By RaptorTalk

On Canada Day, the Toronto Raptors roster increased to twelve players (either signed or signed waiting for the official signing date of July 9th) with the acquisition of a little “Hot Sauce”.

The day began with Jose Calderon and Roko Ukic agreeing to terms with the Raptors, which was followed by a surprise signing – albeit one which could pay big dividends for Toronto.

  

The Raptors signed former Arizona Wildcat and New Jersey Net Hassan Adams to back-up the SG/SF position. Hassan is an athletic defender and a dunker with some notable hops. In college he excelled at rebounding, shot blocking and steals – all which fit the Raptors’ needs.

Hassan Adams earned the nickname "Hot Sauce" from former UCLA player and Pac-10 announcer Marques Johnson

Adams is no stranger to Raptors GM, Bryan Colangelo. As the GM of the Phoenix Suns, Bryan undoubtably saw a lot of Hassan in his 4 years of college.

The Hassan Adams Story

Hassan is 6’4”, 220 lb. and native of Los Angeles. Selected by the Nets in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft in the 54th slot, Adams was injured in pre-draft workouts when ex-Raptor P.J. Tucker stepped on his foot.

Adams appeared in 61 games with the New Jersey Nets before his release prior to 2007-08. New Jersey waived Hassan because the Nets were up against the luxury tax threshold. Adams was cut by Cleveland in training camp in October of 2007 and then played in Italy for the remainder of last season.

Reports are that Adams was a standout at the Raptors recent free agent camp.  Based on that performance, Hassan earned himself a one-year league minimum contract with a team option for a second year, in the same manner Jamario Moon did last season.

"It's a great fit for Hassan," said David Lee, Adams's agent. "He can lock down ones, twos and threes and will bring the Raptors the kind of toughness they haven't seen in a while."

That sounds exactly like what Raptor fans are looking for. Hassan should help solidify the Raptors’ porous perimeter defence and hopefully can be used to shut down the two’s and three’s that typically would torch the Raptors with career nights.

At Arizona under Lute Olson’s tutelage, Hassan earned First Team All-Pac-10 honors as a senior. His teammates included players Channing Frye, Luke Walton, Salim Stoudamire and Andre Iguodala.  Adams finished his collegiate career as Arizona’s seventh all-time leading scorer with 1,818 points, he ranks second in steals (238) and eighth in blocked shots (85).

He is the only player in Pac-10 history to record 1,800 points, 700 rebounds, and 200 steals in a career. In his senior year, Hassan ranked third in the Pac-10 in scoring (17.5 ppg) and 12th in rebounding (5.0 rpg). Adams also led the conference in steals (2.6 spg).

While at Arizona, Hassan earned a degree in sociology from Arizona.


The 2008-09 Raptors Roster

With the signing of Hassan Adams, the Raptors' revamped 12 man roster looks like this:

Center: Jermaine O'Neal/ Nathan Jawai

Power Forward: Chris Bosh/ Andrea Bargnani/ Kris Humphries

Small Forward: Jason Kapono/ Jamario Moon/ Joey Graham

Shooting Guard: Anthony Parker/ Hassan Adams

Point Guard: Jose Calderon/ Roko Ukic