TORONTO -- When basketballs best young players were in Brooklyn, N.
Wholesale Jerseys .Y., waiting to hear their name called in the NBA draft Thursday night, Bruno Caboclo was in a taxi.
Caboclo had been training just outside Houston, and he and his personal advisor
Eduardo Resende had hopped in a cab when somebody from Brazil tweeted "Oh my
god, Bruno at 20." "The taxi driver didnt understand what was going on, we were
screaming back there. It was crazy," said Resende. "He was jumping out of the
roof (figuratively), he was very excited. Its a dream come true for a young
Brazilian player that only can see (the NBA) on TV, and then all of a sudden hes
part of it." The 18-year-old Caboclo was a virtual unknown when he became the
Raptors surprise 20th pick in Thursday nights draft -- a selection that general
manager Masai Ujiri admitted was an "outright gamble." Ujiri had another player
in mind for the 20th pick, and had planned to take the Brazilian at No. 37, but
when he lost out on the first player, he wasnt taking any chances on Caboclo.
The young Brazilian arrived in Toronto on Friday night -- and upon finding out
he had the practice gym at the Air Canada Centre at his disposal, headed there
at 11 p.m. to shoot. The Raptors staff put him through his first official
workout Saturday morning. He then met with a curious Toronto media contingent
that numbered in double digits, an immediate measure of how much his life has
changed in two days. "His Twitter two days ago had 19 followers (hes now at over
5,000)," said Resende, who also acting as Caboclos translator in Toronto -- the
youngster speaks only a few words of English. "You become like a public person.
The biggest change for him is this (press) conference here. I dont think he
would ever imagine he would be here one day." Caboclo grew up Pirapora do Bom
Jesus, a tiny town outside of Sao Paolo. He comes from a "difficult family,
financially," according to Resende. "Even at his age he support his family."
Ujiri wouldnt reveal much about Caboclos upbringing except "He grew up tough. I
dont want to say too much about his family, and some of the things we know. He
grew up in a not-so-great environment. Basketball was his love." He has two
sisters, aged 22 and 26, who play volleyball. He played soccer as a child, but
said he was only "so-so" at it, and switched to basketball at age 13, when he
was already five foot 10. Within a year, he could dunk the ball. The Raptors had
tracked Caboclo since he was named most valuable player of the Basketball
Without Borders tournament last summer, first sending a team of scouts to watch
the six-foot-nine player with the eye-popping seven-foot-six wingspan. "We felt
like he was somebody we needed to follow. Our scouts did a phenomenal job of
going and seeing him and gathering information," Ujiri said after presenting
Caboclo with his jersey. The Raptors GM took some heat after Thursdays
selection, from fans and the media, but shrugged it off Saturday morning.
"Honestly I dont do it for reactions of anybody. I dont care. Were in a business
where I cant react to anything, I just have to do my job, and you hope the best
comes out of it," Ujiri said. "Is it a gamble? Yes. But do we remember who the
20th picks of the last 10 drafts are?" Ujiri sat courtside at the ACC as Caboclo
practised. Resende helped translate the instructions. He dunked the ball with
ease, shot well from long range, and was fluid as he moved around the court
despite his long limbs. "We thought from the little information we have, hes
young, hes long, hes tall, hes skinny, he likes to play basketball, hes got a
little bit of skill, he can shoot a little bit, maybe theres something we can
mould there," Ujiri said. Ujiri expects Caboclo to be a solid defender because
of his length. "He moves his feet pretty good, hes got a touch, he likes to
shoot it, so if he can be a two-way player where he can shoot the ball a little
bit and he can defend. . . We picked him because we feel theres some good upside
there, it will take time, and were ready to be patient for him," Ujiri said.
"Hes a great kid, but loves basketball, he wants to be in the gym every second,
which is what you want in an 18-year-old." Caboclo said he tries to model his
game after his idol and Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant. He feels they
have the same body type. Caboclos strength is among the things hell need to work
on during what should be a tough rookie season, between being so far from home,
having to learn English, and adapting to the NBA. The Raptors will immediately
implement a couple of measures to help him adjust -- a weight training program
and his own English teacher, Ujiri said. Hell also fly to Los Angeles on Sunday
to work with new teammates DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Amir Johnson, and
fellow rookie DeAndre Daniels, taken 37th overall Thursday night. Caboclo will
play with the Raptors in the summer league, plus Ujiri expects him to spend some
time next season down in the D-League. Resende said the young player knows the
road ahead wont be all smooth sailing. "Last night he came to my room and he
said Its a great responsibility," Resende said. Because getting there is one
thing, now the real work is going to begin now."
Wholesale Jerseys From China . Manager Ryan Nelsen has confirmed Brazilian No. 1 Julio Cesar will be rested for Wednesdays
first leg of the semifinal. That opens the door for Bendik, who started 33 games
for Toronto last season.
Cheap Jerseys Paypal . The NBA began to issue punishments last season for flopping, the art of exaggerating contact to deceive
referees into calling a foul, but only retroactively. If a player is determined
to have flopped after a postgame review, he is given a warning for the first
offence and a $5,000 fine for the second.Orchard Park, NY (SportsNetwork.com) -
Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone has opted out of his contract with the
club, team owner Terry Pegula announced Wednesday. Doug Marrone informed me late
today that he has decided to exercise the option clause in his contract and
relinquish his responsibilities as our head coach, Pegula said in a statement.
We are disappointed that Coach Marrone will no longer be an importantt part of
our organization.
Wholesale Jerseys China. We thank him for all of his hard work and leadership during his tenure and wish him and his family
the best with the next chapter in their lives. We will now begin the important
process of conducting a thorough search for a new head coach as we continue to
strive to reach our goal of returning to the playoffs and bringing a
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