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Geplaatst: 12-12-2018 02:16:08 Onderwerp: s anticipated, Thursday nights NBA Draft turned o |
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TORONTO - As anticipated, Thursday nights NBA Draft turned out to be a historic evening for Canadian basketball, however the Raptors, the countrys lone team, became reluctant spectators despite their best efforts to get in on the festivities. Authentic DeMarre Carroll Jersey . In many ways it was a celebration of how far the country has come and how much the sport has grown within it. In total, four Canadian players were selected - setting a league record - including three in the top 18, all from the Greater Toronto Area. For the second consecutive year Canada produced the top pick, 19-year-old phenom and Vaughan-native Andrew Wiggins, who will join last years No. 1 selection Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson and Dwight Powell - picked in the second-round of Thursdays draft - in Cleveland. Mississaugas Nik Stauskas followed suit, going to the Sacramento Kings at pick No. 8 before the Phoenix Suns - owners of the 18th pick - nabbed Brampton point guard Tyler Ennis, a player that sat atop the Raptors board when he heard his name called. It was a bittersweet moment for the 19-year-old Ennis, who was finally realizing his lifelong dream, albeit two picks away from beginning his career with his hometown team. The Raptors, drafting 20th, struck out on their top target but it wasnt for a lack of effort or interest. "We tried everything," Dwane Casey admitted shortly after the first-round concluded. "It just didnt work out." Masai Ujiri and his staff tracked Ennis throughout his freshman year at Syracuse and quickly became enamoured with his poise at the point guard position. Until recently they believed there was little chance he would fall to them, or even come close. With his stock fluctuating leading up to the draft, Ujiri hoped Ennis would be available to them, also exploring several scenarios to trade up and even entice the Suns to give him up after the selection had been made. With Ennis off the board, Ujiri opted for the next player on his wish list, Brazilian mystery man Bruno Caboclo "We decided we lost one," said the Raptors general manager, "were not going to lose the other one. So we jumped on it." The Raptors came that close to drafting what would have been the first Canadian selected in their 20-year franchise history, but given the rate in which the country is producing high-level talent its only a matter of time until that vision - which once seemed like a pipe dream - becomes a reality. "Ennis was a target for us but he was picked by another team," Ujiri lamented. "We will have Canadians on our team. Definitely we will have Canadian players on our team. Theyre all over the league now. The last two first picks have been Canadian." "We tried and it didnt work out this time," he continued, "but were glad theres a lot a lot of them in the league and eventually well get a couple of Canadians here, trust me. Itll come, well get them here." Thursday served as a friendly reminder, Canada isnt going anywhere. After hemming and hawing for weeks, the Cavaliers finally decided on Wiggins with their No. 1 overall pick. Decked out in a captivating black suit decorated with white floral print and topped off with a black bow tie, the one and done Kansas star couldnt hide his joy when first-year commissioner Adam Silver called his name. "A thousand thoughts are going through my head right now," Wiggins said minutes later. "Its a dream come true. Ive been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid. My dream was just to make the NBA and now going to high school and college the opportunity of going number one came into talk and now I accomplished that. So its a crazy feeling right now. I dont even know how I feel. It doesnt feel real right now." "I always believed it," Stauskas added. "I believed in myself and I dont think many other people did but this is something Ive always felt is a possibility for me and I just kept working my hardest to make it happen. Its a cliche but dreams really do come true when you put all your effort into it." What could this night mean for the country? "I just think its huge," Wiggins said. "It opens doors for all the youth and everyone in Canada. It gives them hope. Because coming up when I was Canada, I wasnt ranked or nothing, I wasnt known. I didnt have no offers or anything like that. But I just kept my head straight and kept working on my game and look where I am today. So I just think it gives everyone hope that they can do the same thing and accomplish whatever I do because its possible if they work hard." The Raptors, like most of the 29 other teams, did pass up on four other eligible Canadians that went undrafted Thursday. Montreals Khem Birch, Calgarys Jordan Bachynski, Toronto-native and reigning Big 12 player of the year Melvin Ejim and the 7-foot-5 Sim Bhullar, also from the Toronto area, didnt hear their name called. Instead, Toronto opted for UConn forward DeAndre Daniels with an early second-round pick and traded the 59th overall pick to the Brooklyn Nets. Ujiri has maintained that if and when the Raptors do add a Canadian he wont be employed for his passport and he wont be sitting at the end of the bench. The pressure surrounding that type of player in that situation would be unfair, hes said. All four of the undrafted Canadian players are expected to catch on with Summer League teams, hoping to earn a spot on an NBA roster before weighing their options overseas or in the D-League. Authentic Shabazz Napier Jersey .com) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos had an arthroscopic procedure performed on his right elbow last week, the teams official site reported Wednesday. Authentic Kenneth Faried Jersey . "Theyve been good against everybody," he said. Carlos Gomez launched a three-run homer and Matt Garza battled into the seventh inning for his first win in four starts to help the Brewers continue their mastery of the Rockies with a 7-4 victory Saturday. http://www.cheapnetsjerseysauthentic.com/ .com)LeBron clearly likes his Italian sports cars, and thats ok with me, so up next up is the 458 Spider.SAN JOSE, Calif. - Joe Thornton figured he would just toss the puck into a dangerous area and trust that someone would be there.Brent Burns scored a power-play goal 4:22 into overtime after Thornton assisted on San Joses tying tally, and the Sharks rallied past the St. Louis Blues 3-2 Saturday night for their season-best fifth straight victory.Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored with 21 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game for the Sharks. Thornton dug the puck out of the corner before delivering the pass.It was a good all-around game with two good teams going at it, Thornton said. We waited for the last minute to score in regulation and we waited until the last minute to score in overtime. I just figured somebody was going to be there.Vlasic was the recipient of the pass and converted his fourth of the season.Smart man, Vlasic said of Thornton. Theres a lot of ice available and with Jumbo making that pass, hes not going to miss. It took a lot against a good defensive team. We found a way to get a late goal, but we had a lot of opportunities before that. Its nice to get the win the way we did.Steve Ott scored his first goal in 10 months late in the second period to put the Blues ahead.The most disappointing part of it is team-wise we played extremely well and we didnt get the job done, Ott said. Collectively we made some mistakes and unfortunately those mistakes happened late in the game and in overtime.Patrick Berglund also scored for the Blues, who endured their second straight disappointing defeat. St. Louis lost 6-4 to the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings on Thursday after holding a 3-0 lead.Were an upper-echelon team and we have to show we can close ouut games, Ott said. Wholesale Nets Jerseys. . San Jose, Los Angeles, those are the cream of the crop and those are the teams we want to beat.Andrew Desjardins had a goal for the Sharks, and Antti Niemi made 18 saves.Jake Allen stopped 27 shots for the Blues.Ott scored his first goal with the Blues in his 55th game. He had played 59 games since scoring against the Edmonton Oilers as a member of the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 3.Desjardins scored midway through the second period after taking a pass from Justin Braun off the boards on Allens stick side and getting the puck to bounce off the goalies body from an extreme angle.I would have liked to have the first one back, Allen said. That was an unacceptable goal.Berglund backhanded a rebound off Niemis pads to tie it with 5:31 remaining in the second. Alex Pietrangelo ripped a shot from the blue line to set up Berglund.Maxim Lapierre led Ott with a nice pass and he finished the 1-on-1 against Niemi.Burns acknowledged he shot the game-winner as hard as he could.He has a shot, doesnt he? Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. He put himself in a good position, created a shooting lane. The pass was in his wheelhouse; he just pounded away at it. Its hard to stop a shot that fast and quick.NOTES: Blues C David Backes became the 10th player in franchise history to appear in 600 career games. ... Sharks D Mirco Mueller will play for Switzerland in the World Junior Championships that begin next week in Canada. ... Thornton moved into a 22nd-place tie with Phil Esposito on the career assists list with 873. ... The Sharks announced their first sellout in 11 games. San Jose had a 205-game sellout streak that ended earlier in the year. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' ' |
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