Only once in the history of the Toronto Raptors has the club selected eighth overall in the NBA draft, and that was to make their biggest draft blunder as an NBA franchise. Amini Silatolu Authentic Jersey . Back in 2004, the Raptors passed on Andre Iguodala (and Al Jefferson and Josh Smith and Jameer Nelson) so that they could bring Brazilian center Rafael Araujo into the fold to man the middle with his comically short arms. Unsurprisingly, the GM responsible for that decision was fired the next season (but not before passing on Danny Granger, Andrew Bynum and David Lee so he could take Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham in the subsequent draft). Raptors fans will hope for better this year when the draft goes down a month from now in Newark, New Jersey. Heck, you could probably throw a dart at the list of draft-eligible players and not get stuck with someone as bad as "Hoffa", so maybe just improving on the 2004 draft is not enough of a barometer of success for Toronto this spring. Who might the team be looking at in anticipation of the big day? Well, heres a quick look at the players floating around the eighth pick that could bring someone of value to a Raptors club looking to make the playoffs next season. DAMIAN LILLARD - 62" - Point Guard Weber State Kawhi Leonard has made a huge name for himself this year as a player from a small school that exploded onto the NBA scene with the league-dominating Spurs, and Lillard is looking to follow in his footsteps next season. While Weber State is hardly a basketball powerhouse, Lillard himself sure was. He was second in scoring in the NCAA last season (24.5 ppg), was second in PER (33.58), shot a great percentage from three (.409) and has been winning over scouts across the NBA with his play in games and in workouts. He started the year as a borderline first rounder and now appears to be firmly in the conversation as a lottery pick this spring. His appeal for the Raptors is obvious. For a team with no players who can create their own shot consistently, hed be a transformative player in that regard. Hes a legit athlete with speed and quickness which he uses to get to the basket and create space for himself to get off his jumper. Hes a willing passer, although his instincts in that regard need work. His three-point shot would help open up the floor for DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani, and his ability to penetrate will help shift defences that can be attacked with smart passing and aggressive shooting. With Jerryd Bayless a free agent this summer and Jose Calderon a free agent next summer, the Raptors have to be exploring options for their future at this position, and if they choose to use the draft to address it, then Lillard would be an obvious, and compelling, choice. PERRY JONES - 611" - ForwardBaylor There is no bigger hole on Torontos roster than small forward, and if Perry Jones pans out, then there is no better small forward in this draft than him. Thats a huge if though. Jones was played mostly as a post player at Baylor and put up middling numbers in that role (13.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .500 FG%). Worse than the numbers, though, was Jones lackadaisical approach to the game. He looked completely disengaged far too often for comfort and that has caused his stock to crater this season. All that said, Jones boosters insist that if he was given a chance to play on the perimeter, where his superior size and ball handling could have been exploited, he would have looked a lot better than he did banging in the post with his wispy frame. In such a role, hes evoked names like Tracy McGrady and Paul George, but thats all speculative since no one has seem him play small forward consistently at a high level of competition. If he could reach those heights, he could remake Toronto as a franchise. He has the kind of versatility that opposing teams dread game-planning for. His combination of size, length and skill means he can punish both smaller and bigger players alike by utilizing the full array of tools in his toolbox. Plus, that kind of length and athleticism put to work in Dwane Caseys defensive schemes could be stifling if Jones committed to it. For the Raptors to take a chance on Jones, though, theyd have to be bowled over by his potential and utterly convinced he could capitalize on it. They want to win now, they arent looking to make a two-to-three year investment in a player that they have to develop unless they can be sure they are getting a superstar out of it. There is no doubt that Jones has the talent to get him into the conversation, but its unlikely that he is going to be able to convince the Raptors to take a chance on him, given that doing so would go completely against where they are hoping to get themselves to starting next season. Sure the talent is there, but it was there for Anthony Randolph, Brandan Wright and Austin Daye, too, and none of them have exactly contended for All-Star berths since entering the NBA. Still, if he did blow them away between now and the draft, so much so that they felt compelled to take him, youd have to at least wonder how good the team thought he could be to make that selection, given all of the above reservations. DION WAITERS - 64" - Shooting GuardSyracuse Waiters is a controversial figure in this draft. Run-ins with Jim Boeheim caused all sorts of red flags for scouts that few are willing to ignore, despite Boeheims about-face regarding Waiters. A bad rep is a very hard thing to shake heading into the draft, but if he can do it, then Waiters could make some sense for the Raptors on draft night. Waiters is a bulldog shooting guard, the kind of guy that attacks the rim vociferously and has the build to absorb contact and finish around the rim. Hes got the handle of a point guard (in fact, some believe he could even log spot minutes at the position, and he couldnt be worse in that role than Gary Forbes was) and would be an interesting James Harden-esque sixth-man for the Raptors if they went in that direction. Some question how hell adapt to playing in an NBA-style defence after running Boeheims zone at Syracuse, but Dwane Casey is one of the NBAs most ardent supporters of the zone defence, negating (to a degree) that concern with regards to Waiters. The question for Toronto is whether or not Waiters fits into the construction of this current Raptors squad. With DeMar DeRozan logging heavy minutes at shooting guard as a starter, youd either have to move him to small forward for stretches or allow Waiters to play point guard for stretches to get him enough minutes to make an impact. Both might be fine alternatives if the Raptors fall in love with Waiters talent, but Bryan Colangelo has a history of steering away from "red flag" players and that might be enough to keep Colangelo out of love with Waiters and out of contention for Torontos pick. JEREMY LAMB - 65" - Shooting GuardConnecticut Lamb possesses great length and strong defensive fundamentals, but his style is eerily reminiscent of DeMar DeRozans and his penchant for passivity would only exacerbate the culture that Casey is trying to eradicate in Toronto. TERRENCE ROSS - 66" - Shooting GuardWashington This would be a reach, especially since there are better guards ahead of him that will be available at Torontos pick, but hes explosive and can shoot the three (unlike Lamb) and will probably at least be brought in for a workout to strut his stuff for Torontos brass. TYLER ZELLER - 70" - CentreNorth Carolina While the Raptors are already bringing in Jonas Valanciunas next season, Zeller is more NBA-ready and could step in and play right away if the Raptors decide to let Aaron Gray walk in free agency. If the Raptors dont fall in love with any other prospects, this could be a smart, safe pick, though unfair comparisons to Hoffa would be inevitable if the Raptors went this route. TRADE THE PICK Since the Raptors failed to vault up into the top three, this option is still very much in play. While there are players floating around eight that could be solid additions to the clubs nucleus, if the Raptors can parlay this pick into a standout veteran, theyll do it. For instance, if packaging the pick with players nets the club Andre Iguodala, they are making that trade. If they could send this pick to Houston to get Kyle Lowry, they are making that trade. If swapping picks with Milwaukee gets them Brandon Jennings... okay, you get the idea. The point is that the Raptors want to start winning now. They have their prized rookie for next season already secured, and the club wont bat an eye at moving this pick to make the team better and more competitive. This is NOT one of those drafts where the Raptors are out hunting for more picks. They want to start surrounding their young core with veterans in their prime who can put this team securely into the playoffs. If that trade doesnt exist, then theyll be fine taking Lillard or Waiters or whomever, but understand their first priority is getting better, and if ditching their pick is the way to do that, then that is what they are going to do. Thomas Davis . Kershaw allowed one run in 6 2-3 innings of a 3-1 victory over Arizona in the March 22 opener at Sydney. The two-time NL Cy Young Award In the process, the reigning NL Cy Young winner strained a back muscle and went on the DL for the first time in his major league career. Luke Kuechly Authentic Jersey . Moore-Towers, 21, of St. Catharines, Ont., and Moscovitch, 29, of Toronto teamed up in 2009 and became Canadian pairs champions in 2011. They were runners-up at the national championships the past two years.HOUSTON -- Syracuse coach Scott Shafer wishes his team could have held its big lead over Minnesota and cruised to an easy win in the Texas Bowl on Friday night. But he found it fitting that the Orange had to eke out the victory considering the number of close games they played this season. Terrel Hunt scrambled 12 yards for a touchdown with 1:14 remaining to lift Syracuse to a 21-17 victory over the Golden Gophers. "It would have nice if we could have just knocked them out and won by 17 or something," Shafer said. "Thats kind of not our way this year. I think it was appropriate that we won in that fashion." Brisly Estime set up Hunts touchdown with a 70-yard punt return. Estime would have scored if not for a tackle by punter Peter Mortell. "Brisly is a quick as a jitterbug," Shafer said. "We felt that he could give us something." It was the second-longest punt return in Texas Bowl history. "We probably out-punted our coverage," Minnesota coach Jerry Kill said. Syracuse (7-6) led 14-3 entering the fourth quarter before Mitch Leidner threw two touchdown passes and a 2-point conversion to put the Gophers up 17-14. After the Orange regained the lead, Minnesota attempted two long passes to the end zone on the final plays. The first slipped through Drew Wolitarskys arms and the second, as time expired, was knocked down near the end zone. Minnesota (8-5) got a boost to start the second half when Kill returned to the sideline for the first time since Sept. 28 before Syracuse came back to send the Gophers to their sixth consecutive bowl loss and second straight in this bowl. Kill began the game in the press box, where he has observed his team since returning from a leave of absence because of epilepsy. Kill has had five seizures on game day in two-plus seasons at Minnesota. He took the leave of absence in October and returned a couple of weeks later. "I felt I would do anything I can to help," Kill said about joining his team on the sideline. "Im not sure if it helped or not. Evidently, it didnt because we didnt win the game." Hunt finished with 188 yaards passing and 74 rushing with two scores to earn Most Valuable Player honours and a 10-gallon cowboy hat. Roman Harper Authentic Jersey. Leidner finished with 205 yards passing, Maxx Williams had five receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown and Wolitarsky had 94 yards receiving and a score. Syracuse attempted a 45-yard field goal with about 3 1/2 minutes left, but it sailed wide right. Robert Welsh sacked Leidner on third down on the next drive to force a punt and set up the winning drive. The Gophers took their first lead when Syracuse bit on a play-action fake that left Wolitarsky wide open for a 55-yard touchdown pass that made it 15-14 early in the fourth quarter. Leidner then hit Mike Henry for the 2-point conversion to push the lead to 17-14. Players and coaches on the sideline jumped around wildly after the touchdown, while Kill smiled and stood nearly still amid the chaos. Hunt was penalized for intentional grounding on third down of the ensuing drive by Syracuse forcing a fourth-and-25 and a punt by the Orange. Jerome Smith rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown for Syracuse and Estime had five receptions for 47 yards. Minnesota cut it to 14-9 when Williams got in front of two defenders for a 20-yard touchdown reception from Leidner on the first play of the fourth quarter. It was the Gophers first touchdown on offence since the second quarter of a 24-10 win over Penn State on Nov. 9. Minnesota attempted a 2-point conversion, but Leidner was sacked. The Orange used a clock-eating 15-play drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by Hunt to push the lead to 14-3 with about three minutes left in the third quarter. Syracuse used run after run to pound the ball on that drive and had an 18-yard run by Smith and a 17-yard scamper by George Morris to keep it going. Syracuse took a 7-0 lead when Smith scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter. That drive was helped by a nifty catch by Christopher Clark, who stretched out to grab a 19-yard reception with a defender in his face just before stepping out of bounds. Minnesota cut it to 7-3 on Chris Hawthornes 41-yard field goal by as time expired in the first half. ' ' '
