GANTER: Koloko just might be forcing the issue, and that’s a good thing for the Raptors

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EDMONTON — Christian Koloko doesn’t have the same advantages of some of his new basketball teammates, who always have had a life-long devotion to the game.

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Koloko, like his fellow countryman Pascal Siakam, was a latecomer to the game. As most men in Cameroon do, both grew up focused on soccer, not basketball.

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But like Siakam, late to midway through his teen years, Koloko was exposed to basketball, and suddenly soccer wasn’t his only passion.

When he continued to grow, on his way to his present-day 7-foot-1 height, Koloko, again like Siakam, made the decision to focus on basketball solely and begin his path to the NBA.

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Which is all a long way of saying that Koloko had some catching up to do when he arrived in the United States at the age of 16.

It wasn’t a complete surprise, then, to hear that the Raptors weren’t expecting too much in his first NBA season.

But even that has changed. Koloko made such huge strides this summer, particularly at the sessions with Raptors player development coach Rico Hines at UCLA, and then through training camp, that there is now legitimate talk within the organization that he could be a factor this season.

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Raptors assistant general manager and vice-president of player personnel Dan Tolzman is of that belief.

“I would say we didn’t know what to expect in terms of where he was at,” Tolzman said ahead of the Raptors’ first 2022 preseason game, against the Utah Jazz. “We knew that he was on this development curve of a guy that hasn’t played all that long, compared to North American kids.“

But with a summer league behind him, some key experience with elite NBA talent, not to mention teammates at those summer runs at UCLA, the expectations have shifted.

The first sign for management came at UCLA, where suddenly the rookie was in demand.

“We had our starters asking for him to play with them because he is a good screener, he’s a good roller, he cleans up messes and does all the little things that help pick-up games go smoothly and helps them win and he doesn’t take away from those guys,” Tolzman said.

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“It’s a good sign when you have your main guys wanting to play with your rookie, that they see something and he does the little things that eventually as he improves is going to make him a good player,” Tolzman said.

One of those vets interested in playing with Koloko was point guard Fred VanVleet.

““I like him,” VanVleet said Sunday after the preseason game. “Again, he really knows how to play. He’s good on his feet. He’s got a little touch down there.

“He’ll continue to get stronger and learn the NBA game and the physicality and the whistle, but he plays hard, he runs, he talks, he tries, he’s just big enough to get in the way and try to block shots.

“I thought he looked good (Sunday) and any minutes he can get are going to be valuable for him. He’ll be a good player one day and hopefully that’s tomorrow, but we’ll see how fast that happens.”

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Koloko’s playing time during Friday’s open scrimmage before a full house at Victoria’s Save on-Foods Centre was cut a little short when he took an inadvertent elbow in the nose from teammate Precious Achiuwa and had to leave the floor.

Koloko, at 7-foot-1 and a slight (for that height) 230, might not carry the bulk of a lot of bigs in the NBA, but he’s not the least bit intimidated by anyone.

“He definitely does not back down from any physicality,” Tolzman said. “He feels like he can get every rebound. He tries to block every shot. He’s not afraid of getting dunked on or any of that … He definitely puts himself out there.”

Koloko is not the least bit worried about any bigger bodies he’ll encounter. Any size disadvantage is temporary.

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“I need to get stronger,” he said. “I need to bulk up. I know my body. I’m going to continue to get stronger. But whenever it comes, it comes. I’ve been playing like this my whole life. I don’t think it’s going to be an issue for me to play like this.”

For the Raptors, there is no urgency on Koloko’s development as a basketball player, but his skill set is one the team, as currently constructed, lacks.

“Helping our interior defence was something we knew we wanted to address,” Tolzman said. “We really didn’t know what a rookie could give us, but we knew eventually with a year or so of seasoning, with the main team, with the G-League, all that, we might have something. Now in just one summer it’s proving that, maybe we have something right away, but we’ll see.

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Koloko sounds very much like he’s already convinced that time is here.

““I came here to play,” Koloko said Sunday after a lengthy video session courtside with assistant coach Jim Sann. “Whenever the coach needs me, I’m ready. I’m ready whenever he needs me. When he calls my name, I’m going to do whatever he wants me to do.”

That call sounds like it might not come as soon as Koloko might like, but sooner than even those that brought him into the organization initially expected.

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