Day 2 of Toronto Raptors 2012 Training Camp is in the books, and camp is getting more and more intense as players battle for roster positions. After the evening practice on Day 2 you could sense that the players were increasingly focused and wanted to prove to Coach Casey and the rest of the Raptors coaching staff that they deserve one of the 15 coveted roster spots.

As we mentioned prevoiusly, we spoke with Terrence Ross after Day 1 of Toronto Raptors 2012 Training Camp. We discussed being an NBA rookie, his time in training camp thus far, his thoughts about Halifax, and for some levity - his preference of basketball shoes:



On Day 2 of training camp we also spoke 1-on-1 with DeMar DeRozan, Ed Davis, Jose Calderon, and Jamaal Magloire.

Here's our chat with Ed Davis, asking  about his preparation in the off-season, his thoughts on this year's Raptors squad and the stiffened competition in the Atlantic Division & Eastern conference, and one of my favourite things to ask players this week - what they like to wear for kicks on court :)

Day 1 of Toronto Raptors 2012 Training Camp is officially in the books. Coach Dwane Casey and the coaching staff were putting the players through their paces in the day's 2 practices. With the partial access we had to the practices in session there were shooting drills, free throws, wind sprints, and working on set plays from inbound passes (baseline & sideline). The players were practicing with effort and high energy, being vocal throughout. This team seems to be bonding and enjoying the preparation of the season together. That can only bode well for the long grind & rigors of the NBA season.

All 18 members of this Toronto Raptors 2012 Training Camp are focused on what Coach Casey wants from them individually and what they are trying to achieve as a team in this upcoming 2012-2013 NBA season. The Eastern Conference, and more specifically the Atlantic Division, is more competitive than it has been in recent memory but in listening to several players today, Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo, and Head Coach Dwane Casey, they are clearly up for the challenge.

We had the opportunity to chat 'one on one' with 3 of the newest Toronto Raptors after the second practice of the day; Rookies Quincy Acy & Terrence Ross, and the likely starting small forward for the Raptors this season, Landry Fields. We got their thoughts after Day 1, their expectations for the team, themselves, and a few fun questions thrown in as well.  Due to some file uploading issues, we will have the Terrence Ross interview/chat available for viewing later today.

Speaking with Quincy Acy after Day 1 of Toronto Raptors 2012 Training Camp:

Speaking with Landry Fields after Day 1 of Toronto Raptors 2012 Training Camp:

Toronto Raptors 2012 Training Camp opened this morning at the Canada Games Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There are 18 players in camp vying for minutes, positions, and trying to show the coaches that they deserve to make the opening night roster.

We had the wonderful opportunity of attending today's practice, and we will continue to bring coverage throughout the week. Later this evening, after the 2nd practice, we will provide a full recap, quotes, and some video interviews from today's events. Be sure to check out HipHoopJunkies.com for more Training Camp coverage as well.

One thing I will mention now is that Jonas Valanciunas did not participate in this morning's practice, but he is certainly itching to get out on the court; just not before the team concludes that he is ready. Perhaps that will be this week, or perhaps it will be at a future date. Unfortunately, we all just have to wait until he's healthy and he's recovered from his left calf injury.

Until then, enjoy some screen captures/photos from footage we took today during interviews and the end of the morning practice.

                                                                                          (Photo credit: Toronto Raptors)

The Toronto Raptors are now in Halifax, Nova Scotia for a week long training camp which starts Tuesday morning, October 2nd.

Today was Media Day for the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre, and it was a whirlwind for the players; being interviewed by the various national & local media outlets, getting pictures taken for the NBA & Raptors websites, and some TV promo shoots as well. And then, they had to wrap things up in order to hop on a plane to the East Coast for the official preparations of the 2012-13 NBA season.

Things certainly won't be any less hectic here in Halifax, as the Raptors have practices & team meetings daily (Tuesday - Friday), and then things cap off on Saturday October 6th @ noon with an intra-squad game at the Halifax Metro Centre that will be open to the public. It's the only training camp event that will be open to the public. (click here if you will be in Halifax and still need or want a ticket to the intra-squad game.)

Stay tuned here at Hoop Heads North and also our blogging brethren @ Hip Hoop Junkies each afternoon & evening for updates from Toronto Raptors Training Camp all week long. We plan to have recaps of what we observed, player & coach quotes, video from media availability, and hopefully a few 'one on one' interviews that we can coordinate during the madness of it all! We're honoured to have this opportunity!

Be sure to follow/search the hashtag #RaptorsCamp on Twitter for the latest from various media outlets covering the Toronto Raptors Training Camp all week long.

We're excited, we hope Raptors Nation is as well!

Hoop Heads North & Hip Hoop Junkies visited the NBA 3X Tour in Halifax, Nova Scotia and we spoke with Miami Heat center, Joel Anthony to get his thoughts on the NBA Championship experience and the bright future of Canada Basketball.

Hoops Talk with Miami Heat centre, Joel Anthony - NBA 3X - Halifax, NS (Sept. 8, 2012)



Hip Hoop Junkies & Hoop Heads North's NBA 3X Recap - Halifax, NS (Sept. 8, 2012)*



*Don't mind my incorrect comment about Andrew Nicholson's draft position in the 2012 NBA Draft at the 2:33 mark in the recap video. He went 19th overall to the Orlando Magic, not 12th as I stated. Sometimes trying to remember things on the fly aren't always 100% accurate :)

Thanks again to NBA Canada's Jonathan Chang for bringing these events back to Halifax and for assistance in getting everything we needed for the interview & recap!

We're ramping up again for the 2012-2013 season...no lockout this year! A full training camp, pre-season, and then a full 82 games ahead of us! To help get you caught up on some Raptors related news, interviews, & opinion pieces you may have missed since the draft or Summer League, here are some we wanted to bring your attention to.

Enjoy!

--Report: Dominic McGuire signs with Toronto (via ProBasketballTalk.com & Yahoo! Sports)

--Jose Calderon speaks about his experience in Zambia (courtesy of UNICEF) (VIDEO) (via Raptors.com)

--DeMar DeRozan DOMINATING The Summer Competition! SICK Summer Mixtape! (VIDEO) (via BallIsLife.com)

--Toronto Raptors won’t be affected by Tom Anselmi’s appointment as MLSE president (via Doug Smith - Toronto Star)

--RaptorsHQ Talks Terrence Ross with U of W Men's Basketball Coach, Lorenzo Romar (via Adam Francis - RaptorsHQ.com)

--LOOKING AT RAPTORS' CHANGES (via Tim Chisholm - TSN.ca) - 3 parts:
   1) In the paint

   2) on the wing

   3) in the Raptors guard position

--Looking For Value At the Air Canada Centre (via Joseph Casciaro - RaptorBlog.com)

--Five Things The Raptors Are Missing To Be Considered A Contender (via DinoNationBlog.com)

It is now official! The Toronto Raptors will be holding their Training Camp for the upcoming 2012-2013 season in Halifax, Nova Scotia from October 1st - 6th, 2012.

Here is a link to some video coverage from this morning's press conference via CTV Atlantic. Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo said, "We've always said we're not Toronto's team, we're Canada's Team".

We here at Hoop Heads North are excited for the Halifax basketball community. We feel it's great to see the Raptors organization's commitment to helping to build and grow the game across our great nation of Canada!

Here are the details from the Toronto Raptors' press release:

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that Head Coach Dwane Casey and his team will conduct training camp in Halifax, Nova Scotia from October 1-6, featuring an intra-squad game Saturday, October 6 at noon at the Halifax Metro Centre.

A voluntary donation of $10 per ticket is suggested for admission to the intra-squad game, benefitting Feed Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame Education Program, Kidsport Nova Scotia and YWCA Supportive Housing for Young Mothers. Tickets will be available at participating AML Communications locations beginning Friday, July 27. For additional ticketing information, please visit www.ticketatlantic.com.

The Raptors will conduct their practices at the Canada Games Centre. All practice sessions will be closed to the public. A specific practice schedule with days, times and media availability will be released later.

This will be the fifth time the team has held a portion of camp outside the province of Ontario. The Raptors trained in Vancouver in 2010, Treviso and Rome, Italy and Madrid, Spain as part of NBA Europe Live in 2007, and Buffalo, New York in 2000 and 2001.

The Raptors return to Halifax where they played a preseason game in each of the team’s first three seasons (1995-97). The very first game in team history took place in Halifax on October 14, 1995, with the Raptors posting a 120-107 preseason victory over Philadelphia.

The city of Halifax has a long and successful history with the sport of basketball. The city played host to the collegiate CIS championship for 24 consecutive years from 1984 to 2007. The event returned to Halifax in March 2011 and 2012.

The Halifax Rainmen, a professional basketball club, has been in existence since 2007-08. Last season it was one of seven teams competing in NBL Canada’s inaugural season.

According to Tim Bousquet, News editor at 'The Coast', the Toronto Raptors will be holding a press conference at 10:30am ADT on Thursday July 26th, 2012 at the Canada Games Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Last summer during the NBA lockout there were some reports circulating that Halifax was a potential spot for the Raptors Training Camp, but of course the work stoppage dashed that possibility.

I'm as anxious as the rest of the Raptors Nation to find out what the official announcement will be. Will it be Training Camp?? Or will it be a pre-season game added to the Raptors schedule? Our fellow blogger Romy Aquino mentioned that Raptors General manager Bryan Colangelo was on the Bob McCown show earlier this summer and mentioned that the organization would be scoping out Halifax as a possible training camp site.

The Raptors have already announced a pre-season game for this October in Montreal on the 19th (vs. New York Knicks). In addition, in Winnipeg on the 24th the Detroit Pistons face the Minnesota Timberwolves. There is also an intra-squad game at Casino Rama in Ontario on October 28th.

Fun fact: The Toronto Raptors' FIRST EVER GAME was played in Halifax, Nova Scotia vs. the Philadelphia 76ers on October 14, 1995, in an NBA pre-season game at the Halifax Metro Centre. "Damon Stoudamire vs. Jerry Stackhouse"...wow...where does the time go?

Stay tuned!

A month has passed since the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship and we've heard from the experts and got opinions from the analysts about their thoughts on the NBA Finals. Now, the moment you've all been waiting for thoughts from Payal Doshi Inside the Purple Room. This time I took the show on the road and must give a big shout-out to @NBA3XCanada for the great access and footage I received from the their NBA event.

The NBA Finals are now in the rear view mirror as the Miami Heat hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy, and TONIGHT all the draft speculation will be over as the 2012 NBA Draft gets underway. The 'consensus' picks, the sleepers, the trades, and the buzz that surrounds the draft will be either all be confirmed or will have the insiders & experts scrambling to report what's going down.

There has been a lot of discussion as to whether or not the Toronto Raptors should trade their pick as a package to bring in a proven player that fills a current need, or do they keep the pick and draft a player to help them continue to build their core and add to the Raptors' 'youth movement'? HoopHeadsNorth.com contributor Ryan Aleong has his own thoughts on what the Toronto Raptors should do with the 8th overall pick in tonight's 2012 NBA Draft.

The Safe Pick: Kendall Marshall (written by Ryan Aleong):

The basketball gods did not look favourably on the Toronto Raptors for the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery and kept them at the 8th overall selection.

Based on various mock drafts, it is safe to assume the likes of Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Thomas Robinson, Bradley Beal, and Harrison Barnes will have already been selected. So what options are available for the Raptors? Damian Lillard, Jeremy Lamb, and Perry Jones III would be appealing. However, Canada’s team could do worse than selecting University of North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall.

Marshall doesn’t fit the current point guard model of Derrick Rose, John Wall, or Kyrie Irving. He isn’t a dynamic scorer, nor does he have their explosive speed. Toronto does need a point guard to follow Jose Calderon who has one year left on his contract. But why Marshall? Because he possesses the intangibles you want in a point guard.