At first glance it may look Toronto Raptors replaced by one 6-foot-10 left-wing restored specialist to another. Predators have chosen University of North Carolina forward Ed Davis from 13 selected in the NBA draft Thursday raised questions about his possible replacement for the all-star forward Chris Bosh.
But the Raptors coach Jay Triano said that regardless of the future for his team in this uncertain off-season, Davis was a stunning catch at number 13. He was not the only player expected to significantly earlier in the project, he fills a hole in front of the register, that will certainly lose at least one big man.
"We did not think it will be available in 13, we thought it would be long gone, to preserve it slip, we all through our fingers that it will continue to slip another one another, and he falls right into our hands and it was great, "said Triano.
"When you look at free agents that we have with Chris Bosh, Amir Johnson, Patrick O'Bryant, Rasho Nesterovic - a 4 Biggs," he added. "What we got was a big high. Regardless of who signs and who returns and who is he great body, and he sports, and it corresponds to the trend that the NBA begins to move in the direction."
6-foot-10, 225-pound Davis led Tar Heels to be restored, with 9.6 per game, blocked shots (2,8), and was second in scoring (13.4) in its second year of the season, but suffered season-ending injury Feb. 10 in a game against Duke, when he broke a bone in the left - shooting - wrist.
21-year-old man who walked on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York, dressed in a charcoal gray suit, was asked what he knew about his new Canadian home.
"My favorite player is Chris Bosh played there," he said.
He later told reporters Toronto, he modeled his game around Bosh for the last three or four years.
"Because he is left-handed, 6-11, he can shoot, he just good all-round power forward, the third best power forwards in the game now, just a great player, model my game after," said Davis.
Whether the two had never lined up on the court together before the Raptors have yet to see how Bosh is set to become a free agent July 1, and not so much as hinted that his future plans.
Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo said earlier this week that with so many issues related to his list, he plans to take the best player on the board, and do not necessarily choose to replace the Bosh. Nevertheless, the similarity with Bosh obvious.
Second generation
Davis, the son of former NBA player Terry Davis, known for his jump at both ends of the floor, and uses his length and explosiveness to block shots. One weakness is his face up game.
"He must work on his jump shot," said Triano.
Twitter feed Bosh was silence after NBA Commissioner announced Raptors to choose, against the background chants of "USA! USA! "From the noisy crowd of New York. But the Raptors captain made a chirp when the guard Damion James, Texas went 24 wrote:" Congratulations aka Damion James "Big freshman, I remember when he first got to high school ...."
Davis led the ACC in field goal percentage (.578), blocked shots, was second in rebounds and 15 in the account before his wrist injury ended his time. Richmond, Va., native who trained at home with his father in the off-season, missed the final 13 games of his sophomore year, causing some to wonder if he will be fully recovered come draft time.
Raptors never brought Davis Air Canada Centre training preliminary draft, but he was considered a potential Top 10 choose for last year's draft, before going to UNC next season. Triano said Raptors officials have made numerous calls to check on the health of Davis until moments before they made a choice, and he received a clean bill of health all around.
Davis said that his father, who played 10 years in the NBA, was a huge influence on him growing.
"He prepared me a lot," he said. "He taught me a lot about this case, just really helped me understand how it should be professional and be a man, and he guided me through this process."
Elder Davis was known as a solid player, part of his son's games always respected.
"How much he worked, and how it always worked for everything he got, and all of his playing time in his career, and this is the reason why he stayed in the league," he said.
Among his Tar Heels highlights Davis was the third fastest player in school history to block 100 shots (51 games), Rasheed Wallace for (47) and Sam Perkins (50). He scored a season-high 22 points against Michigan, but also tied his career high 16 rebounds against Maryland.
