Toronto Raptors: Bruno Caboclo impresses early
By Wes Goldberg
The Toronto Raptors shook up the NBA Draft when they selected a relative unknown teenagers from Brazil with the 20th pick. Since then, Bruno Caboclo has spent the summer developing his basketball skills and his english. The Toronto Star’s Doug Smith writes that Raptors coaches have been impressed with Caboclo’s progress.
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"The big thing is we’ve got to get him playing,” said Raptors assistant coach Jama Mahlalela, who has worked extensively with Caboclo this summer.We have to get him in games to see, how can it transfer. We’ve done a summer of skill work. His skills, from where they were, are so improved it’s amazing."
Caboclo is still a long-term project. As Fran Fraschilla so eloquently said on ESPN during June’s draft, he is “two years away from being two years away.” It’s hard to tell exactly where Caboclo is on his arch to the NBA, but he certainly has the athleticism to make it.
Smith reports that Raptors GM Masai Ujiri discovered Caboclo when he was 16 years old and had been following him all the way up until the draft, when he selected the still-growing teenager. He says the next step is for him to play against other NBA players, which he will do once training camp starts in Toronto.
Caboclo averaged 11.4 points and three rebounds during Las Vegas Summer League.