VCMP Bewerbungen » Farran who scored off the bench last week

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." Wholesale Hydro Flask Authentic .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York. Wholesale Hydro Flask Online . Yet heading to New York, the Habs remain positive as it all comes down to the one main ingredient that the organization has built its team on - character. http://www.wholesalehydroflask.com/ . - Erick Torres scored his 10th goal of the season on a stunning volley, and Chivas USA edged 10-man Real Salt Lake 1-0 on Saturday night. Wholesale Hydro Flask Water Bottle . Fielder ended 4-for-5 with a solo homer, while Avila was 4-for-4 with two runs scored for the Tigers, who put the brakes on a three-game skid and rebounded from a loss in Mondays opener. Victor Martinez and Austin Jackson both contributed two hits, an RBI and a run scored as Detroit maintained its healthy lead atop the AL Central. Wholesale Hydro Flask Cheap . Chan captured two silver medals at last months Sochi Winter Games — mens singles and the inaugural team event. But he doesnt have the urge to resume training to defend his world title when the event is held in Saitama, Japan, later this month. TORONTO -- Four games into the MLS season, the Toronto FC training room is packed. And more worrying, it is filled with marquee talent. Toronto (3-1-0) could be without as many as five starters for Saturdays visit by the Colorado Rapids (2-1-1) including two designated players whose combined pay this season is close to US$13 million. Catch the game on TSN starting at 4pm et/1pm pt. England striker Jermain Defoe (hamstring) is out for the second straight week. American midfielder Michael Bradley missed another practice Friday, his body feeling the effects of games for both the U.S. and Toronto last week. "Were giving him every single chance ... well make a decision (Saturday)," manager Ryan Nelsen said of his teams midfield general. Centre back Doneil Henry (knee) will sit out a second straight game. Jonathan Osorio (hamstring) is "probably a no" for the third week in a row and fellow midfielder Alvaro Rey (hamstring) is "very very questionable." Because of injuries and suspensions, Toronto has only five players who have started every game so far: goalkeeper Julio Cesar, defenders Mark Bloom and Justin Morrow and midfielders Bradley and Rey. And that number could be down to three after this weekend. Defoe was sidelined by a hamstring injury at Spurs earlier this season. Nelsen has said the two injuries are not linked and repeated Friday that the England star was dealing with a mild strain. Hamstrings are tricky things, especially for elite soccer players. Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke, for example, ran 12.2 kilometres in Wednesdays Champions League semifinal against Barcelona. Toronto, which has used 19 players to date, has had to put the brakes on Defoe, who has wanted to resume training. Nelsen, however, sees a bigger picture. "The one thing that we dont want is obviously him coming back and getting re-injured. And so if we have to sacrifice an extra week, we have to sacrifice an extra week." Nelsen said the team has been reviewing everything at its disposal -- from heart rate to distance travelled in training -- to see if things could be done differently. The club is also learning the ins and outs of the bodies of new players like Defoe, he added. The TFC manager says there are no alarm bells about the current spate of injuries. A challenging opening to the schedule and the long winter that has kept practices until this week to artificial turf under a bubble at the team training centre havent helped. Most top soccer pros would rather gargle cod liver oil than set foot on artificial turf. Nelsen believes that this is just the kind of injury run that all clubs go through at some point. "It happens at Chelsea, it happens at Man City, it happens at every single club. Hopefully were just getting all of them done now." Said captain Steven Caldwell: "Its disappointing that weve got a few injurries but a lot of them are nobodys fault.dddddddddddd." In the case of Toronto, this is a squad that brought in at least seven new starters this season. Time has been needed on the training ground to get everyone on the same page. Youre damned if you, damned if you dont, Nelsen said of practice regimens. "Because if you pull them out of training and just rest them, then theyre not ready for the demands of a game. Were sitting with three wins because the guys are fit and organized. But we couldnt have done that if we had all wrapped them up in cotton wool." Bradley presents an interesting case in point. Rested this week, he is probably the exception to the rule that starters need to practise. If he doesnt start, speculation will grow that he is dealing with more than the variety of strains the club has pointed to. The good news is the injuries have not slowed Toronto down so far. Missing Defoe, Osorio, Henry and the suspended Caldwell last week, it still managed to topple previously unbeaten Columbus away from home. Also on the plus side, squad players like rookie defender Nick Hagglund and second-year midfielder Kyle Bekker have stepped up. And veteran Bradley Orr showed his moxie in smoothly shifting over to centre back. Nelsen says his reserves have stepped up to the challenge during the current injury glut. But he is not about to say debate over his teams depth is over. "I always got told that anybody can play one, two, three games at any level," he said. "But its the ability to spit them out week in, week out ... thats the mark of what a really good player is." Orr will likely partner Caldwell in central defence with Bekker deputizing for Osorio in midfield again. Dwayne De Rosario could start on the flank for Rey with Issey Nakajima-Farran who scored off the bench last week, possibly partnering Gilberto up front. Jeremy Hall may get the nod if Bradley cant go. The pitch at BMO Field, poor for the home opener thanks to the brutal winter, should be better Saturday although the players know it will take time to return to top condition. "Its not going to be ideal," said Caldwell, who returns from his one-game suspension. Colorado, under new head coach Pablo Mastroeni, has already defeated Portland and Vancouver this season and tied the New York Red Bulls. The lone loss was a 3-2 decision to defending champion Sporting Kansas City. "Theyve got a really nice team thats been around together as well for a bit," said Nelsen. "Theyre a team, for me, that has no real weaknesses. Theyre just a lovely, solid MLS team thats going to be very difficult." Spanish midfielder Jose Mari -- real name Jose Maria Martin Bejarano-Serrano -- introduced himself last week with two goals against Vancouver. The first, a swerving left-footed rocket, was judged the leagues goal of the week. ' ' '