When Steve Nash and Jay Triano convened Canada Basketball’s national camp last month, there was enormous hype about the quality of NBA and high-profile NCAA types attending — along with some excitement about one or two of the great high-school players on the horizon for the country.

It seemed the forgotten man in the whole affair was Kelly Olynyk, the seven-footer out of Kamloops who’s heading into his third year of eligibility at Gonzaga, where North Vancouver’s Rob Sacre has just departed to begin his NBA career with the L.A. Lakers.

Forgotten was the fact that Olynyk may have been the best overall performer for the country at its last two international competitions despite his youth and inability to get onto the floor often with the Zags, sitting in behind all the talent coach Mark Few had assembled in those years.

Some of that forgotten status was due to the fact he redshirted last year, and Olynyk himself has his own explanation for the fact his name hardly came up during the camp even though he was there working hard trying to get back into game shape.

“I wouldn’t say I was forgotten, I think the fact that everything at the top was new, and there were all kinds of new guys there who hadn’t been part of the program before, and so naturally the focus was on that new thing,” said the 21-year-old, who’s on his way to a pro career somewhere, he of course, shooting for the NBA.

“It was a fantastic experience that’s for sure, and for me a little bit of an eye-opener. To me, the NBA was always so far away, like everyone there was Michael Jordan or something. But you realize you’re in college ball now, it’s just one step away.”

Reports from those observing the talent at the camp had Olynyk playing his best when he had the opportunity to be on the court with Nash himself, something with which he didn’t disagree.