Hilfe & Support » looks to hold off Switzerland for second in th

TORONTO -- When basketballs best young players were in Brooklyn, N.Y., waiting to hear their name called in the NBA draft Thursday night, Bruno Caboclo was in a taxi. Caboclo had been training just outside Houston, and he and his personal advisor Eduardo Resende had hopped in a cab when somebody from Brazil tweeted "Oh my god, Bruno at 20." "The taxi driver didnt understand what was going on, we were screaming back there. It was crazy," said Resende. "He was jumping out of the roof (figuratively), he was very excited. Its a dream come true for a young Brazilian player that only can see (the NBA) on TV, and then all of a sudden hes part of it." The 18-year-old Caboclo was a virtual unknown when he became the Raptors surprise 20th pick in Thursday nights draft -- a selection that general manager Masai Ujiri admitted was an "outright gamble." Ujiri had another player in mind for the 20th pick, and had planned to take the Brazilian at No. 37, but when he lost out on the first player, he wasnt taking any chances on Caboclo. The young Brazilian arrived in Toronto on Friday night -- and upon finding out he had the practice gym at the Air Canada Centre at his disposal, headed there at 11 p.m. to shoot. The Raptors staff put him through his first official workout Saturday morning. He then met with a curious Toronto media contingent that numbered in double digits, an immediate measure of how much his life has changed in two days. "His Twitter two days ago had 19 followers (hes now at over 5,000)," said Resende, who also acting as Caboclos translator in Toronto -- the youngster speaks only a few words of English. "You become like a public person. The biggest change for him is this (press) conference here. I dont think he would ever imagine he would be here one day." Caboclo grew up Pirapora do Bom Jesus, a tiny town outside of Sao Paolo. He comes from a "difficult family, financially," according to Resende. "Even at his age he support his family." Ujiri wouldnt reveal much about Caboclos upbringing except "He grew up tough. I dont want to say too much about his family, and some of the things we know. He grew up in a not-so-great environment. Basketball was his love." He has two sisters, aged 22 and 26, who play volleyball. He played soccer as a child, but said he was only "so-so" at it, and switched to basketball at age 13, when he was already five foot 10. Within a year, he could dunk the ball. The Raptors had tracked Caboclo since he was named most valuable player of the Basketball Without Borders tournament last summer, first sending a team of scouts to watch the six-foot-nine player with the eye-popping seven-foot-six wingspan. "We felt like he was somebody we needed to follow. Our scouts did a phenomenal job of going and seeing him and gathering information," Ujiri said after presenting Caboclo with his jersey. The Raptors GM took some heat after Thursdays selection, from fans and the media, but shrugged it off Saturday morning. "Honestly I dont do it for reactions of anybody. I dont care. Were in a business where I cant react to anything, I just have to do my job, and you hope the best comes out of it," Ujiri said. "Is it a gamble? Yes. But do we remember who the 20th picks of the last 10 drafts are?" Ujiri sat courtside at the ACC as Caboclo practised. Resende helped translate the instructions. He dunked the ball with ease, shot well from long range, and was fluid as he moved around the court despite his long limbs. "We thought from the little information we have, hes young, hes long, hes tall, hes skinny, he likes to play basketball, hes got a little bit of skill, he can shoot a little bit, maybe theres something we can mould there," Ujiri said. Ujiri expects Caboclo to be a solid defender because of his length. "He moves his feet pretty good, hes got a touch, he likes to shoot it, so if he can be a two-way player where he can shoot the ball a little bit and he can defend. . . We picked him because we feel theres some good upside there, it will take time, and were ready to be patient for him," Ujiri said. "Hes a great kid, but loves basketball, he wants to be in the gym every second, which is what you want in an 18-year-old." Caboclo said he tries to model his game after his idol and Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant. He feels they have the same body type. Caboclos strength is among the things hell need to work on during what should be a tough rookie season, between being so far from home, having to learn English, and adapting to the NBA. The Raptors will immediately implement a couple of measures to help him adjust -- a weight training program and his own English teacher, Ujiri said. Hell also fly to Los Angeles on Sunday to work with new teammates DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Amir Johnson, and fellow rookie DeAndre Daniels, taken 37th overall Thursday night. Caboclo will play with the Raptors in the summer league, plus Ujiri expects him to spend some time next season down in the D-League. Resende said the young player knows the road ahead wont be all smooth sailing. "Last night he came to my room and he said Its a great responsibility," Resende said. Because getting there is one thing, now the real work is going to begin now." Mitchell Trubisky Jersey Mitchell Trubisky Womens Jersey .com) - Australian Open champion Li Na, former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and former world No. http://www.chicagobearfootballauthentic....y-bears-jersey/. - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half. Mitchell Trubisky Bears Jersey . 22. Wade averaged 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals while leading the Heat to a 3-0 record. The 31-year-old shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range en route to his 17th weekly honor.Groups E takes centre stage at the 2014 FIFA World Cup on TSN Radio Wednesday. France faces Ecuador with first place in the group all but locked up while Ecuador looks to hold off Switzerland for second in the group. Go to TSN Radios World Cup schedule for broadcast details on both matchups. Ecuador aiming for victory against France (TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1260 and TEAM 1410) Ecuadors hopes of advancing to the knockout round will come down to 90 minutes at the Maracana on Wednesday when the nation faces France. La Tri has taken three points from its first two games in Group E, opening the tournament with a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Switzerland before coming from behind to get a win over Honduras by the same score. Next up for the South American nation is France, which sits atop the group thanks to its comfortable 3-0 and 5-2 wins over Honduras and Switzerland, respectively. And with Switzerland simultaneously squaring off with a Honduran side that has nothing to play for on Wednesday, Ecuador is anticipating that it will need to defeat Les Bleus in order to advance to the knockout round for just the second time in history. Given Frances strong offensive displays thus far, Ecuador could be poised to absorb the attack and hit the European side on the counter. "(France) scored eight goals in one match (an 8-0 thumping of Jamaica in a warm-up match)," Ecuador midfielder Christian Noboa said.dddddddddddd"Scoring a goal in a World Cup is difficult and scoring eight, that gives you a guide to what France are all about." The one saving grace that could make things easier for Ecuador is the fact that France already has secured a spot in the knockout round. That affords France coach Didier Deschamps the luxury of potentially deploying a weaker team with the intent of resting some key players. But according to star striker Karim Benzema, who has netted three goals in the tournament, France will go for it against Ecuador. "Were very pleased with the performance and well try to repeat it against Ecuador," the 26-year-old said after the convincing defeat of Switzerland. While France holds a major edge over its Group E opposition when it comes to goal difference, Les Bleus will have plenty of incentive to get at least a draw on Wednesday as the winner of Group E would likely avoid playing Argentina in the round of 16. "Weve got a good goal difference, and the third match will decide who finishes top and second in the group," Deschamps said. "We prepared well for the first two games, and weve played in an efficient manner. This is still the first part of the tournament. 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