Music: {allcanada} RAPTORS HOLD VANCOUVER CAMP, LOOK TO BECOME CANADA'S TEAM

Saturday, October 2, 2010

{allcanada} RAPTORS HOLD VANCOUVER CAMP, LOOK TO BECOME CANADA'S TEAM

VANCOUVER - Training camp in Vancouver may be a homecoming of sorts for Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano, but the organization is using the opportunity to sell itself as "Canada's team" in what was once enemy territory.

The Raptors kicked off their West Coast leg of training camp Saturday with a practice at the University of British Columbia.

Triano, who starred as player and coach at Simon Fraser University and served as a radio analyst with the now-defunct Vancouver Grizzlies, was the centre of attention after practice.

Surrounded by a bevy of reporters in front of a backdrop sporting both the Raptors and UBC Thunderbirds logos, the 52-year-old said it was nice to be back in B.C.

"When (general manager) Bryan (Colangelo) had mentioned it a year and a bit ago, about the potential of coming here, I was very excited obviously," said Triano, whose team opened camp in Toronto on Tuesday.

"To be able to come home and be around friends and some family members here, it's an ideal situation for me."

Triano said there are still plenty of basketball fans in the Vancouver area, though the departure of the Grizzlies for Memphis in 2001 didn't help.

The Raptors were a fierce rival while the Grizzlies were still B.C.-based, but Triano said he could see some fans discarding past allegiances and cheering for Toronto.

"I know that there are some basketball fans here still," he said. "Our games do go across the nation on a lot of broadcasts and it's fun to have so many people see them live."

Triano was named Toronto's head coach in 2008 after the team fired Sam Mitchell.

Before he landed with the Raptors, he served not only as a radio analyst with the Grizzlies, but also as director of community relations.

During his time at SFU, the Niagara Falls, Ont., native set 11 school records, including the mark for career points.

Once his university playing career was complete, Triano joined SFU as an assistant coach. In 1988, three years after he joined the SFU staff, Triano was named head coach and he remained in that position until 1995.

He first joined the Raptors as an assistant coach during the 2002-03 season, becoming the first Canadian-born coach in the NBA.

The Raptors are practising at UBC's War Memorial Gym until Tuesday.

Saturday's practice was closed to the public, though a throng of young children were welcomed in once the session was complete.

They whispered in excitement and strained their necks skyward as tall athletes walked around.

The Raptors open the 2010 pre-season Wednesday against another basketball player revered in B.C. when they take on Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns.

The 36-year-old two-time NBA MVP grew up in Victoria before heading south of the border for university.

Colangelo said there's no reason why Canadians across the country can't live happily under the Raptors banner.

"This is a great chance for us to get out and expose the product to a whole other part of the country," he said, adding the team has been to Waterloo, Ont., Ottawa and Edmonton in recent years.

"We obviously look at the entire country as our market. It's not just a Toronto-based product. To be able to come here and have the kind of experience we're having, and have the people welcome us with open arms, it's been nice."

Though Vancouver was soaking wet throughout much of September, the Raptors have been treated to sunny skies since they landed Friday.

Leandro Barbosa, who was acquired from Phoenix in the off-season, said this is the first time he's visited B.C. without needing an umbrella.

The 28-year-old Brazilian guard has been to Vancouver twice before.

Andrea Bargnani, who's expected to play a bigger role with the Raptors after superstar Chris Bosh took his talents to Miami, said it's a welcome change of pace to hold training camp outside Toronto.

"It's a beautiful city," the 24-year-old Italian forward said of Vancouver.