colangelo's type of player

[Schad]

-= original quote snipped =-



JC is on our side and he has mad street cred. That guy died for your sins.

Jose Calderon? I sure hope not, we need him running the point.

[bill russell]

The main thing I've noticed about a 'BC type player' is that he wants guys that are coachable. Players that listen to and take instruction and play team oriented basketball.

I think this is dead on. But the next question is, where do you find these guys. what kind of shorthand do you use to identify them, what characteristics give you confidence, what makes you nervous...

[davkad]

being religious has nothing to do with not being hard... i'd acutally go as far to say that most violent criminals who have raped, murdered, or assaulted people in the past believe themselves to be highly religious and god-fearing.

Beyond that, it has nothing to do with the makeup of the team. The most religious guys on the team are our American players - TJ and Bosh are church-goers from the deep South, our coach is a firmly religious dude (and was a tough badass in his playing days). Being religious has nothing to do with being soft on the court...

The best example i have for this is that the late 90's New York Knick teams (the ones with Allan Houston, Sprewell, Camby, etc.) used to have a bible study/prayer group before every game... and eveyrone knows that team had a reputation of being pretty "hard".

[The_Hater]

I think this is dead on. But the next question is, where do you find these guys. what kind of shorthand do you use to identify them, what characteristics give you confidence, what makes you nervous...

- Talking to their previous coaches and teammates. Do they get along with everybody? Do they complain a lot? Do they listen to coaches and take direction? Do they practice and play hard? Do they sulk if they're not getting the minutes or shot they think they deserve? Are they continually looking to improve?

- Observing how they play the game with their previous teams. Do they break off plays? Do they appear to be more worried about their own shots than if the team wins? Are they smart enough to play towards their strengths and avoid their weaknesses?

[bill russell]

being religious has nothing to do with not being hard... i'd acutally go as far to say that most violent criminals who have raped, murdered, or assaulted people in the past believe themselves to be highly religious and god-fearing.

Beyond that, it has nothing to do with the makeup of the team. The most religious guys on the team are our American players - TJ and Bosh are church-goers from the deep South, our coach is a firmly religious dude (and was a tough badass in his playing days). Being religious has nothing to do with being soft on the court...

The best example i have for this is that the late 90's New York Knick teams (the ones with Allan Houston, Sprewell, Camby, etc.) used to have a bible study/prayer group before every game... and eveyrone knows that team had a reputation of being pretty "hard".

I agree religion is irrelevant to the hard/soft debate. I do think it's helpful to some athletes in keeping their bearings amid all the temptations of the high life. I've heard enough athletes say that over the years to believe it's generally true, although hardly a guarantee.

[Voodoochile]

good thing you can't understand Italian

[bill russell]

I believe GMs, like all managers, learn from their mistakes, and that their styles are heavily influenced by their biggest mistakes. A lot of you guys know BC's career better than I do. Which player caused BC the most trouble? Which was his biggest mistake? Kidd? Marbury?

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

I think Colangelo likes a player who is versatile in terms of their play. I think one of his beliefs in building a team is that there must be great PG play. He looks for a PG who plays w/ supreme confidence (Nash, Kidd, Ford, etc.) and at the same time is a leader on and off the court. But overall he looks for versatility in a player i'd say.

[DwntnCoyote]

BC's type of player is:

Stylish yet not flashy
Confident yet not cocky
Intelligent yet not Smart Assy

[HighOctane]

Soft

I laughed at this.

[bill russell]

this is a weird fact but raptors are the only team apart from San Antonio that hasn't got a player from one of the big-three college factories (duke, north carolina, uconn) or a player who came straight to the pros from a U.S. high school. it's probably meaningless -- i don't think he'd turn down dwight horward or carlos boozer if he had a shot at them -- although others on this board have suggested san antonio is BC's model franchise and it has also been noted before that BC's strength is finding talent where others aren't looking.

[HighOctane]

this is a weird fact but raptors are the only team apart from San Antonio that hasn't got a player from one of the big-three college factories (duke, north carolina, uconn) or a player who came straight to the pros from a U.S. high school. it's probably meaningless -- i don't think he'd turn down dwight horward or carlos boozer if he had a shot at them -- although others on this board have suggested san antonio is BC's model franchise and it has also been noted before that BC's strength is finding talent where others aren't looking.

We have Euroleague players instead.

[yucatan87]

this is a weird fact but raptors are the only team apart from San Antonio that hasn't got a player from one of the big-three college factories (duke, north carolina, uconn) or a player who came straight to the pros from a U.S. high school. it's probably meaningless -- i don't think he'd turn down dwight horward or carlos boozer if he had a shot at them -- although others on this board have suggested san antonio is BC's model franchise and it has also been noted before that BC's strength is finding talent where others aren't looking.

TJ was a Wooden Award winner as the top player in College Basketball and took Texas to the Final Four.
Dixon was the star of teams that won a national championship and went to another Final Four at Maryland.
Joey was the star of a team that went to a Final Four at Oklahoma State.
Hump had a scholarship offer from Kentucky, but chose to stay home at Minnesota instead. He led the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding as a freshman. First freshman to do so IIRC.
Kapono left UCLA as it's all-time leading scorer IIRC. Pretty impressive considering the names that went there (Walton, Alcindor etc.)

Only Parker, Baston (arguable, he played for a Michigan team that wasn't that great but still played on national TV fairly regularly), D-Mart and Bosh (to an extent) are the only Raptors that didn't leave college as a household name to most NCAA fans.

They may not have been at the traditional powers. But many of our players played at the highest of the high levels of NCAA hoops.