The Hopes of Canada Ride on Andrius' Shoulders
by voteprime on Jun 1, 2010 11:59 AM EDT
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PrintImagine the pressure of being on the outside of the NBA trying to earn your way in to the draft and on to a roster. Now imagine the additional pressure of an entire country pulling for you as they peer over their jug of maple syrup.
I'm sure the Canadians have a word for that emotion and it's exactly what Andy Rautins is feeling right now because, should he make an NBA roster, I believe he will be only the 20th Canadian citizen to play in the NBA!* That's right, if Andy makes it to the NBA than the Rautins family will be responsible for 1/10 of all NBA Canadians. (New fact to me: Andy's uncle George Rautins, Leo's brother, was drafted in 1975. But that was back when teams just kept drafting until no one was left. George went at the 158th pick to Buffalo [natch] but didn't make the team. The 159th pick was a pound of Taylor's Ham, which actually suited up for a few games in New Jersey.)
This makes it even more impressive that Andy shot lights out at the NBA Combine on Friday. Granted it's just spot up shooting with no defense, but knowing the dreams of aspiring Canuck children live and die by your jumper might make shooting tougher than an actual hand in your face.
Andy Rautins: The Great Canadian Hope and his Hair of NBA Destiny.
(H/T: Phila-cuse)
* - The number might not be exact. Looking at this NBA.com page and this more recent Canadian fan page, I added up 19 draftees. It's possible there may be more but, surprisingly, the internet is not full of up-to-date pages on Canadian NBAers.
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I'll be the first to admit
that I didn’t think he had a chance of being drafted by mid-year, but looking at things now…ehhhhhhhhhh….here’s to hoping, right?
Go Orange(men)!
I scanned the 2nd round draft order
hoping the Raptors had a late-round pick. It would have been an obvious choice. Alas, they have no second-round picks at all, let alone late in the 2nd.
http://cusecountry.com
Dammit! The odds would have skyrocketed!
Another fun fact I learned while writing this post. The NBA Draft used to have “”http://www.nba.com/history/draft_evolution.html" target="new">Territorial Picks" where you could forfeit your first round pick to select a guy that was nearby:
In the league’s early years, when teams were struggling to include fan bases, the draft included territorial picks. Before the start of the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round pick and instead select a player from its immediate area, presumably with a strong local following.I guess Andy would be a great Toronto territorial pick. Alas, that practice ended in 1965.
I think every start up/unpopular leage should do that
It makes perfect sense, right? No one watches the UFL (or whatever it’s called), but maybe we would if a NYC team were full of Syracuse/Rutgers/Uconn players, right?
"(BARF)" - Donovan McNabb, during his game winning drive against Virginia Tech in 1998
He's got a chance...
A deadly spot up shooter with range with good height? Hey, he might latch on somewhere and carve out a nice career. Kid just has to stay healthy – here’s to hoping.
"(BARF)" - Donovan McNabb, during his game winning drive against Virginia Tech in 1998
Hey
if Chairman Yi can be the 6th overall pick for his dominating performance vs the folding chair a few years ago, why couldn’t Andy be a 2nd round pick b/c he shot well with no defense?
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
According to
basketball-reference.com, there have been 15 Canadians ever to play in the NBA, but that’s people born in Canada, so technically he wouldn’t qualify to be the 16th.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
Aah, I wish I'd known about that page.
I’d read that he’s a Canadian citizen (which he probably has to be to play for the national team). So maybe some of the others on the list are Canadian citizens that were also born in the US.
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