A star turn by a young Raptor and what's next?

Okay, think today might be a day to sit back and figure out precisely what this space is for the summer since basketball is going to be such a small part of the next few months.

And while I do that, here’s a series of rather unrelated items to keep you wildly entertained.

Honest.

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So the world juniors come to an end, Lithuania wins the gold and Your Boy Jonas averages 23 points, 13.9 rebounds, about 3 blocks per game, shoots 81 per cent from the free throw line and 59.5 per cent from field and is the most valuable player of the tournament.

And some of you, judging by the e-mails I get and little tweet things I read, are all agog over him.

And why not?

The kid does seem to have something that makes people sit up and take notice although I couldn’t get anything official from any NBA guy who took in the end of the tournament because they’re not ready to eat the $1 million fine for talking about players during the lockout.

Suffice it say they were impressed by him, so much so that Toronto’s selection of him with the No. 5 pick in the draft is now thought in some circles as the biggest steal of the night.

Now, the world juniors isn’t the highest calibre basketball ever played by it is good, it is very emotional and intense and for Valanciunas to elevate his game on that stage speaks as much to his personality as his talents.

Good players who have a chance to be great always tend to dominate when they should and that’s precisely what he did. He didn’t play down to any level of his competition, by all accounts he never loafed when he was playing weak opposition and that’s as impressive to me as anything he did statistically.

And his summer is going to keep getting busier with greater challenges ahead.

He’s likely to be named to Lithuania’s senior team – the one that will try to qualify for the 2012 Olympics when it hosts Eurobasket 2011 later this summer and I think that’ll give us another, truer, indication of what seem to be prodigious talents.

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Damn.

Missed the Festival Of Loud Cars again this year.

I’m not sure what would top the list of Things I’d Avoid Like The Plague but if I had to come up with three, it’d be:

Auto racing

I don’t get it, it’s always too hot and way, way, way, way too loud.

Davis or Fed Cup tennis

Yeah, I usually poach a day or two of the men’s or women’s event up at York and it’s not a bad time at all; watching relatively unknown Canadians play totally unknown players from other countries on the off-chance they win and become fodder for the really good countries does nothing for me.

UFC

Seriously, you cannot imagine the depth of my disdain for that.

Tomorrow?

Maybe three things I like to steal each summer.

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Hey, you guys all saw that Ettore Messina hooked up with the Lakers, right?

He’s something called a “coaching consultant” to head coach Mike Brown and, no, I’m not sure exactly what that means, either.

I don’t imagine they would ask a coach of Messina’s pedigree – a handful of EuroLeague titles amassed over the years – to do a lot of the scut work normally done by assistants and I bet he’s more a resource for Brown than someone who’s going to take orders and carry out wishes.

And, no, I don’t think he’s nearly head coaching material yet because he’s not fully cognizant of what goes into an NBA season but, maybe, if he sits and watches and sees the interaction between coaches and players, coaches and GMs, coaches and the media for a year or two, he’ll be ready to move into the big chair.

If he wants and I wonder if, when he sees how much of a players’ league this is, he might not run from North America like his hair was on fire.

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So, because I don’t particularly have a life and spend too much time of it reading stuff on this machine, I noticed that Nolan Richardson resigned as head coach of the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock.

First reaction:

Just another college guy who couldn’t cut it in the pros.

Seriously, name me the last high-profile guy – heck, name me the last no-profile guy – who went from the NCAA to the NBA and succeeded?

Guess it carries over in the women’s game, too.

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One of the great treats of the weekend was getting some stuff done Sunday afternoon around the house, hanging out on the couch after the Jays game and getting to listen to Vin Scully work solo on the Dodger-Padre telecast.

I cannot imagine how hard it is to carry a TV baseball game by yourself, but Scully carries it off like no one else, dropping in anecdotes and stats and personal reminiscences that simply make it a joy to listen to.

I’d hope that in every sports broadcast school in North America that kids are made to listen to endless hours of Scully games to find the right conversational tone to carry it off.

To me, the excess verbiage of a multi-man booth, where broadcasters must think they’re being paid by the word, is the worst thing about sports on television.

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Hey, did those wacky Royals get out of here yet?

Guess they couldn’t find time to knock on the door here and say hello; after all, I tried to by his parents’ place when I was in London in March and you’d think they’d pay a return visit.

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I’m not sure what happened at the coaches meeting on Friday night but for some reason, the ‘e’ key on the old Blackberry Curve has stopped working and if you think it’s easy to spend a weekend answering e-mails while out or conversing on BBM without that letter, you’re dead wrong.

That means a trip to the office where they might once again suggest some sort of IPhone thing which I will resist at all costs.

I don’t know about you, but I really need the tactile feeling of a raised keypad when I type.

Old fashioned? Maybe. But who cares, right?

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Hey, I hear we might get official announcement of Dwane’s coaching staff this week, perhaps as early as today.

Guess they just want to get it over with so there are guys with titles and nothing to officially do.

Imagine it’s as has been reported: The only holdovers will be Micah Nori and Scott Roth (goodbye, Alex; so long P.J.) and Johnny Davis will move up here from Memphis.

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Comments

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug,

Regarding the purging of the assistants, does this include Alvin too?

What kind of playing time do you see Jonas getting with the Senior club?

Oh, and I hope you get the chance to shut the blog down for a bit and take a family vacation. Unless of course therenis some iron-man record involved, in which case, you're up to bat Mr. Ripken.

Ciao amigo,

marc in panama

Blogger's note: Al's front office now; a Henchman In Training; Valanciunas will likely be a backup at Eurobasket

[LeeZ]

Regarding your disdain for Canadian Davis Cup and Fed Cup matches, yes, I can see your points. However, some of those points might be changing. Canada is starting to rise up the ladder. For example, we just this weekend beat Ecuador, a team ranked higher than us, and accomplished this without our star player (ranked 26th in the world), Milos Raonic. With any luck, we will soon be in the World Group, which means that one of your complaints (playing against totally unknown players) is about to change in a BIG way. The same is true of the women's side, where Rebecca Marino is in the top 30s in the world, Alexandra Wozniaki is fast regaining her old form and Eugénie Bouchard is the 6th ranked junior in the world. But forgetting all of that, Davis/Fed Cup presents tennis as a team sport (coaching allowed throughout, fellow team members seated courtside cheering on their mates), which is a neat perspective.

[Dave in BG]

Good on the Big V for his performance in the U19 tourney.
IF he progresses and becomes a good NBA player, I look forward to seeing all the Draft-night naysayers admit they were wrong.
Naaah, I know it wont happen. Not even one of them. *Sigh*

[JHK]

UFC? That's a bold statement...
I wouldn't pay a dime for the ticket myself but I'm sure there are lots of meat heads on this board that will eat your opinion out.
But then again, I'm sure you don't care.
Here are my top 3 plagues:
Auto racing - I don't get it either.
Pucks - grown men chasing and beating each others with a stick... no thanks.
Golf - love playing it, but to stand still with a crowd and wait for balls to drop?

Have a good Monday.

[John Bastedo]

Highlights of the final LTU-SRB game:

http://www.fibatv.com/page/Video/0,,12805~1786909,00.html?tabb=highlightspnumber=1

Love the trophy celebration (he'd look great doing that with the Larry O'Brien trophy . . . sigh).

And that's his 3rd major international MVP? U16 Euro, U18 Euro, and now U19 World? That's consistently raising your game at the right time.

Now we know what the 'V' in MVP stands for.

[Dave T (Ottawa)]

Doug,

Have had an iPhone for 6 months now. Hate it. I prefer buttons, but paid full price for the phone and am stuck with my mistake for now. Please resist the touch-screen movement. The Blackberry Torch is intruiging because it has both. There is a Bluetooth add-on keyboard for the iPhone, but spending an additional $80 just to fatten the phone and drain the battery faster so I can type isn't appealing either.

Oh ya, any readers have suggestions for public houses for Ghent, Belgium? I'm there now and Westmalle never tasted so good. I know you have an affinity for Stella, but her and I are on hiatus while I'm here, I think.

[Jacques]

Doug, do you know if any other team has called BC regarding Jay's services?

Blogger's note: Nope, don't know

[Dave Fritz, Kingston]

Hi, Doug,
Re Jonas: Glad to see the enthusiasm for him is real but muted. The last thing we (or he) need is the hype that surrounded Bargnani. Let's remember, too, your point that he'll be a backup at Eurobasket.

Re college coaches: Do you count Larry Brown? And to be fair, how many of those high-profile guys came to teams with a distinct lack of talent?

Cheers,
Dave

Blogger's note: Larry Brown was, what?, a quarter of a century ago, almost? Sure, I'll count him

[David]

Lost in the coverage of the U19 tournament was the fact Valanciunas played all 40 minutes of the final - his third game in three days. I'm too lazy to check it, but he had to have logged over 100 minutes of playing time in those three days. And he looked fairly fresh at the end. Too many minutes won't be an issue with his senior national team - if he gets any, it will be a further sign of his maturation since a lot of Euro coaches frown on using rookies in high level competition.

[Lorie]

Hi Doug!
No "e", eh? (And resist touch screen. Stick to your principles and your fondness for keypad thingies.) But until your cellphone issues are resolved, here's a wee challenge. Prepare tomorrow's blog using your "e"-less cellphone - all without using the letter "e"! The blog as lipogram! You up for that? And since there's no basketball to speak of, it should be a snap. There's an "e" word that can be eliminated! And "lose" and "Calderon" and "Andrea" and "defence"! It could be books, films and music! No "e"s in those words. (Did you know that an entire book was written without using the letter "e"? Back in 1939. Wonder if that dude was having Blackberry issues, too?) Salut!

[coachd]

Hi Doug,
Couldn't agree more about Vin Scully. Absolutely the best sports broadcaster ever.

[Mike D.]

I hear you on the iPhone...the primary initial attraction appeared to be the ability to tell people you had an iPhone, and there are now enough out there to negate that one.

I have nothing against a UFC event, except that the crowd is typically full of wannabe UFC fighters looking for an excuse to scrap, but without a referee. I avoid them (and the adjacent area) for the same reason I don't want to be in a vehicle anywhere near a racing event when the fans are driving out of the parking lot.

[Mike D.]

@Lorie, your out-of-the-box thinking on tomorrow's blog just might help Doug narrow the possible topics of discussion. In particular, it seems the day might have to be focused on the improvmnt of Amir Johnson and Solomon Alabi, particularly their dunks, jump shots, blocks and dominating in the paint. It would be helpful if someone can find a synonym for "improvement" that doesn't include an "e".

[LeeZ]

Here's an idea for MLB regarding the recent tragedy in Texas. Players should continue to be encouraged to toss balls to the fans, but NOT in the bleacher seats or any other seats perched precariously atop railings, etc. The umpires at each stadium could go over these "ground rules" with both managers before each game, and the managers could pass this info along to the players. To me, this is a common-sense approach, as opposed to a knee jerk reaction that would outlaw the practice entirely.

[Jacques]

will you and super son be watching the home run derby tonight?

Blogger's note: Probably

[Lorie]

@Mike D.
Bravo! That synonym? How about "growth", "gain", "non-diminish" "un-Raptor-ish"...? Voila, Doug! All sorts of ways to do it? (and no you-know-whats!)

[Kelsey]

I was a Jonas doubter and still could never see him and Bargnani as starters on the same team (or a winning team).

The numbers he is putting up is impressive. Good player close to the basket. But again I dont want to hype him. Im a Raptors fan so if he turns out well Ill be happy. I hope The Raptors have picked the right player and other guards they passed on dont become all stars!!!

If I was a baseball player, I would be throwing any balls into the stands at all. Maybe pass one to a child (in there hand) but not throwing the ball into a crowd of people that many are intoxicated by 3rd inning

[D-Mac OIttawa]

@Mike D.: "gradation of skills in an upward arc" perhaps?
Imagine spending the time it would take to compile an entire book (Gadsby, 50,000 words by Ernest Vincent Wright) just to avoid using the most commonly used letter in the English alphabet. Okay... next!
Good luck with those keyboards, etc., Doug. Computers, like cars, are great when they work, aren't they? Cheers.

[Nick]

I can name one coach...kinda a cheat but hey, Paul Westhead. Won with the Lakers, did well with Loyola Marymount University and then won a title with the Phoenix Mercury.

[D-Mac OIttawa]

Okay, Doug, I may have found a fix for your keyboard woes. We don't need no stinkin' broken keyboards. As long as you have the master file on hand, you can just print (yep, print) another one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZboxMsSz5Aw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Such much for Luddite-ness... imagine the possibilities... cheers!

[ikonn]

Doug, are you going to use an abbreviation or nickname for Jonas and if so, what would it be? I have seen JV, Big V, Jonas (always good to be known by only your first name right?) Perhaps we need a list for this one. Maybe also one for best first name only athletes ever. Me? I going for Pele. For JV, I'm going with YBJ (Your Boy Jonas).

[doug]

the problem with college coaches taking it to the next level, is that in this day and age not in the Wooden-McQuire days but today these "coaches" are recruiters first off and then coaches...that is the biggest part of their jobs actually, as they recruit players to plug into systems, ....they are system coaches as they have these players for what 1-2-3 years if lucky with a constantly revolving door, so they just plug these guys into a system, that's why the players coming to the NBA from NCAA are just way behind...back in the day players like Alcindor (then), Walton, Hayes etc...all played 5 years of NCAA so they grew as players and coaches coached....plus a top-level college coach is in fact the whole operations guy of the team, he runs the show calls the shots...when they come to the NBA they have to be a part of a management team, a pecking order needs to be adhered to...their doomed to fail, also this is not even taking into account they are dealing with men that are not answerable or dependent on them to take the next step as in college....and to me bottom-line they just aren't as good as coaches for the most part, and in Larry Brown you can see the college system is ingrained in him, as he wants control, needs control and constantly is on the move, as he finds it hard to operate as part of a management team he is autocratic as all big-time college coaches are...the 2 systems can't mesh and it has been proven time and time again...

[Peter]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the blog, even with the lockout on, there's always some interesting discussions going on in this corner of the world.

To shift the discussion slightly, I'm wondering about your thoughts on the News of the World scandal in Britiain, where they've been hacking into people's phones and listening to their messages in order to get inside info (even the royal family it seems!). I know, as a journalist, you are all in favour of getting the facts straight, but there has to be a line. Especially in the case of the missing girl, where they deleted messages as well, giving false hope to her parents she was still alive. Anyway, just wondering about your take on this.

Thanks Doug.

Blogger's note: Let me do it one morning this week? Thanks

[TLI]

@MikeD and Lori -- we may also be looking for a synonym for "the"... here's hoping!

[The J]

Too bad you lost the letter 'E'. If you're going to write a blog about the Toronto Raptors it would be much easier to write it with no 'D'.