Ask Hump! is still a work in progress. The questions are great, so thanks, I just haven't been able to ask Hump, basically. Hopefully today. In the meantime some good news on everyone's favourite Australian, Nathan Jawai, who has been cleared to begin his basketball career after a mysterious heart condition detected during medical screening. The club and Jawai have chosen not to disclose the nature of the problem, although a report in an Australian newspaper quoting his agent suggested it was an enlarged heart. This is good news for Jawai, who has seemed understandably bored and worried during a long stretch of prescribed rest that doctors used to assess his heart condition. Anything more strenuous that a brisk walk was a no-no and his basketball career was seriously up in the air. All I can offer on the kid's potential is that he's a beast with the feet of a ballet dancer -- to paraphrase Maurizio Gherardini - who was on the radar of a lot of teams before the Raptors acquired him. With my own eyes I can attest that he's a good free throw shooting big and has nice touch from two feet with either hand -- that's all I've ever seen him do. For the team it's a chance that they can get a little more from the O'Neal
trade than O'Neal. Let's face it, for the Raptors to progress as an organization, they're going to need their Manu Ginobilli moment, where they find a legit star from an unexpected source. Maybe Jawai is it. Now they can find out, at least.
Here's the release:
The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday that forward-centre Nathan Jawai (pronounced JA-why) has been cleared to begin physical activity. Jawai has been sidelined since training camp.
Jawai, 22, had been held out for precautionary reasons after an abnormality was detected during normal procedural pre-season cardiac screening.
The club acquired the draft rights to Jawai from the Indiana Pacers on July 9. He was the 41st overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft. He is the first indigenous player from Australia to be drafted by an NBA team.
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As for the Canada Basketball news yesterday, I guess I was surprised that Leo was retained, but it's the right thing to do. I guess that's why I'm surprised. Judging by the comments there is a strong sentiment out there that he shouldn't have been kept on. I think the message is important in that it would be hard to make a big hooha about supporting coaches and building the community and then start by gassing a coach who has made objective progress with the program the first time he runs into trouble. Leo mishandled the Dalembert deal, to an extent, but it's important to note that he was largely left alone to handle it. Wayne Parrish wasn't in Greece and he should have been. Going forward if a coach is having an issue with a player and something drastic has to be done it can be handled by the organization, not just the coach. This is proper. The one-year and an option approach is fair, given the circumstances. If Rautins and the women's coach, Allison McNeil can deliver the goods they'll have earned their extension. If they can't -- and the odds are against them, frankly -- their will have been time for CB to come up with a new plan in an orderly fashion which has rarely been the case in the past. Coaching is not the primary problem in Canadian basketball. It might not even be a problem, I don't know. But allowing the coaches to continue is a sign the organization is willing to be accountable for providing them the best chance to do a good job and not look for the first available scapegoat. That's progress.
