From the Casey article RR member Fanchie posted via Sportsnet.ca:
This summer, Casey wants Colangelo to add physical, aggressive, defence-minded guys and veteran leadership to complement his skilled players. One of those pieces is already in place. Jonas Valanciunas, the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft, has been stowed away in his native Lithuania. Optimistic Raptors fans picture him like Ivan Drago, strapped into all sorts of wires and beeping machines while uttering phrases like "I will crush him" and "If he dies, he dies." Which might not be too far off.
At just 19, the six-foot-11 centre has decimated competition overseas, helping the Lithuanian national team to three international gold medals in three different age groups in the past four years. He was named MVP each time, which helps explain why earlier this year Colangelo's peers collectively voted Valanciunas the best player outside the NBA. More importantly, he's the type of player Casey craves. "His game is playing aggressively under the basket: running the floor, setting picks, blocking shots," explains Maurizio Gherardini, the Raptors' vice-president of international scouting. "He fits perfectly with the principles Casey is trying to instill." And, by total coincidence, Valanciunas's coach this past season in Lithuania, Aleksandar Džikic, was an assistant under Casey in Minnesota a few years back during Casey's first stint as a head man, and teaches the same defensive principles. "There will always be a transition [coming from Europe]," says Gherardini, "but there are a lot of factors in making that transition as smooth as possible."
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/2...ad_snmagazine/
At just 19, the six-foot-11 centre has decimated competition overseas, helping the Lithuanian national team to three international gold medals in three different age groups in the past four years. He was named MVP each time, which helps explain why earlier this year Colangelo's peers collectively voted Valanciunas the best player outside the NBA. More importantly, he's the type of player Casey craves. "His game is playing aggressively under the basket: running the floor, setting picks, blocking shots," explains Maurizio Gherardini, the Raptors' vice-president of international scouting. "He fits perfectly with the principles Casey is trying to instill." And, by total coincidence, Valanciunas's coach this past season in Lithuania, Aleksandar Džikic, was an assistant under Casey in Minnesota a few years back during Casey's first stint as a head man, and teaches the same defensive principles. "There will always be a transition [coming from Europe]," says Gherardini, "but there are a lot of factors in making that transition as smooth as possible."
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/2...ad_snmagazine/
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