TORONTO - Bruno Caboclo, the Raptors 20th overall selection in Thursdays NBA
Draft, arrived in Toronto Friday evening.
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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."
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Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.NEW YORK -- Major
League Soccer has fined Toronto FC coach Ryan Nelsen an undisclosed amount for
criticizing the officiating after Torontos 2-2 draw with Sporting Kansas City on
Friday. Nelsen was upset with a straight red card given to defender Steven
Caldwell for a high tackle on Sportings Antonio Dovale and with a penalty
awarded to Kansas City late in the game. "If they gave Steven a yellow, nobody
would have blinked an eyelid, nobody would have worried about it," Nelsen told
MLSSoccer.com after the game. "But because (referee Baldomero Toledo) has set a
precedent throughout his refereeing career that he always likes to influence
games, he decided to give a red for what was really a yellow card." Nelsen also
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to himself Its not a penalty." The leagues disciplinary committee also warned
the Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders for violating its mass
confrontation policy in a 2-2 draw on Saturday. Additionally, the committee
fined Vancouver midfielder Pedro Morales for contact to the head of an opponent
and Seattle forward Chad Barrett for escalating the incident.
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