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Small snip from a large article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...ticle26336168/
When Giants of Africa first started catching notice, other NBA teams suspected it was a thinly veiled recruitment exercise. Of course, it’s not possible to stash budding superstars away in Africa. If you want them to become NBA-ready, they have to go to the U.S. to develop. Once there, everyone knows who they are. Also, you can’t just sign players. All have to enter the draft.
“But [other teams] worry. Trust me,” Ujiri says. “It’s the reason I’ve gone so slow.”
To combat any impression of impropriety, Ujiri alerts the NBA head office to the dates of all his camps. Other teams are invited to send scouts. A few did, and then stopped. It’s easier to let Ujiri do the hard work of discovery.
There is an unavoidable ambivalence to all this. It’s hard not to get excited when you do spot someone remarkable. In Kenya, it’s another 16-year-old South Sudanese, Kon Bior. At 6-foot-6, Bior has the broad build and easy grace that mark the special ones. He is one of those players who seem spotlit on the floor.
“He has the eyes of a killer,” Ujiri says. “That kid can be in the NBA.”
Bior doesn’t need Ujiri’s help. He’s enrolled in one of Kenya’s best high schools, and already a bit of a local legend. Others have taken notice. Remember the name. He’s on his way somewhere. Ujiri has to wait like everyone else to see exactly where.
But watching Bior run the floor, Ujiri still can’t help muttering to himself: “He would look so good in a Raptors jersey.”
“But [other teams] worry. Trust me,” Ujiri says. “It’s the reason I’ve gone so slow.”
To combat any impression of impropriety, Ujiri alerts the NBA head office to the dates of all his camps. Other teams are invited to send scouts. A few did, and then stopped. It’s easier to let Ujiri do the hard work of discovery.
There is an unavoidable ambivalence to all this. It’s hard not to get excited when you do spot someone remarkable. In Kenya, it’s another 16-year-old South Sudanese, Kon Bior. At 6-foot-6, Bior has the broad build and easy grace that mark the special ones. He is one of those players who seem spotlit on the floor.
“He has the eyes of a killer,” Ujiri says. “That kid can be in the NBA.”
Bior doesn’t need Ujiri’s help. He’s enrolled in one of Kenya’s best high schools, and already a bit of a local legend. Others have taken notice. Remember the name. He’s on his way somewhere. Ujiri has to wait like everyone else to see exactly where.
But watching Bior run the floor, Ujiri still can’t help muttering to himself: “He would look so good in a Raptors jersey.”
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