Here’s the Toronto Star reporting on the Raptors 905 D-League team, which recently gave anybody and everybody a chance to show they’re worthy of being on the squad:
At the open tryout for the Raptors 905 NBA D-League team, class shows quickly.
There’s Tut Ruach, a Mississauga high school hoops legend, stripping the ball from an overmatched guard and making the pass that leads to a basket. On an adjacent court at the University of Toronto Mississauga, former Dalhousie standout Robert Nortmann throws down a thunderous dunk over an opponent’s outstretched arms.
Other players’ lack of pedigree is revealed in seconds. A skinny guard with a bushy moustache spends nearly an entire scrimmage lingering beneath the goal, leaving his team shorthanded on defence and waiting on a pass he can flip into the goal. When he finally gets his shot, an opponent swats it away.
Seventy-five men answered the Raptors 905’s open casting call, with nearly as many skill levels on display Saturday. Coaches will winnow that pack to a more select group for further evaluation Sunday, and up to five players can leave this weekend with an invite to the Raptors farm team’s training camp in early November.
