With the 57th pick, the Raptors select Ulrich Chomche

[CoinTossRoss31]

The kid is still so long away from learning how to play the game properly. Give him some time next year he will be the same age as some College freshmen so thats about where I view his development

[Psubs]

The kid is still so long away from learning how to play the game properly. Give him some time next year he will be the same age as some College freshmen so thats about where I view his development

Going into next season, hopefully he works out and with the added strength to get defensive rebounds he should already be a competent defender. The offense looks 3-4 years away but that's okay as a bench big until then.

With that said, his offense looks only 1 year away from Orlando Robinson.

[ArthurVandelay]

The kid is still so long away from learning how to play the game properly. Give him some time next year he will be the same age as some College freshmen so thats about where I view his development

For a high school senior playing in the pros, he's coming along nicely.

I'm optimistic on him.

[Tripod]

The kid is still so long away from learning how to play the game properly. Give him some time next year he will be the same age as some College freshmen so thats about where I view his development

For a high school senior playing in the pros, he's coming along nicely.

I'm optimistic on him.

Yeah I view him as a 2026 draft choice...lol.

905 again next year for sure....then see if he can be a Raptor in 2026/27.

Just think, in 2 years he will the same age as Gradey is this year. And hey, in 5.5 years he will be Branden Carlsons age....lol. Lots of development time ahead.

[ArthurVandelay]

The kid is still so long away from learning how to play the game properly. Give him some time next year he will be the same age as some College freshmen so thats about where I view his development

For a high school senior playing in the pros, he's coming along nicely.

I'm optimistic on him.

Yeah I view him as a 2026 draft choice...lol.

905 again next year for sure....then see if he can be a Raptor in 2026/27.

Just think, in 2 years he will the same age as Gradey is this year. Lots of development time ahead.

Lots of control too

They can sign him to a standard deal post-trade deadline next year, like Battle this season.

Then he'll be a restricted FA after 2 or 3 years on a minimum.

[youngRAPZ]

For a high school senior playing in the pros, he's coming along nicely.

I'm optimistic on him.

Yeah I view him as a 2026 draft choice...lol.

905 again next year for sure....then see if he can be a Raptor in 2026/27.

Just think, in 2 years he will the same age as Gradey is this year. Lots of development time ahead.

Lots of control too

They can sign him to a standard deal post-trade deadline next year, like Battle this season.

Then he'll be a restricted FA after 2 or 3 years on a minimum.

Probably exactly what will happen with him


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[WuTang_OG]

https://youtu.be/5uRsosSEBeA?t=1273

[djsunyc]

long term project. he's still a few years away imho.

[RaptorPride]

long term project. he's still a few years away imho.

I just hope we stick to it

[S.W.A.N]

long term project. he's still a few years away imho.

Yup, but a good one.

It is exciting to see the team taking the long term approach, building up 905 assets and seeing what they can become.

[Kingsway_fan]

Any news? Is he back on the court, or still rehabing?

[ArthurVandelay]

Any news? Is he back on the court, or still rehabing?

He'll be ready for summer league

[Flush]

curious what he's been doing from the moment he was injured and considered done for the season; have they been helping him learn plays? soak in professional practice experience? schooling? BBIQ I think is the hardest skill to truly develop and in some cases has a ceiling because there's only so much you can apply if you just don't possess the capacity to process information quick

[WuTang_OG]

Should we take the Raptors not drafting a centre as a vote of confidence in Ulrich Chomche?

No, I don’t think so. While they still expect Chomche to be a player — we asked Webster about him directly the other night and he said he’s coming along just at the pace the Raptors expected — but they’ll find a few-minutes-a-night guy in free agency or at the Summer League.

doug

[WhatsaTDot]

I feel we're at the stage of the offseason where there's a post pump photo of him having just worked out at the gym.

[WuTang_OG]

LAS VEGAS—No one expects Ulrich Chomche to become a consistent NBA player this season, least alone the Raptors, but the strides the teenage big man has taken should foster good feelings for all connected with the team about the long-term future.

His game is more fluid, more instinctual, more relaxed. He moves at the pace of the game rather than being overwhelmed by it; it’s as if all the plans they laid out for the Cameroonian centre are playing out perfectly .

“He’s been incredible, man,” teammate A.J. Lawson said of Chomche. “His development’s been, honestly, amazing. He’s been really into the defensive level, being there defensively for us, being our anchor right there. Blocking shots, talking to us on defence, calling out the pick-and-rolls and stuff. I feel like he’s been really dialed in trying to get better. I really am appreciative of that, for sure, because I’m seeing the progress.”

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW



Make no mistake, there’s still much work to be done and there should be no expectation that the six-foot-10 prospect will make any discernible dent in the Raptors rotation.

But where he is now compared to where he was a year ago is light years. In two Summer League games, Chomche has been a presence in the defensive paint, an active rebounder and was setting the right screens at the right spot on offence.

All the raw bits in his game a year ago as the Raptors got him out of the NBA’s Africa Academy, the first player from that training centre ever drafted, are being smoothed out.

“When we drafted Ulrich, we knew that it was going to be a two-year project,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said last week. “I think that he made big strides in Year 1 and playing a lot of minutes with 905.

“He’s healthy. He’s doing a great job. He improved his body. This is going to be just a great check point to see all the gains, all the improvements that he made and what the plan needs to be going forward.”

Chomche got all the work on his game last season with the G League Raptors 905 but that process was delayed when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in February.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

In some respects, that was part of the process, moving Chomche’s learning process from the court to the classroom.

His family told him: ‘Don’t play basketball.’ Now Ulrich Chomche is the third NBA draft pick from Cameroon to play for the Raptors
RAPTORS
His family told him: ‘Don’t play basketball.’ Now Ulrich Chomche is the third NBA draft pick from Cameroon to play for the Raptors
“The injury was part of the process because I learned a lot from it,” he said on Sunday. “I was sitting on the side working on my game, watching film. I think that helped me a lot to understand the game better. I just have to keep it up and keep getting better.”

The Raptors are still working with Chomche on the rudimentary aspects of NBA play. Offence right at the rim, active rebounding, the right way to set screens are the first aspects before they expand his skillset.

“I’ve been working on my touch, catching the ball, and finishing at the rim,” he said. “I’ve been watching video of Yao (Ming) setting screens. I’ve been watching that and how to set a good screen, too.”

“The point (to learning how to set screens) is to get (his teammate) open for a shot whether it’s Immanuel Quickley or Jamal (Shead).

“I have to make sure I set good screens for them because Jamal is very quick attacking the rim and Quick is very good with shooting. So angle of the screen is very important.”

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The rest of his offensive arsenal, such that it is, is scoring near the rim. He and assistant coach Mike Batiste work on little jump hooks and floaters on the paint, part of a detailed process devised a year ago by Rajakovic.

“Now he has to use the gifts that God gave him,” Raptors assistant and Summer League head coach James Wade said. “You can’t teach size, you can’t teach height, but you can teach skill, and that’s what he’s improving every day.”

If there’s one thing that Chomche has learned, it’s not to rush the process. He knows what he is, where he is on his developmental curve and where his place is in the Raptors ecosystem.

“I have Immanuel Quickley. I have Brandon Ingram. I have Scottie (Barnes), I have a lot of guys to shoot threes,” he said. “I just do my job. I’ll catch rebounds. I’ll set good screens. The three is going to come after, not now.”

Doug Smith
Doug Smith is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @smithraps.

[deck]

I'm excited for this kid. I wouldn't rush him to the big team though. Let him cook in the 905 and get minutes in the NBA when we hit injuries.

[Blazing_royale]

2 years from being 2 years

[Tripod]

The kid is still so long away from learning how to play the game properly. Give him some time next year he will be the same age as some College freshmen so thats about where I view his development

For a high school senior playing in the pros, he's coming along nicely.

I'm optimistic on him.

Yeah I view him as a 2026 draft choice...lol.

905 again next year for sure....then see if he can be a Raptor in 2026/27.

Just think, in 2 years he will the same age as Gradey is this year. And hey, in 5.5 years he will be Branden Carlsons age....lol. Lots of development time ahead.

I stand by this comment made 5 months ago

[MessiahUjiri]

He’s got some great fluidity and a big body.

It’s a great project to invest into. He’ll be an RFA after this season, and that’s his NBA career really begins next year.

I think the idea is to let him develop in the GLeagie this year, and next year sign him to a 3 year “rookie” deal.