No matter what happens for the rest of Dalano Banton’s basketball career he’ll always have one thing that will follow him wherever he goes and forever how long he plays:
He’s the first Toronto-born and raised hooper to be drafted by his hometown NBA team.
He’s told the story often enough since he was taken with the 46th pick in the draft in July: About how he would play at all hours on the outdoor courts in Rexdale’s Mount Olive neighbourhood in the northwest corner of the city and how he honed his game at the open runs at the North Kipling Community Centre or the Rexdale Community Hub. Often the gym hours were staggered — one would have the gym open from 4-6 and the other from 6-8. Banton wouldn’t choose, he’d go to both.
He’s been wearing Raptors gear since he was a child. The difference now for the six-foot-nine, 21-year-old is that he gets it all provided.
He’s still not quite adjusted to the turn his life has taken since leaving Toronto for prep school in the U.S. and spending one season at the University of Western Kentucky and another at the University of Nebraska where he put himself on the NBA radar due to his all-around skills as his 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists as a sophomore implied.
He’s not a Vince Carter fan. He was raised on Joey Graham and Andrea Bargnani. He’s got scars.
But know he’s in position to make a beautiful story of his own. He’s still getting used to it.
“It’s just the everyday life; waking up every day,” he said. “It’s just been a dream come true just to wake up and come to the Raptors facility. I feel that playing basketball growing up every kid wants to get drafted to their own city. So being drafted is definitely a blessing, but to where you’re from is definitely like two dreams coming true at once. So I’ve just been living the everyday life and everybody has been so welcoming and seeing people and them recognizing who I am. So it’s just everybody embracing me and being able to show out for the city has been a blessing, so I’m grateful for it and I’m loving every day.”
The Raptors are high on him. They love his length, his ball skills and his feel for the game. If he’s not a true point guard they love the idea of having someone of his size handling the ball in transition, imitating half-court offence and finding open teammates.
“I think he really has a high IQ and can play in this league and can be really interesting in this league,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. “Where that all meanders and goes here in the short and long term obviously remains to be seen but he’s got a vision, he’s got a special vision [as a] characteristic or quality, he really sees a lot of things with the ball… and he’s got an interesting rhythm, tempo that he plays with that’s kind of hard to figure out when you’re trying to defend him.”
The plan — most likely — is for Banton to play considerable minutes with Raptors 905 in the G-league. Nurse says he wants Banton to have the ball in his hands a lot this season and while things can change, the G-League is likely the place where that can happen most often.
Banton’s ready for anything. “I’m realistic,” was how he said it the other day.
But one of the things that could potentially be a challenge for Banton is the same thing that makes his story so unique.
Playing in your hometown in the NBA isn’t for everyone. Some NBA players actively avoid it. It comes with its own set of challenges as an entire community justifiably wants to share in a local son’s success. It means a constant stream of requests for tickets and appearances, gestures and favours that players who are on the other side of the continent from their hometowns don’t have to deal with. It can mean old friends who want to revel in a player’s success, but don’t have the same responsibilities or profile an NBA athlete does. Saying no can be hard and it’s a skill that can take time to acquire.
Banton sounds like he’s already trying to figure that part out.
“I love my neighbourhood, I love the area, but I know it’s kind of a place I have to distance myself from just to stay focused,” he said after practice at Raptors training camp on Wednesday. He’s planning some charity work and gift-giving events, but for now his home is the OVO Centre, for all practical purposes.
“Everybody I know is from there and all my people are there but just trying to stay focused. It’s hard to balance it,” he said. “I’ve talked to the whole organization about just trying to stay balanced and find a proper structure to help myself be successful. But I still have family there and I went to see a couple of my family members, for sure.”
Tellingly, his support system is tight in both numbers and profile.
“I’m very blessed to have genuine people around me who just want the best for me. They understand just not having the access to me just to be able to stay focused, coming into the gym two-to-three times a day I don’t have time to hang out and do all the other stuff that people might want to do,” he said. “But everybody understands the situation that I’m in, the close people that I have around me. So, I guess they just know that I’ve been focused on really just grinding and am focused on the future and what the future has to hold for me to try to get ready for the season and training camp.
“So every week has just been building for me so I have something to look forward to the next week. So it’s just been a grind and everybody understands that and I’ve been grateful to have the support team around me and the Raptors, you know, anything I need they’ve been there for me for anything. So I feel like the support team I have around me is [too] good for me to have a downfall. I know there will be bumps along the road, and I know that, but I feel like when you have the best support team around you it just puts you in position to be successful.
Who is he relying on?
“Just definitely my mom, my dad, my family, my grandmother, my uncles. Just the people who have been there and understand, really, where I come from. It’s easiest for me to talk to them and get that guidance from… but [having] my whole community behind me in Rexdale is just, you know, I have a lot to look forward to and a lot of people who are motivated. So I know what’s on the line and just want to continue to be positive and successful.”
He’s got some practical concerns to address to make that happen. He’s got to improve as a shooter — he shot only 41 per cent from the floor in two college seasons and 23.7 per cent from deep. To that end he’s a pupil in what the Raptors refer to as their shooting academy as they work to hone one of the most important skills of the game with a group of players who have plenty of attributes but don’t shoot the ball well.
“Just getting some things ironed out and straightened out and trying to put those in a groove that feels comfortable then put them on autopilot and get the reps in,” said Nurse.
The other is getting a little more bulk and strength distributed across his never-ending arms and legs. It’s a process.
“It’s definitely been a long road for me,” said Banton. “I feel like I’ve put in a lot of work toward my body. If I can just wake up and say I want the results, I would do that, I would get it. But I feel like it’s a longevity thing. You just have to build days on top of each other for guys with fast metabolisms or guys who can’t get gain weight rapidly like other guys… it’s the amount you eat and the amount you put in. I lose weight if I don’t do anything. The more that I’m in the gym lifting the more that I’ll gain by being active… [it’s] kind of just understanding your body and having the professionals here to help you do so and learning what’s good for you and not good and doing it the right way rather than the wrong way.”
Worst case, a little home-cooking probably can’t hurt either.
Raptors’ Banton focused on process, avoiding distractions in first camp
Source: Pinas Ko Mahal
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