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Raptors Narrowing Down Options As Draft Day Quickly Approaches

Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com

Another day, another workout down. With the NBA Draft a week away, the Raptors held two more workouts this week in an attempt to narrow down potential selections on draft night.

Tuesday’s six-player workout included David Walker from Northeastern, Michael Gbinije from Syracuse, Alex Poythress from Kentucky, Troy Williams from Indiana, Daniel Ochefu from Villanova and AJ Hammons from Purdue.

"It was a really high-level workout,” Raptors VP of player personnel Dan Tolzman said. “There was a number of really interesting prospects out there today, at all different positions, so it was a good overall look at some of the players we're definitely going to be considering with our picks."

With guys coming in who have been on the pre-draft trail for the past month, Toronto’s front office is keeping fatigue in check. Some players have only had a handful of workouts while others have had four times that. The team has been mindful of this when designing workouts.

“It’s definitely something where we talk to the coaches every morning [about the number of workouts players have gone through], Tolzman said. “We want to see the guys get out there and play through fatigue, but at the same time we don't want to kill them and wear them out because it ruins the workout. We definitely want to pace them, and then towards the end of the workout, give them more conditioning to see how they fight through it.”

Tuesday’s workout was the sixth for Villanova’s Ochefu. It was workout #12 for Gbinije. Despite any physical or mental fatigue being felt, both wore large smiles when speaking with the media.

“I did a good job of taking a break in the middle [of scheduled workouts],” Gbinije said. “I have probably three or four left [to go]. I’m trusting the offseason conditioning I’ve been doing before these workouts and so far it’s getting me by.”

Gbinije said he comes to each workout with a specific goal or two to keep his focus on the task at hand.

“It’s all about finding new challenges,” he said. “Today it was defence and pick-and-roll, those were the two things I wanted to focus on.”

Ochefu is going through the pre-draft process after accomplishing the ultimate NCAA goal with the Wildcats.

“It’s definitely been a roller coaster ride,” he said. “The month of March was really fun for me. I’m just trying to get better every day. We were fortunate enough to win a national championship, but I can’t let that dawn on me too long because I have another job I have to secure.”

Despite the whirlwind of national championship into training for workouts and now auditioning for the next level, Ochefu is enjoying the experience. It helps knowing he’s got a pretty good NBA contact to call upon if he needs advice throughout the process.

“Kyle Lowry is a good mentor of mine that went to Villanova, “ he said. "If I need some advice I can definitely hit up Kyle. He'll be very open. I have his number. He's been very open at giving advice. That's how Villanova guys are. We take care of our own.

“I feel good,” he continued. “It’s not hard for me to be able to wake up early and play basketball. It’s the best thing in the world for me.”

One of the most important parts of workouts is the opportunity to see players in person and observe how they interact with team staff as well as their fellow competitors. Personality comes out in high-pressure situations being performed through fatigue.

“There’s always the grind that these guys go through, it’s as bad as it gets,” Tolzman said. “Some guys are doing as many as 21 workouts in a three, four-week period. That’s just unbelievable. It’s intense. They all know its part of the process and they’re pretty good troopers with it.”

For Gbinije, it’s helped to see familiar faces along the way.

“Troy [Williams] has been in 80 percent of my workouts so you start to see who you get compared with and who you’ve got to beat out for certain spots,” Gbinije said. “Troy is my guy. Being in so many of these workouts we’ve developed a relationship so it’s a good experience on and off the court.”

Most important when trying to make it through a month of gruelling travel and workouts is the work that took place leading up to it.

“That’s a major key coming into these,” Gbinije said. “That’s something I made sure I was prepared for. It’s basketball. Basketball’s a lot fun, so we had a lot of fun today.”

As front offices are watching players to learn who they are through workouts, the workouts can also be illuminating for the players themselves.

“It’s been a long journey,” Gbinije said. “I’ve learned so many things throughout this whole process and it’s helped me get better each and every time. I’m appreciating the whole thing.”