Raptors Select UNC Forward Ed Davis With No. 13 Pick In Draft

The six-foot-10, 225-pound Davis led the Tar Heels in rebounding, with 9.6 per game, blocked shots (2.8), and was second in scoring (13.4) in his sophomore season, but suffered a season-ending injury on Feb. 10 when he broke a bone in his left shooting wrist.

The 21-year-old, who strode up on the stage at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York dressed in a charcoal grey suit, was asked what he knew about his new Canadian home.

``My favourite player Chris Bosh plays there,'' he answered.

Maybe not for long. Bosh is set to become a free agent July 1, and hasn't so much as hinted at what his future plans are.

Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo said earlier this week that with so many questions surrounding his roster, he planned to take the best player on the board rather than necessarily pick a replacement for Bosh. Still, the similarities to Bosh are obvious, including their size.

Davis, the son of former NBA player Terry Davis, is known for his rebounding at both ends of the floor, and uses his length and explosiveness to block shots.

Bosh's Twitter feed was silent after NBA commissioner announced the Raptors' pick, amid chants of ``U-S-A! U-S-A!'' from the rowdy New York crowd. But the Raptors captain did tweet when Texas guard Damion James went 24th, writing: ``Congrats to Damion James a.k.a. ''Big Freshman``! I remember when he first got to high school....''

Davis was leading the ACC in field goal percentage (.578), blocked shots, was second in rebounding and 15th in scoring before his wrist injury ended his season. The Richmond, Va., native, who has trained at home with his dad during off-seasons, missed the final 13 games of his sophomore year, leading some to wonder if he'd be fully recovered come draft time.

The Raptors never brought Davis to Air Canada Centre for a pre-draft workout, but he was considered a potential top-10 pick for last year's draft before deciding to stay at UNC for another season.

Among his Tar Heels highlights, Davis was the third-fastest player in school history to block 100 shots (51 games) behind Rasheed Wallace (47) and Sam Perkins (50). He scored a season-high 22 points against Michigan State, and tied his career-high of 16 rebounds against Maryland.

Just who Davis will play alongside in Toronto remains to be seen with this murky off-season hinging on Bosh. Disgruntled forward Hedo Turkoglu has said he wants out of Toronto, further complicating matters.

The Washington Wizards, meanwhile, selected Kentucky point guard John Wall with the No. 1 pick. The Philadelphia 76ers took NCAA player of the year Evan Turner from Ohio State at No. 2, while Georgia Tech forward Derrick Favors went third overall to the New Jersey Nets.

Rounding out the top five, the Minnesota Timberwolves took Syracuse forward Wesley Johnson at four, while Kentucky forward DeMarcus Cousins went fifth to the Sacramento Kings.

Davis's selection marks the eighth consecutive year that the son of a former NBA player was taken.

The Raptors selected Southern California swingman DeMar DeRozan with the No. 9 pick last year. They went on to have another disappointing season, finishing second in the Atlantic Division with a 40-42 record to miss the playoffs.