Trip Helped Raptors Bond

MADRID–The grand European experiment is over, a success by any number of standards as the Raptors gained valuable life experience, got enough basketball work in to satisfy a demanding coach and – most importantly – learned a little bit more about each other.

A trip through Italy and Spain that included piazzas and plazas, receptions and restaurants and homecomings for Rome's Andrea Bargnani, Treviso's Maurizio Gherardini, and Spaniards Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Calderon, was a hit.

Even T.J. Ford, who was hardly enthusiastic about the trip as it began, came to appreciate what he was seeing, and what he was learning. And he made one of the more astute observations of the reason behind the whole 16 days.

"You get to see how famous these guys are," said Ford. "We have no idea. Being in the States, they can kind of float at their own will but just being here and in Italy, to see how much attention those guys get on and off the court is something good for us to see.

"I enjoyed every last minute of it."

While the Raptors were a close group before leaving Canada on Sept. 28, they appeared to grow even tighter over here and that's going to be significant as the season unfolds. Basketball, perhaps more than any other sport, is a game where chemistry counts and the more everyone knows about the guy next to him – and the more mutual respect for their backgrounds that exists – the better.

"I think this trip definitely helped us being even more open than we are, especially with the European guys," said Ford. "... we spent so much time together, you definitely learn so many things.

"You get to learn everybody's mindset mentally and everybody's determination for the season."

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source : thestar.com