ve to prove hes back in top fo
in Gästeforum 16.04.2019 04:40von lebaobei123 • | 301 Beiträge | 3010 Punkte
TORONTO - Bruno Caboclo, the Raptors 20th overall selection in Thursdays NBA Draft, arrived in Toronto Friday evening. A wide-eyed 18-year-old visiting North America for only the second time in his young life, Caboclo immediately noticed the "big tower" his new home is best known for. Then he got to work. Caboclo, described by those who know him as a "gym rat," was amazed to find out that hell have access to the Raptors practice facility at any time, day or night, just one of the many perks that comes with being drafted into the NBA. At 11:00 PM, the Brazilian forward was taking jump shots on his new teams practice court, on the third level of the Air Canada Centre. "I need to get a feeling for the gym and I need to get the rust off," he told Eduardo Resende, his long-time friend, translator and closest advisor. A couple hours later he was in bed. It had been a long day. About 24-hours earlier, on the night of the draft, Caboclo and Resende were in the backseat of a cab, en route from the airport to their hotel in New York City and following along with the picks on Twitter. They expected to be in their rooms by the time the commissioner called Caboclos name, sometime in the second round, or so they thought. Thats when they got the news. Refreshing the app on his phone, Caboclo learned he had been drafted, that his dream had come true. If you thought you were surprised by the pick… "The taxi driver didnt understand what went on," Resende joked. "We were screaming back there. It was crazy." "He was jumping out of the roof. He was very excited. Its a dream come true. For a young Brazilian player that could only see those things on TV and then all of sudden hes a part of it." Caboclo tried to call his family back in Brazil but no one answered, they were asleep. He fielded calls for hours and finally heard from Masai Ujiri, the man who had just shocked the basketball world by making the pick, at 2:00 AM as the two were ordering some late-night food at a New York pizzeria. At 4:00 AM they were finally able to get some sleep. Thursday night was an emotional one for all 60 prospects fortunate enough to have their name called - dreams realized, lives changed - but for Caboclo the feeling was a little different. It had to be. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Caboclo - the youngest of three siblings - grew up in a rough environment. "He comes from a difficult family financially," Resende said. "He supports his family." Without cable in his house Caboclo was unable to watch NBA basketball until recently, but hes been playing the game since he was 13-years-old, dunking since he was 14. When did he know he wanted to play in the NBA? "Always," he said, after Resende relayed the question in his native Portuguese. The Raptors were intrigued since the moment they saw the 6-foot-9 Brazilian. With a couple of Torontos scouts watching, Caboclo won the most valuable player award at the 2013 Basketball Without Borders Americas. At the request of his staff, Ujiri went to go see the young man play in Brazil. He would later make two more trips, bringing with him Jeff Weltman, Toronto executive VP of basketball operations, and other members of the organization. They werent the only team wise to Caboclo, though they were one of a small handful. No more than five teams knew about him, according to a club source. "Youre going to get some scouts fired for this," one Raptors staff member told a team scout, jokingly, while watching Caboclo in amazement. If he realizes his potential in the NBA, despite flying under most of the leagues radar, it could change the way many teams approach their scouting process. Ujiri and company kept a low profile on these trips, for obvious reasons. Even Caboclo had no idea he was being watched, playing sparingly for Pinheiros in Sao Paulo at the time. Ujiri happened to be in attendance when one of Caboclos teammates got hurt, creating more playing time for the young forward. He brought back some film of that game to review with his staff… on his cell phone. Even with limited live action data to work with, Ujiri quickly fell in love with Caboclos upside. As he worked out in Toronto just before being introduced to the local media for the first time Saturday morning, it wasnt hard to see why. With a 7-foot-6 wingspan, he barely has to leave his feet to extend above the rim. Hes wiry, can handle the ball and his shooting mechanics are "excellent", according to a front office source who has seen him play. At one point during the workout, Caboclo was asked to dribble past a coach and dunk the ball. Instead, he passed that coach the ball. His English, like the rest of his game, is a work in progress but hes absorbing everything like a sponge. "Soon he wont need me here anymore," joked Resende, who has known Caboclo since he was a kid, working with him for the last two years. "His improvements have come very fast," he continued. "He is nowhere near the Bruno who was MVP at Basketball Without Borders. He is way past that." "Hes a little shy until he gets used to whats going on, and then hes very open," Ujiri echoed. "Hes a gym rat, and hes competitive. If he doesnt do a drill well, he will want to finish it. Thats him. Hes a great kid. Loves basketball. He wants to be in the gym every second, which is what you want in an 18-year-old." "Its a gamble," Ujiri acknowledged. Although Caboclo has the tools to succeed in the NBA, it will take time. Listed at 205 pounds, the young man will need to add muscle and get comfortable with the language on top of the work hell need to put in to grow his game in the league. As for the negative reaction to his unexpected pick, Ujiri doesnt care. "Honestly, I dont do it for reactions of anybody," said the Raptors general manager. He may well be "two years away from being two years away", as Fran Fraschilla so eloquently put it on the ESPN broadcast, he may be "five years away from being five years away", as Ujiri joked on Saturday, but the Raptors feel strongly about their pick and will patiently ride it out for as long as it takes. Caboclos drive, passion and work ethic should justify that patience. "He is very aware that hes coming to a league thats pretty tough and hes only 18 so theyre probably right about two years from being two years or whatever," Resende said on behalf of Caboclo. "But he said hes a hard worker and hes going to cut that [timeline] down and contribute before everybody [thinks]" The work begins immediately. Caboclo will travel to Los Angeles on Sunday to meet and workout with some of the teams players and coaches. The Raptors plan to get him on a weight training program right away, while he puts in time with an English tutor, something the team did with Jonas Valanciunas after he came over from Lithuania. He wont play for Brazil this year - though he hopes to represent his country in the 2016 Rio Olympics - as he has committed fully to the Raptors. Hell participate in the teams Summer League entry in Las Vegas next month and then prepare for his rookie season. Ujiri anticipates Caboclo will spend at least a portion of his first year bouncing up and down from the Development League (Note: the Raptors have yet to announce their D-League affiliate for next season). "Hes going to start learning," Ujiri said. "Starting today. Hes a basketball junkie. Those guys usually figure out a way." Real Ray Ban Sunglasses Cheap . "Ive still got it," Seattles ace said with a sly grin. Riding that fastball carrying a little more zip, Hernandez took a shutout bid into the ninth inning as the Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 on Wednesday night. On the verge of a brilliant shutout and first complete game since Aug. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses Sale . PAUL, Minn. http://www.cheapraybanfreeshipping.com/. - Steve Stricker usually doesnt show up at a tournament on Sunday. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses Wholesale .J. -- Jaromir Jagr has hit so many NHL milestones this season for the New Jersey Devils that he is starting to downplay them. Buy Cheap Ray Ban Online . Clevelands manager had just watched his team lose 5-3 to Kansas City, which completed a 2-6 homestand and dropped the Indians 2 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central.LOS ANGELES -- Just a few minutes into his first game back from a serious groin strain, Jonathan Quick had to do the splits to make a save. Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Dustin Brown tied it early in the third period and Carter added an empty-net goal as Los Angeles ended its longest skid in coach Darryl Sutters tenure with a late rally. They also got a boost from the return of their Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie, who hadnt played since injuring his groin Nov. 12 in Buffalo. "The team played great in front of me," Quick said. "I gave up a couple of rebounds, and the guys cleared them out. We kept fighting and got a couple of breaks." Quick was selected for his second U.S. Olympic team Wednesday despite his lengthy absence, and the Kings put their $58 million goalie right back in the lineup immediately after activating him from injured reserve. He gave up an early power-play goal, but shut down the Canucks over the final 47 minutes -- including two breathtaking stops on a breakaway by Daniel Sedin in the final seconds. "We know who he is," Carter said. "First game back, I thought he was sharp." Ryan Kesler scored for the Canucks, who lost their third straight despite 46 saves by Roberto Luongo in his own return from a three-game injury absence since Dec. 22. "We dont have a sniff of a chance if he doesnt play the way he did," Vancouver coach John Tortorella said of Luongo. "I shudder to think what the score would be. So lets not kid ourselves. The game wasnt as close as the score. We have a ton of work to do." Sutter coached his 1,000th NHL game as his team stumbled home from a winless four-game road trip. Although their scoreless streak stretched to 120 minutes, the Kings rallied to win when trailing after two periods for the first time since Nov.dddddddddddd 14. Brown finally cracked Luongos shutout bid on the Kings 37th shot, knocking home a cross-ice puck from Justin Williams -- and then accidentally kicking Luongo in the face when Mike Santorelli upended him in the crease. Carter scored the tiebreaker after an exceptional play by Dwight King, who lifted Jason Garrisons stick and outraced the Vancouver defenceman to a puck before putting a pass on Carters tape for his 14th goal. "(King) made a heck of a play there," Carter said after his second multigoal game of the season. "I thought we did a lot of good things in the first two periods, but Luongo played really good. We stuck with it and kept working." Carter gave no chance to Luongo, but the veteran has been solid all season for the Canucks, boosting the gold medal winners chances of being Canadas starting goalie in Sochi next month. "Carter released it quick, and it went through our D-men," Luongo said. "Youve got to give him credit. It was a good shot, but I would have liked to have gotten a piece of that." Quick could be Luongos starting counterpart for the U.S. team, although hell have to prove hes back in top form over the next five weeks. Quick looked sharp in the opening minutes, but Kesler scored his 16th goal while falling to the ice, beating his fellow U.S. Olympians glove off a cross-ice pass from Daniel Sedin. The goal eased Vancouvers 1-for-19 slump on the power play over the last seven games. "In our division, were going to have to learn to battle harder, and it starts with our forwards, as far as the forecheck," Tortorella said. "Our D was under siege all night long, and if were going to compete in our division, we need to be more consistent." NOTES: The Kings didnt immediately have to make a corresponding roster move when Quick was activated because they traded F Daniel Carcillo to the New York Rangers earlier in the day. Carcillo went scoreless in his final 23 games with Los Angeles. ... The 55-year-old Sutter is the 22nd NHL head coach to reach 1,000 games. ... The Kings scratched D Matt Greene. ' ' '
Besucher
0 Mitglieder und 25 Gäste sind Online Besucherzähler Heute waren 52 Gäste online. |
Forum Statistiken
Das Forum hat 330
Themen
und
423
Beiträge.
Heute waren 0 Mitglieder Online: |
Ein Xobor Forum Einfach ein eigenes Forum erstellen |