces that need to move for the spotlight to be on the players and the success of those players and those coaches to get to where they're going. I gained a lot of respect for the people behind the scenes.”

As for Jay’s biggest takeaway? The diversity amongst experience within the organization. 

“What I learned is that to get into the NBA, you don't necessarily have to be a player. You can get in so many other ways. You can do it through a business standpoint, through coaching, through on-court, through business aspects. There's so many ways to get into the NBA or professional organization. Coming from Saskatoon we don't really think like that,” said Jay.

Jay is currently in the waiting game, as the organization decides which two of the final 10 candidates will be selected for the fellowship. The winners will move to Toronto and begin their one-year tenure prior to the 2022-23 NBA season.

Photos provided by Nelson Campana of the Toronto Raptors, getmyphoto.ca and Matt Johnson