Post by kelvin on Oct 2, 2008 23:24:13 GMT -5
www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/story/2008/10/02/nba-raptors-bosh.html
The doors opened to the Ravens Nest gym at Ottawa's Carleton University on Thursday and in walked the first two arrivals for Toronto Raptors practice: rookie Roko Ukic and all-star centre Chris Bosh.
The two players arrived on the first bus normally reserved for youngsters and newcomers, but Bosh was keen to get on the court.
The 24-year-old Raptors captain and three-time NBA all-star is just over a month removed from his victory at the Beijing Olympics with Team USA, a performance that earned him rave reviews and forever changed him as a player.
Bosh is confident he can bring what he learned in Beijing into his sixth NBA season and, coming off two straight seasons as first-round playoff fodder, that is good news for the Raptors.
"Winning always creates experience and then, in a playoff situation like the gold-medal round, nerves are high and tension is high and that really helps your experience," Bosh said. "That is what experience is — being in the guts of the game and playing when you have something on the line."
The difference in Bosh has not gone unnoticed by his Raptors teammates and the coaching staff.
"He is in better condition than he ever has been, in terms of the approach into camp," Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said. "I think it is going to really help him not only be ready for what is to come, but it is going to help him avoid injury, which has always been a bit of a concern in the onset of camp."
Bosh also knows what it feels like to win.
"I think just the experience of winning gold, that taste of winning gold, he wants to win a championship now, and feel that too," said teammate Jason Kapono.
Bosh led the U.S. team in rebounding (6.1 per game) and shooting percentage (77.4) in China, and, in the final, went back in the game with just under four minutes to play when the score was close.
He was only subbed off in the dying seconds, when the Americans had pushed the game out of reach.
Colangelo was in Beijing for the Games and said a day didn't go by that American head coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't pull him aside to tell him how well his young player was doing.
"To see him play such an integral part of that team, he clearly belongs in that group, but you never know how someone's role will be defined," Colangelo said. "Dwight Howard was somewhat assigned as the starter, but Chris was clearly the big man with the biggest impact on that team.
"Chris became the piece that was the biggest difference there and I know he had a very rewarding experience. I have got to say I was proud to be watching him participate in that whole thing."
Selfless style
Bosh was singled out for his selfless style in Beijing, happy to take on more of a defensive role on a team well stocked with scorers.
"He understood his role defending, rebounding, everything," said Raptors point guard Jose Calderon, who was part of the Spanish national team that won silver in Beijing.
"Sometimes, it is not really important just to score and I think he did everything. He did an unbelievable job."
Bosh hopes to use his focus on defence to set an example for his teammates in Toronto.
"I can challenge other guys because they have seen me do it," he said. "When I ask somebody to play defence, they will listen to me."
Bosh will get some help this season from newcomer Jermaine O'Neal, the six-time all-star forward acquired in the trade that sent T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic to the Indiana Pacers.
"I have had to guard him and the defence was a challenge, even on help side, it's unbelievable what he can do," Bosh said. "I'd beat my man a couple of times and then I'd have to beat him too."
YouTube sensation
Bosh has shown steady improvement since the Raptors drafted the Georgia Tech product fourth overall in 2003, and his personality has come out with his growth as a player.
The quiet guy-turned-comedian has become a bit of a YouTube sensation, sparked by his Internet plea to vote him onto last year's NBA all-star team.
"It's funny, it's good," Kapono said of Bosh's online antics.
"Everyone sees Chris more as a quiet guy, but the more he's around you and the more he gets to know you, he can open up. I think, as his career carries on, the media and the public will start to see that side of him more often."
The Dallas native, who's earned the reputation as one of the league's quirkier stars, followed up his all-star video with several Internet clips where he played a nerdy British journalist.
He also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as a correspondent for the NBA finals, and did a video blog from the Beijing Olympics.
The doors opened to the Ravens Nest gym at Ottawa's Carleton University on Thursday and in walked the first two arrivals for Toronto Raptors practice: rookie Roko Ukic and all-star centre Chris Bosh.
The two players arrived on the first bus normally reserved for youngsters and newcomers, but Bosh was keen to get on the court.
The 24-year-old Raptors captain and three-time NBA all-star is just over a month removed from his victory at the Beijing Olympics with Team USA, a performance that earned him rave reviews and forever changed him as a player.
Bosh is confident he can bring what he learned in Beijing into his sixth NBA season and, coming off two straight seasons as first-round playoff fodder, that is good news for the Raptors.
"Winning always creates experience and then, in a playoff situation like the gold-medal round, nerves are high and tension is high and that really helps your experience," Bosh said. "That is what experience is — being in the guts of the game and playing when you have something on the line."
The difference in Bosh has not gone unnoticed by his Raptors teammates and the coaching staff.
"He is in better condition than he ever has been, in terms of the approach into camp," Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said. "I think it is going to really help him not only be ready for what is to come, but it is going to help him avoid injury, which has always been a bit of a concern in the onset of camp."
Bosh also knows what it feels like to win.
"I think just the experience of winning gold, that taste of winning gold, he wants to win a championship now, and feel that too," said teammate Jason Kapono.
Bosh led the U.S. team in rebounding (6.1 per game) and shooting percentage (77.4) in China, and, in the final, went back in the game with just under four minutes to play when the score was close.
He was only subbed off in the dying seconds, when the Americans had pushed the game out of reach.
Colangelo was in Beijing for the Games and said a day didn't go by that American head coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't pull him aside to tell him how well his young player was doing.
"To see him play such an integral part of that team, he clearly belongs in that group, but you never know how someone's role will be defined," Colangelo said. "Dwight Howard was somewhat assigned as the starter, but Chris was clearly the big man with the biggest impact on that team.
"Chris became the piece that was the biggest difference there and I know he had a very rewarding experience. I have got to say I was proud to be watching him participate in that whole thing."
Selfless style
Bosh was singled out for his selfless style in Beijing, happy to take on more of a defensive role on a team well stocked with scorers.
"He understood his role defending, rebounding, everything," said Raptors point guard Jose Calderon, who was part of the Spanish national team that won silver in Beijing.
"Sometimes, it is not really important just to score and I think he did everything. He did an unbelievable job."
Bosh hopes to use his focus on defence to set an example for his teammates in Toronto.
"I can challenge other guys because they have seen me do it," he said. "When I ask somebody to play defence, they will listen to me."
Bosh will get some help this season from newcomer Jermaine O'Neal, the six-time all-star forward acquired in the trade that sent T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic to the Indiana Pacers.
"I have had to guard him and the defence was a challenge, even on help side, it's unbelievable what he can do," Bosh said. "I'd beat my man a couple of times and then I'd have to beat him too."
YouTube sensation
Bosh has shown steady improvement since the Raptors drafted the Georgia Tech product fourth overall in 2003, and his personality has come out with his growth as a player.
The quiet guy-turned-comedian has become a bit of a YouTube sensation, sparked by his Internet plea to vote him onto last year's NBA all-star team.
"It's funny, it's good," Kapono said of Bosh's online antics.
"Everyone sees Chris more as a quiet guy, but the more he's around you and the more he gets to know you, he can open up. I think, as his career carries on, the media and the public will start to see that side of him more often."
The Dallas native, who's earned the reputation as one of the league's quirkier stars, followed up his all-star video with several Internet clips where he played a nerdy British journalist.
He also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as a correspondent for the NBA finals, and did a video blog from the Beijing Olympics.