ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Monday was nearly perfect for Jay Triano.

Not only was the Niagara Falls, Ont., native honored with the Jimmy Rose Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award by Brock University, he also learned that the interim tag was removed from his job as coach of the Toronto Raptors after signing a three-year deal with the NBA franchise on Monday.

“This is where my roots are, this is where I grew up playing,” said Triano, the first Canadian-born head coach in league history. “It’s nice to be able to come back and celebrate a day like this with family and friends and people who have followed my career.”

It’s been a long journey for Triano, whose coaching career began on the NAIA level at Simon Fraser, his alma mater, in 1985. He led Simon Fraser in scoring all four seasons, scored 2,616 points and in 1981 was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and by the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders. Back then, Triano merely wanted to remain in the game somehow.

“When you stop playing, you try to figure out ways to stay in the game,” he said. “I was an assistant for the first couple of years and I wasn’t sure if this is what I wanted to do. Then you see it and get comfortable with it, you build relationships and you learn how to adapt.”

It was during his stint with the Canadian Olympic Team in 1999 that Triano got the urge to coach in the pros. Canadian assistant coach Dave Pendergraft, now the assistant general manager with the Atlanta Hawks, told Triano he had the knack of working well with NBA players. National team members Steve Nash and Todd MacCulloch agreed.

“I kind of got begged into coaching the team,” said Triano, who coached the national team from 1998-2004. “They let the coach go and a bunch of the players called me and said they wanted me to coach. We went on a great run in the 2000 Olympics and Dave told me that the NBA guys responded well to me.”

During Triano’s time with the national team, Canada posted a 52-42 record. He led the team to the semifinals of the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico and to a 5-2 record in the 2000 Games.

“He did a great job with our Olympic basketball team which at the time was floundering,” said Brock coach Ken Murray, a native of Buffalo who was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame on Monday and has known Triano since he was 15 years old. “He was able to right the ship and get them back to where they were competitive on the international scene. Now the team has taken a nose dive and it’s taken a nose dive since he left.”

The Raptors are suffering through a similar nose dive. Triano was 25-40 as interim coach but led the team to a 9-4 mark in its final 13 games. Still, the Raptors finished the season 33-49 overall and are awaiting the Lottery.

Toronto General Manager Bryan Colangelo told reporters Monday that the first two years of Triano’s deal are guaranteed while the third is a club option.

“Despite some difficult circumstances this past season, Jay Triano never stopped coaching, teaching and leading this team which resulted in a very strong finish,” Colangelo said. “After undertaking a thorough evaluation process, it is clear that Jay is the right coach to guide this team in the future.”

Triano said the rebuilding will begin on defense. “I don’t think we’re too far out, but we need to get tougher,” Triano said.