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TORONTO - Bruno Caboclo, the Raptors 20th overall selection in Thursdays NBA Draft, arrived in Toronto Friday evening. [url=http
TORONTO - Bruno Caboclo, the Raptors 20th overall selection in Thursdays NBA Draft, arrived in Toronto Friday evening. [url=http
in Krankenhaus 04.03.2019 04:05von jokergreen0220 • 2.145 Beiträge
TORONTO - Bruno Caboclo, the Raptors 20th overall selection in Thursdays NBA Draft, arrived in Toronto Friday evening. Cheap Air Max 90 . 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." Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale . The Raptors second-year forward has been one of the primary beneficiaries of the early-season trade, breaking out and becoming a vital part of his teams success on both ends of the floor. Around the league, teams are starting to take notice and feature Ross more predominately in their pre-game scouting reports but its not just the opposition that hes impressing. Wholesale Air Max 90 . -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing back quarterback Chad Henne -- and making him the starter. http://www.airmax90clearance.com/ .The ruling takes effect on Jan. 1 and stems from the debate surrounding Paralympic champion Markus Rehm, an amputee who won the national long jump title competing with a carbon-fiber prosthesis.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- As long as they have Albert Pujols at the plate in a clutch situation, the Los Angeles Angels are confident they can win any close game they trail in the late innings. Pujols hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning Wednesday and Kole Calhoun also connected, leading the Angels to an 8-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Los Angeles took the rubber game of the three-game series after starter C.J. Wilson was chased in the fourth inning. "This team is finding ways to win, and were not out of it until the games over," Calhoun said. "The bullpen came in and did a great job keeping us in the ballgame after the starting pitching didnt go as deep as theyve usually been going. We came out and swung the bats and got enough runs to win." The Blue Jays took a 7-6 lead in the sixth on Dioner Navarros two-out RBI single against Fernando Salas, making his second appearance since coming off the disabled list after missing 19 games because of inflammation in his shoulder. Pujols responded with a drive that hit the top of the centre-field fence beyond the outstretched glove of Colby Rasmus and bounced over for his 20th homer of the season and 512th of his career, tying Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews for 21st place all-time. It scored Mike Trout, who reached on a fielders choice grounder after Calhoun drew a leadoff walk from Aaron Loup (2-2). The homer was the first allowed by Loup this season after 43 1-3 innings. "The curious thing was that they had the righty warmed up, and Albert hit that home run off a lefty. So we were like, Oh, awesome. Theyre leaving him in to face Albert, and he came up with a huge homer," Wilson said. "So it was great for us. We have a tenacious team, and the nature of our clubhouse is that we always believe that its going to happen." Jason Grilli (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning for his first AL victory since 2009 with Texas, striking out cleanup hitter Jose Bautista with two on to end the seventh. The 12-year veteran was acquired June 27 in a trade that sent Ernesto Frieri to Pittsburgh. Joe Smith worked the ninth for his 12th save. "We (threw) away a good opportunity today," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "We had the lead, coughed it up,, then took a slim lead. Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping. So it was disappointing. But hey, we left so many guys on base (12), and there comes a time youve got to blow open a game." Marcus Stroman was charged with five earned runs and eight hits through 4 2-3 innings in his eighth big league start. The 23-year-old right-handers teammates staked him to a 6-3 lead with a five-run fourth, but David Freese scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half and Calhoun drove his 10th homer into the lower seats in the right-field corner. "Early on against me, I felt like he was putting the ball anywhere he wanted to. But with a 2-0 count, I got a fastball that got a lot of the plate and I put a good swing on it," Calhoun said. The Blue Jays parlayed three hits, two errors and a bases-loaded wild pitch into their five-run rally against Wilson. He was charged with six runs -- three earned -- and eight hits in 3 2-3 innings. He is 3-3 with a 5.70 ERA in 10 starts since May 17, when he threw 127 pitches in a five-hit shutout against Tampa Bay. "I think my delivery was a lot better today and the ball was going where I wanted it a lot better," said Wilson, who gave up three homers in his previous start against Houston. The Angels took a 2-0 lead in the second, capitalizing on a two-base error by shortstop Jose Reyes. Howie Kendrick and Freese each had an RBI single. The Blue Jays got one run back in the third on a bases-loaded walk to Reimould. Trout, thrown out by Melky Cabrera in left field Tuesday night as he tried to stretch a double, tested Cabreras arm again in the third inning Wednesday and was cut down at home plate after Pujols single. Pujols scored on a single by Josh Hamilton that ended his 0-for-16 drought and gave the Angels a 3-1 lead. NOTES: LHP Joe Thatcher relieved Cam Bedrosian in the Toronto fifth after a leadoff double by Navarro and walked Darin Mastroianni, ending a stretch of 25 appearances in which Thatcher pitched 14 innings and faced 56 batters without walking anyone. ... Calhouns homer was the second allowed by Toronto pitchers in a span of 74 innings since the start of the month, after they gave up 27 during their final 22 games in June. ... Wilson threw 25 pitches in the first inning and gave up three hits without allowing a run. ' ' '
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