KO in Southern Cal and CB at the video thing. What a weekend

We’re almost there, almost draft day, almost time to move on to free agency and figuring out that future plans regarding Marion, Parker, Graham and Delfino. Really, the fun never ends.

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First, the news.

There is none.

Despite their best intentions, the Raptors couldn’t piece together any workout for this week so we’re left to do nothing but try to unearth news on the phone and texts and then speculate to our hearts content between now and Thursday night.

That ought to be fun, no?

Seriously, though, they were tying to get Tyreke Evans in for a session, as Jim Kelly told us last week, and probably a couple of others like Stephen Curry, who blew them off after every invitation.

They have, however, seen everyone who’d be legitimately on their list for No. 9, at least the list hinted at by Bryan last week. That’d be Holiday and Flynn, DeRozan and Johnson and Hill, if he falls.

What’s it all mean?

I was speaking to a few people in the organization over the course of the weekend and, honestly, they have no idea whatsoever what’s going to go on above them in the draft, and that’s really ticking them off.

They’ll be working the phones harder than I will be this week, primarily figuring out what Washington, Golden State and Minnesota are going to do. Those are the biggest wild cards out there.

They remain, today, steadfast that the top picks are Griffin, Thabeet, Rubio, Harden and Evans but after that? No real clue.

And that’s what’s going to make this week so interesting. .I warn you, however, most of what you’ll read is utter speculation, some of it is blatantly manufactured “news” (like the breathless headlines that say: “Such-and-such a team open to trade” since every team in the NBA is open to a trade under the right circumstances) and some of it is pure fiction.

Have a nice week.

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As the wise man once said

Oooooh!!! And. Boy!!!!! KO to USC?

God help the Pac-10 lamps.

Three things questions come to mind:

Don’t they read the Arizona papers?

Don’t they check references?

Is the AD on crack?

Seriously, folks, when I heard that news on Saturday afternoon, that our old friend and nemesis got one of the higher profile college jobs seemingly out of nowhere, I was almost speechless, a very rare happenstance.

Now, I don’t mind KO, kind of like him in his vulgar, quirky “Screw-the-world, I’m-KO-and-you’re-not” mentality and he does have some attributes that would make a good coach. But the dude also, apparently, has about 90 lives and to say it was surprising that he got the USC gig was an understatement.

And I’m not entirely sure that if KO showed up in my living room, asking me to entrust my teenage son to his guidance for even a couple of years, I’d sign those scholarship papers.

I’m trying to think of the best KO story I can tell here and there are almost too many.

There was the time he had us banished – for one game at least – to the other end of press row at the Air Canada Centre because one of us had the temerity to report what he’d screamed at the top of his lungs in front of us on the bench.

There was the time he really played corporate good boy by telling RaptorsTV – when they asked some lame Oct. 31 question about a favourite Halloween memory – “will the (expletive) ridiculousness never end?”

There was the time he came into a post-game bistro on a Friday night after a big win over the Knicks to get cheers from the assembled imbibers and then told one of us: “If you write that, I’ll kill you.”

And there was the day – the day Bryan Colangelo traded Stephon Marbury to the Knicks, as a matter of fact – that I sat with him in that same jam-packed bistro, trying to get reaction to the trade, while he persisted in cheering for the US over Canada in a world junior hockey final, much to the vocal chagrin of the inhabitants of that jam-packed bistro.

I have no idea how he’ll do as the USC coach (although I guarantee you it doesn’t end well whenever it ends) but I also know I’ll be paying more attention to them now.

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So I’m flipping through the dial last night and there’s good old Chris Bosh at the Much Music Video Awards and I’m thinking:

Imagine that, on a Sunday night in June, a 25-year-old kid with an interest in video and music is taking part in one of the more prestigious (or so I assume) events on the music video calendar instead of being in some gym working on his drop step and jump shot before he lifted weights.

Trade his sorry, non-competitive ass, I say.

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This is pretty big and even if you don’t care about such things, you probably should if you want a grasp on where the Canadian teams are sitting in international play.

The Cadets – 15 year olds coached by Roy Rana – beat Venezuela yesterday at a qualification tournament in Argentina to grab the third and final berth in next year’s Under-16 world championships in Germany.

Cadets (and Cadettes for the girls) is being contested world-wide for the first time under the auspices of FIBA and it’s a pretty big deal that Canada qualified for the worlds.

It’s another step to give our young players great experience and exposure to the international game, which is a much more realistic long-term goal for them to pursue.

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Oh yeah, I had no idea who Lady Gaga was until that flipping through the dial thing last night but now I believe I must run out today and buy all her 8-tracks.

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And this goes to that early point:

Q:Hey Doug, My question was concerning the top Canadian recruits like Tristan Thompson opting to not play for the country and instead choosing to attend the summer camp. From your reaction, it would be fair to assume that you expected them to play for Canada.

My question can you really blame him for skipping the tourney? I mean, there's no guarantee that he's gonna make the NBA and make a ton of money, so why wouldn't he attend the camp to get as much exposure as he can and also possibly open some doors for endorsements?

It seems pretty reasonable to me cuz if he's good enough to play for Canada, that opportunity will present itself in the future too. Things like money are no guarantee however.

Harsh D, Mississauga

A: As a matter of fact, after spending part of a delightful night in Hamilton on Saturday (yes, I said “delightful night in Hamilton” with a straight face), I can report that both Thompson and Cory Joseph are going to join Greg Francis’s squad for the coming world juniors in New Zealand.

And that’s the right thing to do, as I’ve mentioned often.

And here’s the answer to your question: Everyone in North American who follows teenage basketball (the good folks and the bad ones) know who the top kids are. People in Europe don’t. It makes far, far more sense to me to join a national team program that’s going to be seen by talent scouts of the European Leagues – as well as the NBA – and get your name in front of more people.

Going to a silly shoe company camp to play the same guys in front of the same people making money for the same “advisors” is far less important, in my opinion, that broadening both your personal and basketball horizons by facing the best players your age in the world.

And, believe me, no one who doesn’t “make the NBA and make a ton of money” is getting any kind of lucrative endorsement because they went to some summer camp in North America.

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One more on that video thingy:

How come they have all this great young talent on display and then a relatively old group that I’ve heard of, for God’s sake, wins the big award? Seems odd to me.

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Comments

[SteveG]

I remember when KO used to be screaming his head off on the sidelines, and a couple of times (when the games were on Rogers Sportsnet), there must have been a mic near by, and you could hear him...

"SET THE (expletive) SCREEN!!!!"

aimed at Jerome Moiso most of the time I'm pretty sure!

[pete]

Hey Doug, I strongly recommend you, or people who don;t hink bosh is working hard enough, take a look at this video, at least he isn;t doing this

http://www.everyjoe.com/expertfantasy/amare-stoudemire-dance-video-yo-gabba-gabba/#more-596

[Bob]

Hey doug can you tell us what channel the draft will be on

Blogger's note: Dude, I did. To a question you asked yesterday. Go find it.

[LeeZ]

Doug, what did you make of BC's comments to The Fan about signing and trading Bosh? He made it seem like a foregone conclusion that Bosh won't sign an extension (an outcome that makes sense, given Bosh's stated intentions), but then goes on to say that the S&T is a win-win for Bosh/the Raps without EVEN ONCE saying anything remotely close to "well, of course we'd love to have Chris back". It could be argued that BC's intention to offer Bosh the extension, in the face of Bosh's insistence that he won't sign it, is merely a PR ploy, and that far more indicative of BC's mindset is all the talk he devoted to the S&T and the TOTAL ABSENCE of talk he devoted to wanting to keep Bosh on. BC is nothing if not a slick and effective communicator, so my take is that his failure to mention a desire to keep Chris on (apart from the pro forma offer of an extension to a player who clearly doesn't want it) is deliberate. Doug, please read the tea leaves and give us your thoughts.

Blogger's note: I'm not sure what out-of-touch website dredged up that old news on the weekend but it's about 10 days old; nothing new and, yes, they have said all along that sign-and-trade is an option. But as for it being a "foregone conclusion" he never, ever, ever was expected to sign an extension this summer. Next year? If the team's good, I can see him coming back; but that's a year away.

[Jon C]

Thanks for the insight as usual. Looking forward to the draft and watching B-Co's team work 'on the fly'.

MMVA's you're absolutely right about the old bands. I've seen a lot of that criticism online this morning.

Good luck with Lady Gaga - hope you don't mind getting your ears dirty...

[Kelsie]

KO took the USC job? Yikes! After Coach Floyd's alleged violations and the mass exodus of it's players,(Derozan, Gibson, Hackett) that program is going to take awhile to rebuild. One thing i'll say about him is I've never seen a Raptor team play better defence than when he was coach.....then again we averaged about 80 points a game no?

Quick question Doug. Did we ever have in Jeff Teague from Wake for a work out? I remember they had Johnson in but I can't remember if Teague worked out for us before that.

Blogger's note: No, Teague did not work out here.

[Stephen]

"And there was the day – the day Bryan Colangelo traded Stephon Marbury to the Knicks, as a matter of fact – that I sat with him in that same jam-packed bistro, trying to get reaction to the trade, while he persisted in cheering for the US over Canada in a world junior hockey final, much to the vocal chagrin of the inhabitants of that jam-packed bistro. "

Heh, that's pretty admirable, actually.

Wait, was that the year of the famous Canada / US shootout? I think it lines up....

[kazbid]

hey doug...in regards to all the guys who didnt work out here:

did the raps brass see them workout at all? as in at the workouts held by other teams? I'm just curious how BC will evaluate these guys in the case that one of those players like evans or curry is available at #9 or will BC stick to picking one of the guys he has seen workout in TO?

I've seen evans listed as going as high as 5 and as low as 20 in various mock drafts.

Sorry, one more question: don't guys who are gonna go in the 10-30 range often have just as much potential to be good players? like im sure ty lawson is gonna be as good as one of the top 10 PG's if not better..and even wayne ellington..the guy seems like he'll be a solid NBA player...its really hard to say who is going to be a "go-to guy" or "all-star" but with guys from good schools..you know you at least get a good role player..if not a starting calibre player

Blogger's note: They've either seen them at mass workouts or a handful of times in the season, yes; and, sure, that's what makes this draft so interesting, the guys between 7 and about 25 are pretty much the same at the moment.

[John S.]

KO seemed like a good enough guy when he was recruiting William Gates to come to Marquette in Hoop Dreams. That said, I'm sure that you've got a lot more insight on KO than what was shown in his 2 minutes in Hoop Dreams.

[Sean H]

Hey Doug,

Any reaction to the reports about D Wade saying he will sign the extension this summer? Can't remember where I read it last night ( I think hoops hype ). Anyway you didn't make mention of it this morning. Thoughts?

Blogger's note: I think he stopped short of saying 100 per cent that he'd sign but if he decides to remain in Miami it's not at all surprising to me, I never thought he'd leave.

[chris]

That shoe company camp -- wasn't it a US high school select team that played in the same tournament as the Canada under-19s etc?

Blogger's note: It was a team sponsored by a shoe company at the tournament and there are a handful of other "events" in a summer.

[Tim W.]

Doug, you know some of the less sarcastically-inclined readers are going to misconstrue your comment about Bosh.

As for Colangelo's sign and trade comment, it was one of RealGM's headlines that I often find hilarious (although they just reprint and link to other news sites). Wow, Colangelo is open to signing and trading a player rather than lose him for nothing if that's what it comes to. Why exactly is this news? Anyone with a brain would have guessed that already.

[jim t]

Mr.Smith I see you woke up on the wild side of bed 2day,FANtastic,lol,dude u funny.Thx for the K>Ohhh! stories.It seems the heat has gotten to some exec out in candy land and I agree I dont see it ending well.

[Rob]

Great blog Doug. Quick question about the raps and the draft. Any more talk about the raptors buying another pick for later in the draft? And if they do, who they might be targeting? Someone from Europe possibly? That Omri Casspi kid from Maccabi Tel-Aviv might be a good fit as far as I can tell. Thanks Doug and keep up the great work.

Blogger's note: No, same old story. If there's someone they like at a spot where they might be able to do something, they'll try. But it is certainly not cast in stone

[Dub]

If something bigger than a #9 draft goes down on Thursday, how do you get the inside info? Conference call? Text? Do tell.

Blogger's note: Um, I can't really say until it happens. Maybe a call, maybe an e-mail, maybe a text, maybe simply bumping into someone in a hallway.

[LeeZ]

Just to clarify my earlier post. Of course it's normal/realistic/reasonable that BC would talk about the Sign and Trade option for Bosh. I have no issue with that whatsoever. What I did find curious was more what BC DIDN'T say (we would love to have CB back) than what he DID (a sign and trade is a win-win for both Bosh and Raps). So I guess my question was, is BC (a) resigned to losing Bosh and simply hoping to get something back; (b) not interested in having him back at max dollars; or (c) none of the above?

Blogger's note: I didn't hear the interview but I've spoken to Bryan since and before and there's no reason whatsoever to think he's resigned to anyone leaving. His first priority is to surround Bosh with enough good players and a successful team that he'll want to play. I think far too much is being read into this one interview and that comes from a guy who talks to the GM very frequently.

[CC]

Hi Doug,
What would you consider a "good" team next year? Make the playoffs with below .500 regular season record or not make it but above .500?

Blogger's note: Next year? Can we get through this week? But I will say no team that loses more than it wins can be considered good.

[Damian]

Hey Doug...

How accurate would you say this profile is on Derozan...

"Super athletic wing player with all the natural tools and physical attributes NBA scouts look for at his position. Excellent in transition, shows a smooth looking mid-range stroke, and appears to have all kinds of talent. Very raw in the half-court, not a great ball-handler or shot-creator, struggles from beyond the arc, not much of a passer, and lacks fundamentals defensively. Clearly has a huge upside, but was not productive at the college level on a regular basis, until the last month of the season, where he really shined."

Thanks...

Blogger's note: A fairly good assessment.

[Silverback]

Doug,

This is not specifically related to anything in your blog today. Just wanted to say - good job on the daily blog. Your blog is my first Raptors related stop each day. Obviously it takes commitment and work to produce a daily blog, something your newspaper colleagues in town do not do on a daily basis.

However, your contempt for other bloggers and websites really tarnishes your writing sometimes. I understand why you have contempt for some of them - some are poorly written; by non journalists; full of gossip, unsubstantiated rumors ... However, some are quite good. And the reality is they are here to stay in all of sports, and entertainment, like it or not. I just think that it would be nice once in while to tone down the disdain for at least some of them and acknowledge that some are trying to maintain some integrity, provide worthwhile information and build fan interest. I'm sure that's how the teams view these websites and blogs - love/hate.

End of rant. Keep up the great work.

[fg]

geez Dougie,
the guy asked what channel is the draft on, maybe he missed the reply from yesterday, you dont have to act like a DONKEY.. becuase he missed your reply. not hard to skip over comments.

Maybe he had to get back to work and lost track, we do have jobs and other things to do, then just wait and see if your reply is ready for us...........
your out of line....

what channel is the draft on?

Blogger's note: Yeah, perhaps all that happened. And, perhaps, if someone's obviously going to take the time to check here and go to the trouble of making a comment, he or she could look back half a dozen posts, see his or her own name and open it. Or not.
But thanks for taking such a great interest in the issue.
And name-calling is always a classy retort.

[Lavi]

Doug,
Regarding the "CANADA BEATS VENEZUELA TO QUALIFY FOR 2010 U17 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP" link you posted, why in the world did that story not make it to The Star paper? Perhaps if this got more attention from the media, then it would spark an interest in Canadians.

[Victor]

Doug,

I am a big fan of your blog and have been following it consistently for the past season. Your work is insightful and a good read. However, I believe you are slightly out of line with the whole "What channel is the draft on" ordeal.

I am in no way trying to offend you, but like what FG said (albeit harshly) perhaps the inital person skipped over the comments section from the day before. It would not be the first time something like that happened where you experience redundancy in questions, nor the last.

I agree with you that name calling is not classy and not the right response to this situation, but neither is taking a berating, sarcastic tone in your retorts. We understand you are human, but you are also a professional whose occupation is to provide fan interaction, and I would like to believe that the interaction should be positive. As well, you (perhaps purposely) did not answer the question again about the channel.

All in all, he crossed the line calling you names, but your reply did not exemplify much maturity either. Please keep in mind that without readers, there would be no blog, and for others like FG, without the blog, there would be no readers.

Blogger's note: I answered the question Sunday and pointed out the answer Monday. Not sure what else I can do.
The draft is on The Score.

[AAAA]

Hey Doug...
"In fact, one source close to the Raptors insisted Sunday that it was Holiday, not DeRozan, whom the Raptors would select in this scenario. We'll be watching that one closely. "

What is an example of 'one source close'? It frustrates me to no end knowing that one source close could be a fan. Are there any morals, laws...etc in sports journalism about lying about sources? Obviously Chad Ford is a credible writer...

Blogger's note: It comes down to a matter of trust; if you trust the writer to have credible sources, fine; if you don't, that's fine, too.

[Stan Kozinar]

Doug what have you heard about the AP and Olympiacos contract negotiation stuff floating around the internet today?

Blogger's note: It's just that, stuff that's floating around the internet but I don't think anyone should be remotely surprised that European teams are interested in Parker. And it's going to be up to AP to weigh the various offers -- if they materialize. And I warn you, it's a long, long way from internet chatter to a firm offer from any European team. I have not heard that anything from any team in Greece is remotely close to "firm."

[Michel G]

To whom it may concern: There are plenty of sites that allows one to search when a particular show is scheduled in your area and on which channel. A good one is zap2it.com.