Toronto Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell answers questions after practice in the Carleton University gym. The team is said to have enjoyed its stay in Ottawa.
For once, the big men on campus weren’t the Carleton Ravens basketball players with their five national championships.
Early this October, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors took over the spotlight – and the university’s gym.
The Raptors held their pre-season training camp at the Raven’s Nest, running two practices a day and finishing the week with an intra-squad scrimmage that was open to the public.
Dave Smart, head coach of the Carleton’s men’s basketball team, is responsible for bringing the NBA team to the capital, says Carleton’s director of recreation and athletics, Jennifer Brenning.
Brenning says that Smart knows the Raptors’ coaching staff well, and convinced them to consider the Nest as an option.
Tickets for Saturdays' scrimmage, as well as youth clinics for children ages 10-14, sold out within minutes, Brenning says.
The tickets were purchased at a suggested dontation of $15, but some online buyers offered up as much as $100 for a chance to attend the event.
Dave DeFreitas, manager of basketball development for the Raptors, says that travelling to Ottawa made sense for the team.
“Ottawa is a great city rich with basketball tradition,” he says.
“As the only NBA team in Canada, we not only see that as an obligation to grow the sport, but take it as an opportunity to go around the country.”
In promotions and on their website, the Raptors refer to themselves as “Canada’s team.” This title comes with responsibility, DeFreitas says.
“We don’t want to be so Toronto-centric. We know there are Raptors fans from Victoria to St. John’s and we accept that,” he says.
“We would love to play a game in Ottawa someday. Is it on the radar? Absolutely.”
Fan favourite Chris Bosh and six-time all-star Jermaine O’Neal both say they value the support of the nation and its capital.
On their first day in town, the Raptors were greeted by a group of eager young fans, many holding basketballs for players to sign.
Some even climbed the four-metre window frames to peek through the glass, which was covered with posters. Some fans spent their entire evening waiting outside the Ravens’ Nest gym.
“Getting off the bus and coming into this gym with all the fans outside has been great,” O’Neal says.
“Having this opportunity to create a fan base and almost a new life in a whole other country means a lot to me.”
This was O’Neal’s first trip to Ottawa, and he says he is pleased with Carleton’s facilities.
“I know the Raptors are a first-class organization and they would never have come here if it wasn’t a first-class facility,” he says.
It was also Bosh’s first trip to the capital. He was drafted by the team in 2003.
“It’s weird to come somewhere else and people know my name in a city I’ve never been to,” Bosh says.
“I just take that into consideration every time I go somewhere, and every time I play basketball.”
Compared to Toronto, Bosh says Ottawa is more low-key and has a small-town feel.
“And it’s cold here,” he jokes.
Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell says the training camp went well.
“I saw a lot of good things. Guys are in a little bit better shape than what I thought, which is good,” he said on the first day of practice.
O’Neal says the team is beginning to find their groove for the upcoming season.
“We have the whole month to get ready, and I look forward to creating the chemistry and atmosphere that’s going to make us a really good team,” he says.
The Raptors will continue to play away from Toronto, including an exhibition game in Edmonton on Oct. 21 against the Denver Nuggets.