With the 57th pick, the Raptors select Ulrich Chomche

[PhilBlackson]

We stole Chomche!

I said it at the draft & still think the same now, he’s the pick I’m most excited about. I think we need to simmah down a lil bit on the “Giannis” talk…particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Defensive….that’s where Ulrich is so interesting to me!

Because he projects to have pretty much a Giannis like frame & I’d argue his defensive instincts and man coverage look more promising at the same age. I think Chomche could have something special on the defensive end once he starts learning and understanding schemes because physically he’s gonna be able to hang with pretty much anyone short of Vic. That lateral quickness on the perimeter and staying in front of his man and contesting, physically he moves like a SF.

I don’t see the “Giannis” offensively, at least not yet. Even early on Giannis was able build up steam & get downhill. His footwork just got better & he just kept getting bigger/stronger. Right now Chomche’s style of play offensively reminds me more of young Ibaka. Fairly limited overall but shows some promising outside touch, probably can rim run/be a lob threat. I see he can somewhat bring the ball up court but he’s going to get a lot more comfortable running & dribbling, contorting his body, having the footwork down to be another “Giannis”. He needs a lot of work on that part BUT he’s basically our “GG Jackson”, 18 year old baby and not nearly as much reps & education in the game. It’s very encouraging that they say he’s a fast learner because really think how limited his skill development would be in Africa.

Even some of the most basic D1 schools are probably miles ahead of what they receive there, not mention more accessibility & times available to work on his game. I’m not ready to draw a Giannis comparison but I’m excited & confident that he while he may not reach that level he will NOT be another Bruno. I believe at minimum we’ll make him an extremely valuable defender in the league but I actually think he’s going to be THE steal of this draft when it’s all said & done. His upside helps curve my disappointment that we don’t fully embrace the tank this season and ensure we get what we all know deep down is a missing piece (second true star) to really set things off here. But nonetheless it’s gonna be fun watching this kid grow…

[RoteSchroder]

I could be wrong but Honestly if you're this athletic you should probably be going in the first round. Or...start of second round. How did all the nba teams miss this guy? Didn't they see him run around in scrimmage and were able to witness his shotblocking/other skills.

There are tons of extremely athletic guys that don't make it or last in the NBA. Skill, talent, IQ, instincts are still very important. Look at Stromile Swift, Pape Sow, Joe Alexander, Michael Olowokandi, Kenny Walker, Hasheem Thabeet, Tyrus Thomas, Anthony Randolph and a whole bunch of no names that ppl have never heard of. I'm guessing most teams don't really want to take on a 3-4 year project anymore.

As an initial Chomche doubter, I'm at least pleasantly surprised he has a few things he excels at, whereas Bruno was both unathletic (slow foot speed, lack of explosiveness) and didn't excel at any aspect of the game when we drafted him. I feel like Chomche has 2-3 serious issues he needs to work on in order to become a rotation player.

[WuTang_CMB]

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[Brinbe]

The agility, leaping ability and movement speed for his size/wingspan is incredible. Def a lot of rawness to his game, but that's to be expected considering his age and level of experience. But his motor is for real and he's not timid out on the floor. He's gonna try sht out on the court, which is a good thing. Also has Giannis's sort of frame where he can easily add a ton of muscle to get stronger without compromising his athelticism.

That defensive potential is his real calling card and it's a bonus if he can eventually stretch the floor at times and contribute on offense at some point.

[deeps6x]

We stole Chomche!

I said it at the draft & still think the same now, he’s the pick I’m most excited about. I think we need to simmah down a lil bit on the “Giannis” talk…particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Defensive….that’s where Ulrich is so interesting to me!

Because he projects to have pretty much a Giannis like frame & I’d argue his defensive instincts and man coverage look more promising at the same age. I think Chomche could have something special on the defensive end once he starts learning and understanding schemes because physically he’s gonna be able to hang with pretty much anyone short of Vic. That lateral quickness on the perimeter and staying in front of his man and contesting, physically he moves like a SF.

I don’t see the “Giannis” offensively, at least not yet. Even early on Giannis was able build up steam & get downhill. His footwork just got better & he just kept getting bigger/stronger. Right now Chomche’s style of play offensively reminds me more of young Ibaka. Fairly limited overall but shows some promising outside touch, probably can rim run/be a lob threat. I see he can somewhat bring the ball up court but he’s going to get a lot more comfortable running & dribbling, contorting his body, having the footwork down to be another “Giannis”. He needs a lot of work on that part BUT he’s basically our “GG Jackson”, 18 year old baby and not nearly as much reps & education in the game. It’s very encouraging that they say he’s a fast learner because really think how limited his skill development would be in Africa.

Even some of the most basic D1 schools are probably miles ahead of what they receive there, not mention more accessibility & times available to work on his game. I’m not ready to draw a Giannis comparison but I’m excited & confident that he while he may not reach that level he will NOT be another Bruno. I believe at minimum we’ll make him an extremely valuable defender in the league but I actually think he’s going to be THE steal of this draft when it’s all said & done. His upside helps curve my disappointment that we don’t fully embrace the tank this season and ensure we get what we all know deep down is a missing piece (second true star) to really set things off here. But nonetheless it’s gonna be fun watching this kid grow…

I'm really looking forward to seeing where he is two years from now. I'm quite impressed by the potential he has displayed, but he really needs to learn the game.

[YogurtProducer]

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Exciting that he does this but is still mobile

[Kingsway_fan]

Play him off the bench as the second centre behind poetle ... cut olynik... give him and Bruno all of Olnyk 's minutes...

[NinjaBro]

Throw him into the fire and let him start for us and let him develop. Got nothing to lose.

"We need to trade Siakam for AJ Griffin before it's too late!" - PhilBlackson

[Psubs]

Throw him into the fire and let him start for us and let him develop. Got nothing to lose.

"We need to trade Siakam for AJ Griffin before it's too late!" - PhilBlackson

Playing big minutes for the 905 is throwing him into the fire.

[TakeYourHeart]

New Chomche documentary has dropped. It's a much watch!

https://www.nba.com/watch/video/episode-1-small-village-big-dreams

It's hard not to get excited when you see how far he's already come from such humble beginnings.

[Chandan]

I am more and more excited about him after seeing some training videos.

His start to finish on a dunk is insanely fast. He barely had to jump to rise, and has this really quick and effortless one hand jam.

[hype_2004]

He looks like an Athletic C version of LeBron, not skillwise but has that pure athleticism at the C position, he's gonna be a menace, what a steal for the Raptors!

[HangTime]

New Chomche documentary has dropped. It's a much watch!

https://www.nba.com/watch/video/episode-1-small-village-big-dreams

It's hard not to get excited when you see how far he's already come from such humble beginnings.

That was a great watch.

[Thaddy]

The Royal family link is interesting. It seems like the King of Cameroon is suddenly interested in Ulrich now that he's a potential NBA player. I'm not aware of Cameroon, it's political and social culture, but it'll be interesting what he plans to do with his money and his very large family. If he's successful I see him doing great things for Cameroon. I see Chomche being a political figure down the road based on his demeanour and his network.

[DreamTeam09]

The Royal family link is interesting. It seems like the King of Cameroon is suddenly interested in Ulrich now that he's a potential NBA player. I'm not aware of Cameroon, it's political and social culture, but it'll be interesting what he plans to do with his money and his very large family. If he's successful I see him doing great things for Cameroon. I see Chomche being a political figure down the road based on his demeanour and his network.

I think they were talking about Tribes, like that guy was the king of the Tribe, not the country. I absolutely could be wrong here

[Thaddy]

The Royal family link is interesting. It seems like the King of Cameroon is suddenly interested in Ulrich now that he's a potential NBA player. I'm not aware of Cameroon, it's political and social culture, but it'll be interesting what he plans to do with his money and his very large family. If he's successful I see him doing great things for Cameroon. I see Chomche being a political figure down the road based on his demeanour and his network.

I think they were talking about Tribes, like that guy was the king of the Tribe, not the country. I absolutely could be wrong here

My understanding of the culture of Cameroon is non-existent. But if I consider Siakam and Embiid, they seem to have cut off their connection to Cameroon. Siakam looks like he brought over his immediate family to North America and left the rest behind. I doubt there's public info about that but like many cultures money changes relationships.

[S.W.A.N]

Play him off the bench as the second centre behind poetle ... cut olynik... give him and Bruno all of Olnyk 's minutes...

Hell no.

A year of playing in the 905 and some nba games is perfect. Keep expectations low and let the kid learn the freaking game. There a reason we signed him to a 2 way. It gives him a proper development path.

They learned from Bruno. Take more time and develop him as a professional player.

And Olynik isn't getting cut. He's going to be our backup 4 emergency 5. You can't have a team full of rookies without good vets unless you want to be the Pistons and suck for the next 20 years.

[C_Money]

Try and build a G League roster that isn’t full of players trying to pad their own scoring stats. I’m worried about how much of the ball Chomche is actually going to get down there.

[HangTime]

Play him off the bench as the second centre behind poetle ... cut olynik... give him and Bruno all of Olnyk 's minutes...

Hell no.

A year of playing in the 905 and some nba games is perfect. Keep expectations low and let the kid learn the freaking game. There a reason we signed him to a 2 way. It gives him a proper development path.

They learned from Bruno. Take more time and develop him as a professional player.

And Olynik isn't getting cut. He's going to be our backup 4 emergency 5. You can't have a team full of rookies without good vets unless you want to be the Pistons and suck for the next 20 years.

I would give him 10 minutes per game, early on, vs all this top competition we have at the start of the season. Have him guard all sorts of players. Guard, Wings, Bigs.

Will he Struggle? most likely, but he'll get that first hand experience.

At the very worst, he'll have footage of himself, against that top competition.

Then, He can take that experience to the 905, and build from there.

[Risk101]

Try and build a G League roster that isn’t full of players trying to pad their own scoring stats. I’m worried about how much of the ball Chomche is actually going to get down there.

It did wonders for Vanvleet and Siakam and I don't see why it wouldn't work for Chomche.

We obviously have the blueprint in developing players and the G-League seems like the perfect opportunity for him.

It's alot better then him riding the bench all year hoping for garbage time.