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The unique aspect of this field trip from a reporter’s standpoint is that we’re staying in the same hotel as the team. This doesn’t happen often, mainly because when the Raptors – and all NBA teams – travel they go five star only when they can’t go six.
Sports writers? Well, that would hamper our efforts to horde Marriott points. And those spots are pricey.
Anyway, the advantage is that it’s conducive to some rare casual encounters in some casual places. Like the lobby bar.
That’s where I had my first chat with Darrick Martin for the 2007-08 season.
It’s not like it sounds. Yes, I was in the lobby bar, doing lobby bar things with my tribe, but Martin stopped by for a moment coming back from a team dinner.
There were greetings all-around. His new deal only been finalized that morning (Saturday) – he’ll get the veterans minimum, partially guaranteed if he lasts until December 1st and fully guaranteed after January 10th.
He’d been hoping to come back in his role as third point guard and quasi-assistant coach, but wasn’t sure that his 13th NBA season would happen, at least in Toronto.
“I knew it was going to come down to the end,” said Martin later, when I had a notebook in my hand as opposed to some local flavour. “I think they wanted to keep some flexibility on the roster in case something happened over the summer.”
Martin didn’t sit around waiting by the phone. Last month he left Los Angeles for Treviso where he trained for a few days with the Benetton junior team.
Later he went to Bologna to train with defending Euroleague champions CSKA Moscow while their two guards, J.R. Holden and Theo Papaloukas, were playing at the European championships.
The month-long gig was arranged by Maurizio Gherardini, who, as I wrote this morning, carries some serious weight in these parts (“We started off calling him the mayor,” said Raptors president Bryan Colangelo the other day. “He’s been upgraded to Emporer). The CSKA Moscow camp was arranged by Gherardini as well as their coach, Ettore Messina, who worked for Gherardini at Benetton.
There was strange moment when the Toronto media contingent set up shop in Palaverde, Benetton’s green-hued home court, and there was a box score from an exhibition game between CSKA and Benetton.
Some guy named ‘Derrick’ Martin for CSKA scored seven points on 2-of-7 shooting with five steals, one assist and one turnover in 29 minutes of a 65-64 loss to Benetton.
Martin enjoyed the experience and count him as another believer that Ettore, widely viewed as the top coach not in the NBA, deserves the title.
“Technically he’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had,” said Martin.
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Andrea Bargnani is the only Raptors jersey in the window of the team store at La Ghirada, the practice facility for Benetton, but Bargnani fever hasn’t quite swept the nation, or even Treviso.
Martin introduced me to Alessandro Gentile, one of the juniors he trained with for a few days before joining CSKA. The 6-foot-4 (he told me 1m 94) 14-year-old is living and training in the dormitories here after moving from his hometown of Caserta, near Naples.
“He’s very fun,” Gentile said of Martin. “He teaches me a lot of things. I enjoyed it very much.”
But Bargnani his favourite player, right?
“Yes, he’s a good player, but I don’t like him very much,” said Gentile. “My favourite player is Kobe Bryant. I prefer guards.”
And Benetton looks like their junior team might be pretty good this year. Alessandro was with his friend, Samuel Dequara, a 16-year-old who had just arrived from Malta. He’s more of a big man type. My guess is he stands oh, about 2.24 metres.
Lunch was good. In my experience you can never go wrong with some tagliatelle con salsiece e asparagi.
Out.
