"He ain't gonna be nervous, man," Boylen said. "He'll just play a freakin' good game. . . . He's going to stand 'em up when they come through the lane."

Easy for him to say.

Boylen merely will be watching from the stands, while Kepkay, all 6 feet of him, steps onto the tracks - er, basketball court - for the Canadian national team and directly in front of the runaway freight train that is Kobe Bryant and the U.S. Olympic Team in an exhibition game at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"It's going to be fun," Kepkay said. "Just go out, just have fun. Smile. And whatever happens, happens. You know?"

Most fans can probably guess what's expected to happen.

Bigger, stronger and faster, Team USA is loaded with glittering superstar talent - from Bryant and Dwyane Wade to Jason Kidd and the Jazz's Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer - and aiming to reclaim its lost international dominance at the upcoming Beijing Games in China.

The Canadians, meanwhile, did not even qualify for the Olympics, losing to Slovenia and Croatia at the final qualifying tournament last week in Athens, Greece, throwing NBA center Samuel Dalembert off the team along the way. Oh, and point guard Steve Nash isn't playing for them anymore.

Mosquito, meet the newspaper.

But Nash's retirement from international play is part of the reason Kepkay was able to make his native country's senior national team for the first time this summer, as a third-string backup to starter Jermaine Anderson.

Kepkay has started 26 games for the Utes, and hardly played in the qualifying tournament, getting just 15 minutes and one basket in three games.

But he hopes to see a little more action tonight, knowing the game is only an exhibition intended mostly to help the Americans prepare for their headline-grabbing drive toward a gold medal in Beijing next month.

"You can't really expect much," Kepkay said. "Go out and play and have fun and hope for the best. You can't really expect too much against those guys."

Especially considering that Kepkay had enough trouble coping with the Mountain West Conference last season - let alone the star-studded elite players of the NBA.

The Vancouver native had a difficult time adjusting in his first season with the Utes as a junior transfer from the College of Eastern Utah, acquiring an unkind reputation after coming up agonizingly short in several potential game-winning situations late in games.

His confidence in shambles, Boylen benched him late in the season.

Now, all he has to worry about is going against the likes of Williams, the former No. 3 draft pick who said he's never heard of Kepkay, or Bryant, the three-time NBA champion and reigning Most Valuable Player who said he never worries about how lesser-known opponents might engage him.

"I think it's the other way around," Bryant said. "I'm more excited about it, because I want to prove to them that the positive things people say about my game are true."

Uh-oh.

Nevertheless, Kepkay said he has learned a lot in his first summer of international play, and Boylen believes it's going to make the senior-to-be a better player.

The coach speculated that Kepkay could become part of a "solid foundation" for Team Canada and play in three or four Olympics before his career is over, even if tonight isn't exactly a roaring success.

"It's what he's wanted his whole life," Boylen said. "The reason he came to Utah was because he wanted to play at a high level. He loves big games, competitive games. He's a big fan of the NBA and he loves NBA basketball - it's a goal of his. So I think it's just a dream come true. I told him to just embrace the opportunity, don't be fearful of it."

Again, easier said than done.

It won't be Boylen out there trying to defend Kidd, or get around Williams, or squeeze off a shot over Dwight Howard.

But standing in the blazing sun next to a glistening swimming pool at a posh casino hotel, Kepkay sounded as if he was already bracing for the experience.

"It doesn't count for anything," he said, "so if they go by me and dunk, I mean, they do that to everybody in the NBA on a nightly basis. . . . I'm just excited to see them play together and see how they play in person and see them on the floor."

And maybe, just maybe, stand one of them up when he comes through the lane.

mcl@sltrib.com

Tyler Kepkay file

Hometown: Vancouver, B.C.

School: University of Utah

Height/weight: 6 foot, 185 pounds

Age: 21

2007-08 STATS

Games played/started: 33/26

FG%: 40.2 (82 of 204)

3pt%: 41.1 (39 of 95)

Points per game: 7.5

A bit unbalanced

TEAM USA

* All-time exhibition record: 26-1

* All-time vs. Canada: 19-1

* Recent games vs. Canada:

USA, 99-70 (Aug. 31, 2000)

USA, 97-61 (July 11, 1999)

TEAM CANADA

* All-time record: 145-142

* Olympics: In the past 20 years, Canada has played in two Olympic basketball tournaments. It finished seventh of out 12 teams at 2000 Olympics - the last time it qualified for the games.

FIBA world rankings

1. USA

2. Argentina

3. Spain

4. Serbia

5. Lithuania

6. Greece

7. Italy

8. France

9. Australia

9. Germany

11. China

12. Puerto Rico

13. New Zealand

14. Angola

15. Turkey

16. Russia

17. Canada

18. Brazil

19. Slovenia

20. Croatia

21. Venezuela

22. Nigeria

23. Lebanon

24. Israel

25. Korea

26. Qatar

27. Uruguay

28. Mexico

29. Panama

30. D. Republic

31. Algeria

32. Japan

33. Iran

34. Latvia

USA vs. Canada

Today, 6 p.m., ESPN