By RaptorTalk

DeMar DeRozan has landed at Air Canada Centre and Bryan Colangelo hopes he can fill the Raptor’s glaring weakness at shooting guard, next year and for many years to come.

The selection of DeRozan was a bit of a gamble which could pay huge dividends if he develops into the kind of player the Raptors feel he can become. Repeatedly, NBA analysts and insiders referred to DeMar has having one of the biggest upsides of any prospect in the '09 draft class.

      

DeRozan has the raw physical tools that made the Raptors’ brain trust drool as they watched him workout in a gym in Oakland last month. Our sources told us a month ago that Colangelo had honed in early on DeMar and nothing transpired leading up to the draft to make Bryan change his mind.

Chad Ford of ESPN had this to say about the ninth pick in the 2009 draft:

“The Raptors swung for the fences with this pick, getting a player with as much upside as anyone else in the draft. DeRozan is long and athletic and can run the floor. If he improves his jump shot and ball handling, he could be one of the best players to come out of this draft. Those are big ifs, but the Raptors made a worthy gamble.”


No doubt, the kid is raw and still unpolished in many respects. His long range jumper needs work, as do his ball handling skills. But his athleticism, a commitment to defence and a developing mid range game all point to someone who has the potential to become a solid NBA pro - if not a star.


DeMar finished last season strong

Even though he only played a year at USC, there are some important clues from his stint in college as to the type of player he can become in two or three years.

DeRozan showed marked improvement throughout his freshman year. In his final seven games, of which five were pressure tournament games, the newest Raptor averaged 19 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and shot 54% from the field. The kid got better as the season progressed and he performed his best under pressure.

And instead of sitting around at the end of the season waiting for the draft and a guaranteed million dollar NBA contract, he headed up to Oakland to work out and become a better player.

In fact, had DeMar stayed in college for another season and continued to improve it is not beyond the realm of possibility that he could have been a top five selection in the stronger draft class of 2010.

Most importantly, DeMar seems to have the mental make-up to succeed. Jay Triano pointed out that he is very coachable. His early media interviews show a composed and confident young man who is ready to take on a new challenge. The next step in his growth as a player is for DD and the Raptors staff to work hard and begin to improve upon his weaknesses this off-season, starting in Vegas summer league.

And while his 39” inch vertical and Carter-esque mannerisms makes comparisons to Vince Carter inevitable – the comparisons end there. In our estimation, a realistic future view of DeMar DeRozan may be a hybrid between Andre Igoudala and Richard Jefferson and not Carter-like at all.

If that’s how the DeRozan story plays out, then Bryan Colangelo will look back and feel he did very well with the 9th selection in the 2009 draft.