(June 28, 2006) -- The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they selected Benetton Treviso forward Andrea Bargnani (AN-dre-a BARN-neon-ee) with the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. Bargnani is the first European-born player to be selected with the first pick in the NBA Draft. Bargnani, 7-foot-0, 250 pounds, was an early entry candidate for the Draft. He began his career in 2002-03 with Stella Azzura Roma in Italy’s Serie B2 division. He signed with Benetton Treviso in 2004. He has played for the Italian Senior National Team, and has competed for his country on junior and under-20 national teams as well. Bargnani was named the “Top European Young Player of the Year” and recently led Benetton to Italy’s Lega A championship, averaging 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds. He shot 46.5 per cent from the field, 44.0 per cent from three point land and 82.2 per cent at the foul line. He also contributed 1.5 blocks in his 29.3 minutes per game. In his three seasons with Benetton at the Lega A level, Bargnani has averaged 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 109 games. He has shot .569 per cent from the field (223-392) and .370 per cent (88-238) from three-point range. He has also played three seasons for Benetton in the Euroleague, where he has contributed 6.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 38 contests. Bargnani averaged 12.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals in 47 games for Benetton in Lega A in 2005-06. He posted a season high of 25 points against Rome. He shot .578 per cent from the field and .369 per cent from three-point range, and led the Lega A in blocks with 63. In Euroleague competition, he contributed 10.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, while shooting .558 per cent from the floor and .434 from three-point land, in 18 games. He posted a season-high 20 points against Panathinaikos and Strasbourg. In 2004-05, he averaged 6.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 28 Lega A games for Benetton. In the Euroleague, he averaged 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 18 contests. In 2003-04, Bargnani posted averages of 4.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 10 games in his first Lega A season with Benetton. He made eight appearances in Euroleague action, recording 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds an outing. Bargnani was a member of Benetton when they faced the Raptors on October 20, 2003 in a preseason game at Air Canada Centre. He tallied 13 points, five rebounds, one steal and two blocks in 22 minutes in an 86-83 defeat to Toronto. nba.com
Great, someone actually started a NBA draft thread Here's my analysis of the top 11 picks 1.) Andrea Bargnani, Toronto: I would give this pick a B- because the Raptors do not need another forward when they already have Bosh and Villenueva. Bosh cant handle the middle. What they needed was a center like Lamarcus Alridge. Bargnani is going to be just like Tony Kukoc. A decent player but never will be a star. 2.) Lamarcus Alridge, Chicago- Good pick and they should've kept him. This is what they need, a low post scoring athletic center. Now he's in Portland and Tyrus Thomas is in Chicago. 3.)Adam Morrison, Charlotte: Nice pick up and he will fit in nicely with the rest of the young Bobcats. Im not sure if he will ever be a superstar but he plays with heart and scores like crazy. 4.) Tyrus Thomas, Portland: Traded to Chicago, but I dont know why the Bull's are so high on him. He's just like Tyson Chandler, a player who plays defense but very raw on offense. If he does end up playing like Kenyon Martin, the Bull's will be a very good team. I hope he doesnt become another Stromile Swift. 5.) Shelden Williams, Atlanta: They promised to draft him and they did. I dont know about this one because the Hawks still need a point guard. They made a big mistake last year not drafting either Chris Paul, Raymond Felton or Deron Williams. 6.)Brandon Roy, Minnesota: Good player who was traded to Portland for Randy Foye. I think its an equal trade for both teams. I like Roy. He's plays like Grant Hill. 7.)Rand Foye, Boston: Nice pick up but dumb trade. I dont know why people like Sebastian Telfair so much. Foye could of helped the Celtics a lot playing the point. If Telfair couldnt start for Portland, he's not going to start for the Celtics. Dude should have attended college and develop his game. Randy will now feed to KG in Minnesota. Its a nice situation to be in for Foye. 8.) Rudy Gay, Houston: This was the steal of the night but Houston traded Gay to Memphis for Shane Battier. Gay might become an allstar, whereas Battier will not get any better. Memphis just became a lot younger and more athletic. 9.)Patrick O' Bryant, Golden State: My GS Warriors!! I like this pick cuz this is what they need the most, A shot blocking legitimate 7 foot center. 10.) Saer Sene, Seattle: The dumbest draft pick of the night. Sene is a 7 footer from Senegal who only averaged 3 points per a game. Plus Seattle already has two young and raw centers in Robert Swift and Johan Petro. I dont see why they needed to draft another raw center. They better resign Chris Wilcox because what they need is a solid power forward. 11.) JJ Redick, Orlando: He's not going to be a superstar but he can shoot. He will fit in nicely with Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Darko. Isiah should be fired immediately. He drafted Renaldo Balkman a forward who didnt even average in double figures. He passed up point guards like Rajon Rondo and Marcus Williams. I wish Leone Powe the best of luck playing for the Celtics. I hope he does make the team and get a nice contract. Leon attended UC Berkeley and i followed him since his playing days in high school with the Oakland Tech Bulldogs. Dude is a beast. If he didnt have those knee injuries, Powe would have been drafted in the first round. A lot of teams are going to regret not drafting Leon.
Yeah Patrick O' Bryant of Bradley University. I cant say he's going to be a star but he'll be solid. The Warriors needed a center so its a good pick. Now its time to get rid of Mike Dunleavy and Mike Montgomery. and trade Baron while he still could play
yea thas who it was...Patrick O' Bryant saw dude on the news.. they said dude need a lot of practice... but god damn... he like just turned 20 and he's 7'... O_O;
He isnt a centre lol. he's a forward like chris bosh and charlie v. We chose Bargnani because he can(we hope) play multiple positions maybe even three because he so tall...as for our centre spot we recently signed Rasho Nesterovic from the spurs...not really a scorer but its still a inside presence to help block we definately need another centre that can produce but for now that will be fine. Our main priority before the season starts is to sign a proven solid point guard. His game and skills is oftenly compared to Dirk Nowitzki.
Ahh yes I forgot they traded Eric Williams to San Antonio for Nesterovic. Alridge is a finess player, regardless of that he's going to play center in Portland because Zack Randolph plays the power forward spot. The Blazers no longer have a center since they traded Theo Ratliff away and I dont think they will resign Joel Przybilla. Even if Toronto drafted Alridge I think they will force him to play center, just like what they did to Bosh. I hope Bargnani does turn out to be like another Nowitki or Gasol. Its a good thing Toronto's GM isnt Isiah Thomas, its Brian Colangelo who has a proven track record. I dont see the Raptors signing a proven point guard because the only free agent point guards out there are Sam Cassell and Jason Terry. I not sure if they want Terry who plays like Mike James and he has said that he wants to resign with Dallas. I see the Raptors making a trade for a point guard. No one knows what Isiah is doing. He's in his own little world where he thinks that he is building a championship caliber team. He has a bad track record, so drafting a sleeper wasnt the best decision. I just noticed that the Utah Jazz drafted Dee Brown who played with current Jazz point guard Deron Williams at Illinois. It will be nice to see Brown and Williams playing alongside each other again.
I think things are changing because of the fascination of inter-national players and the restriction of high school players entering the league. Look at the past several drafts when Yao Ming and Andrew Bogut were selected first.
The majority in the NBA is African American..... I've never seen Bargnani play...what makes him so special?
Hahaha I was right. The Raptors did trade for a point guard. They traded Villinueva for TJ Ford. A decent move for both teams.
Colangelo knows what he's doing man. Look at where Phoenix is at right now. Edit: Fred Jones new raptor, Alvin Williams released.
