criticism of the pick by ESPN analyst Fran

Not only was Bruno Caboclo a relative unknown to many NBA insiders, but according to Dwane Casey, the 18-year-old Brazilian was a player only a handful of teams knew anything about. The Raptors head coach joined TSN 1050 to shed some light on the teams surprise selection and defend the criticism of the pick by ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla who described Caboclo as being a player that was “two years away from being two years away.” “Which is totally untrue.” Casey said of the criticism. “He is a basketball player. He has NBA skills, but hes just raw. “This is a young man thats going to go through our program, develop and if this young man hits, weve got something special.” Admitting Masai Ujiri was initially set on taking Toronto-native Tyler Ennis, before Phoenix nabbed him two picks prior, Casey commented that the GM felt like his team couldnt wait on taking the teenager with their second round pick because they felt like the Jazz and Suns, who had the 23rd and 27th selections respectively, would have scooped him up. “Originally we wanted to take Tyler Ennis and that was going to be our first pick at 20,” Casey said. “We had heard rumours that either Utah or Phoenix down behind us was going to take Bruno, so thats just when we moved him up and took him at 20.” To scout the Brazilian, Casey headed down to Houston for a pre-draft workout with Ujiri, who went out of his way to keep the visit under the radar, not revealing to his coach which player he was set to scout until he got off the plane. Casey, along with Ujiri came away impressed with what they saw, with the head coach saying Caboclo reminded him of another teenager who came to the league straight out of high school and who would later develop into an all-star forward: Rashard Lewis. “Hes got the athletic talent, the wingspan – hes got the same wingspan as Javhale McGee – hes athletic, has defensive ability, defensive instincts, he can shoot the three ball.” Casey: Caboclo raw, but could be special Vans Old Skool Sale .com) - Houston Texans interim head coach Wade Phillips confirmed Monday that starting quarterback Case Keenum sustained a sprained right thumb during Sundays 25-3 loss in Indianapolis. Cheap Vans Australia . Consider it received. Attacking on offence early and often, the Penguins topped the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Saturday night as Jussi Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to help give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference playoff series. http://www.cheapoldskoolaustralia.com/. "Today was a very great day for me. It was always my dream to be good in GS," Wierather said. "I took quite a long time to get there. It feels awesome to have my first win (in GS)." Wierather leads overall with 595 points from Lara Gut (568), who finished second, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany (535). Cheap Old Skool Australia Free Shipping . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. Wholesale Vans Shoes . On Friday night, after a long rain delay, he was scratched from his scheduled start.PETERBOROUGH, Ont. -- Matt McCartney tied the game at 12:01 of the third period, and Hunter Garlent scored the winner four minutes later as the Peterborough Petes staved off elimination for a third straight time, taking Game 6 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff series against the Kingston Frontenacs 5-4 on Sunday. Nick Ritchie had two goals -- one shorthanded -- and an assist, and Eric Cornel also scored for Peterborough, which lost the first three games of the series before clawing back to take the next three. Garlent picked up two assists for a three-point night. Michael Moffatt and Mikko Vainonen had a goal and an assist, and Evan McEneny and Sam Bennett also scored for the Frontenacs, who had four first-period goals and led 3-0 halfway through the opening frame. Matt Mahalak started in net for Peterborough, but left the game after giving up two goals on five shots through 12:15. Lucas Peressini turrned aside 34-of-37 shots in relief.dddddddddddd Kingstons Andrew DAgostini made 35 saves in the losing effort. The Frontenacs were 3 for 6 on the power play, while the Petes failed to scored on four chances with the man advantage. Game 7 goes Tuesday in Kingston, Ont. --- BATTALION 5 ICEDOGS 1 ST. CATHARINES, Ont. -- Mike Amadio scored two goals and assisted on another as Noth Bay forced Game 7 by tying its first-round playoff series against Niagara 3-3. Dylan Blujus, Brett McKenzie, and Barclay Goodrow also scored for the Battalion, who outshot the IceDogs 39-23. Matt McLeod chipped in with two assists. Matt Gillard had the lone goal for Niagara, which won Games 2, 3 and 4 to take a 3-1 series lead before losing its last two matchups. Battalion goalie Jake Smith made 22 saves in the victory. Brent Moran turned aside 34 shots for the IceDogs. Game 7 goes Tuesday in North Bay, Ont. ' ' '