torbnaje

Christian Koloko addresses media following being drafted in the second round.

post-draft-media-availability-christian-koloko-june-24-2022

Post Draft Media Availability - Christian Koloko - June 24, 2022

Toronto Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster speaks with the media following the 2022 NBA Draft.

post-draft-availability-l-bobby-webster-june-23-2022

Post-Draft Availability l Bobby Webster - June 23, 2022

Nick Nurse speaks with the media following the 2022 NBA Draft.

post-draft-availability-l-nick-nurse-june-23-2022

Post-Draft Availability l Nick Nurse - June 23, 2022

The Toronto Raptors selected Cameroonian centre Christian Koloko with the 33rd overall pick at the 2022 NBA Draft, held Thursday night in Brooklyn.

Koloko, 7-foot-1, 230 pounds, was drafted by the Raptors following three seasons at the University of Arizona. During the 2021-22 campaign, he averaged 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 25.4 minutes. He started all 37 of the games he played.

He was awarded the 2021-22 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and was an All-Pac-12 First Team choice. Koloko led the Pac-12 - and ranked 14th nationally - in blocks per game, and tied a University of Arizona single-season record for total blocks (102). He was named a 2021-22 Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American, a Lute Olsen All-American and one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Hailing from Douala, Cameroon - the same hometown as Raptors forward Pascal Siakam - Koloko participated in the 2017 Basketball Without Borders Africa and the 2018 Basketball Without Borders Global Camp.

raptors-select-christian-koloko-33rd-overall-in-2022-nba-draft

RAPTORS SELECT CHRISTIAN KOLOKO 33RD OVERALL IN 2022 NBA DRAFT

As Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster strode into the media room at OVO Athletic Centre on Tuesday afternoon in a striped polo and jeans and joked unprompted about how selecting 33rd overall was just a tad different than the fourth overall selection Toronto had a year ago, you got the impression this is an organization that’s ready to be on the clock.

When prepping for potential free agents or considering trade candidates, the heart of the homework lies in what’s already done. You’re pursuing those players because you’ve seen what they can do just by virtue of the NBA games your team’s been involved in or keeping up with all that’s going on around the league. There’s minimal happenstance with the draft. Scouring through candidates across the NCAA, Europe, Africa, wherever it may be, is a necessity if you want to maximize your chances of hitting with your pick.

Toronto, as history suggests, have been able to hit on their pick more often than not with the current iteration of the front office. Their numbers show that of the 60 picks made, usually 20-25 become legitimate NBA contributors, and specifically within their range, they have about a 30 percent shot at getting it right.

“I think back to some of the prior drafts, obviously, Pascal at 27, OG at 23, Delon at 20, Malachi at 29, so, we’ve always operated in this space,” Webster said. “There’s gonna be guys in this range, it’s obviously our job to find them, but I think operating here (read: in this range) felt a bit more comfortable than having the [lottery] pick last year.”

Over the course of the past several weeks, the Raptors have hosted 12 draft workouts with six players each. There were no repeat players and so that puts the total at 72. Some may wonder why have so many players work out for one pick but the due diligence isn’t just about the 33rd pick.

Yes, front and centre is figuring out which 20 or so players are best suited to be on their shortlist but doing the hard yards also maximizes their ability to be flexible on draft day and beyond. Some of the players who stopped by aren’t projected to be drafted and Toronto brings those players in to see who’s worth a Summer League invite and go from there aka the Fred VanVleet route. Others may be a possibility if the right opportunity presents itself whether in trading up or down, or acquiring an additional draft selection. You don’t have to get ready if you stay ready.

“You get to meet the kids and you get a sense of how they interact with you, with the staff,” Webster explained on the value of having prospects in the city and going to dinner with them. “You have different people have dinners [with them], it’s not always the same people that go to dinner. You want to get that full exposure, full download of who these kids are. When they come in here, they meet our medical staff not just in the context of a physical but interacting with them, we run them through a series of tests mentally as well, so, you kind of are looking for that full picture but, yeah, having dinner with somebody I think socially is definitely revealing.”

With Scottie Barnes, for example, the Raptors had been tracking his progress since he was 16-years-old, talking to people in his high school from coaches to teammates and even some people he played against. When they have a chance to speak with a player at the draft combine, that’s an opportunity to gain their perspective on controversies they may be dealing with or dealt with in the past or any other potential red flags. It’s not possible to do that with all 72 players the Raptors brought in but they normally aim to do it with about 10 players who will be on their “hard” shortlist on draft day.

According to mock drafts across ESPN, The Athletic, Tankathon, Sports Illustrated, and The Ringer, there is a wide range of players who could be available when the Raptors select at 33 including but not limited to Jake Laravia, Caleb Houstan, Andrew Nembhard, Justin Lewis, Trevor Keels, Walker Kessler, Christian Koloko, Jaden Hardy, Bryce McGowens, Ryan Rollins, and Patrick Baldwin Jr.

Laravia, Houstan, Lewis, Keels, McGowens, and Baldwin Jr. are all in the forward/wing category. Hardy and Rollins are scoring guards, Kessler and Koloko are centres, while Nembhard is your prototypical floor general. Houstan and Nembhard are both Canadian and attended the Raptors’ draft workout, among others. When it comes to whether the Raptors will look to draft the best player available or someone who addresses the biggest team needs, Webster indicated that the preference has always been about the former.

“It’s always going to be the best available,” Webster said. “It may be more [about] type of player as opposed to position – you know what we’re doing here: versatile, defensive, and if he can make a shot, great. Looking at those types of players typically.”

Those characteristics played a central role in the 2022 NBA playoffs and especially in the Finals with both the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics playing schemes that were predicated on defensive versatility among players like Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown. Robert Williams III, Kevon Looney, and Al Horford were the biggest rotation players on the court at 6-foot-9. There’s only one Steph Curry, though.

The Raptors, needless to say, are very confident in their style of play and now it’s about seeing whether they see the need to round out the edges or just keep stacking their chips on defence and length and taking whatever else comes with it as a bonus.

draft-diligence

Draft Diligence

Toronto Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster speaks to the media regarding the impending 2022 NBA Draft.

torbnaje

Post Draft Media Availability - Christian Koloko - June 24, 2022

Post-Draft Availability l Bobby Webster - June 23, 2022

Post-Draft Availability l Nick Nurse - June 23, 2022

RAPTORS SELECT CHRISTIAN KOLOKO 33RD OVERALL IN 2022 NBA DRAFT

Draft Diligence

Pre-Draft Availability l Bobby Webster - June 21, 2022

Pre-Draft Availability l Andrew Nembhard - June 10, 2022

Pre-Draft Availability l Caleb Houstan - June 10, 2022