arging outfielder Junior Lake, who looked away in frustratio

Nik Stauskas was nine years old and already thoroughly smitten with basketball when a chance meeting with Vince Carter sealed his fate. Air Max 200 Scontate . Stauskas and his family were at a Toronto Raptors open practice at the Air Canada Centre when he was plucked out of the crowd to shoot hoops with Carter and Morris Peterson. "He hit a three-pointer on Vince Carter, so Vince tackled him to the ground and gave him a noogie," dad Paul said, laughing. "We got pictures of all of it, it was great. That was the tipping point I think." The sweet-shooting 20-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., is one of six Canadians at the NBA pre-draft camp this week in Chicago, hoping to catch the favourable eye of league general managers and scouts. The others are Jordan Bachynski of Calgary (Arizona State), Khem Birch of Montreal (UNLV), Tyler Ennis of Brampton, Ont. (Syracuse), and Torontos Melvin Ejim (Iowa State) and Dwight Powell (Stanford). You can watch live coverage of the NBA combine on TSN2 and TSN GO on Thursday and Friday at 1pm et/10am pt. Canadian star Andrew Wiggins, considered a top-three prospect in the June 26 draft, isnt attending the combine. Stauskas is part of a growing crop of Canadian kids making their mark on the game. The six-foot-six guard earned Big Ten player of the year in his sophomore — and final — season with Michigan, leading the Wolverines to their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournaments Elite Eight. Stauskas, who had a career-best seven three-pointers at Illinois in March, is known for killing defenders with his quick step-back and release. Its ". . . so fast, youre not going to (defend it). Hes quick. Hes like a cat," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said of Stauskas after his teams loss to Michigan in January. Stauskass accuracy was developed over thousands of hours chucking up shots, first in their driveway and then on their custom-made backyard basketball court. The day nine-year-old Stauskas squared off against Carter, Paul Stauskas said his son already "had range. At the time he would shoot with two hands, he only developed his one-handed shot probably when he was 13, 14. So it was more of a chest pass. But he was very accurate doing it." Stauskas first played when he was seven, on a Lithuanian club team in Toronto coached by his uncle Vic Simkus. Even then, he was three inches taller than any kid on the court, so he played centre. He scored four points in first game — a 6-4 victory. "Nik had this big smile on his face, because we were all so enthusiastic, we were cheering for him, Go Nik go! He just had such a good time. Thats kind of what started it," Paul Stauskas said. "And if a kid enjoys doing something, whether theyre golfing or skating or whatever, when you do it enough times, you become really good at it." Stauskas became really good after the family moved to their Mississauga home when he was in Grade 5. His dad wanted to install either a pool, a putting green or a basketball court in the backyard. They went with the court, because Nik was "just so enthusiastic about basketball and went above and beyond the call of duty to work on his game," Paul said. The dad wanted the best for his boys — Nik has an older brother Peter — so had the court installed by a company that specializes in modular sports flooring. The backyard court, the first by this company in Canada, is made of interlocking tiles that both gives the feel of a real court surface, and help prevent ankle problems and shin splints. Good thing, because Stauskas would practically live on that court for the next several years. In the winter, he would plug in a space heater to warm his hands. Its also a good thing, Paul said, that he chose the court over the putting green. "Maybe Id be a much better golfer," he said. "But Im 100 per cent convinced Nik would not be where he is today if we had not done that. "This was just one of those things, he could be by himself and he was just happy as a lark, he didnt need anybody, he could be there for hours, flicking shots. And you know how kids get, they start playing games in their head and they start fantasizing that theyre hitting the last-second shot in an important game. Hed just play games with himself, just very happy." Stauskas shared his backyard shooting exploits online, turning into a bit of a YouTube showman. In one video, shot on Christmas Eve of 2012, Stauskas, in tuque and track suit, dropped 45 of 50 three-point shots. In another, shot on a rainy day last spring, he made good on 70 of 76 attempts — including 46 in a row — in the span of five minutes. That YouTube video has over 500,000 views, and even caught the attention of Stephen Curry. Golden States star guard retweeted the video, and wrote: "3pt contest sometime @NStauskas11 ????? this is Impressive." Stauskas tweeted: "I love waking up to a challenge by the best 3 point shooter in the world!!! Today might be a good day HA!" The Canadian quickly gained a fan following in his rookie year at Michigan. Paul Stauskas remembers it was a couple of tuba players on the school band that came up with the maize-and-blue version of the Maple Leaf that flew at games in Ann Arbor. The tuba players then created a T-shirt with the maize-and-blue flag. Underneath the Maple Leaf it read: "The best Canadian import since Molsons." For a pre-season game this past winter, Paul Stauskas and 50 friends, neighbours and family members chartered a Greyhound bus from Mississauga to Ann Arbor. They all wore the T-shirts. "We were the Nik Stauskas cheering section," Paul said. He and his wife Ruta were regulars at Wolverines games, attending about 15 games in each of Niks two seasons. "Weve followed him all over the country, to Atlanta, to Dallas, all over the place, and those road trips for us were a ton of fun," Paul said. "The whole point is, my wife and I, were financially secure. We never needed our kids to Oh youve got to get this good job to get me out of a bad situation, go pro. It was always just having family fun. And Nik just happened to be really good at what he was doing. "Its been fun, the entire ride. You think Disneyland is fun. This is a helluva ride." The family is happily buckling up for what lies ahead. Most mock drafts have Stauskas going anywhere from 11th to 14th (Denver, Orlando, Minnesota and Phoenix). Next seasons NBA rookie scale has the No. 11 pick getting paid just under US$1.9 million in the first year. "Its really exciting to think of the teams he might play on, and the players he might play with and against," Paul Stauskas said. "Nik has idolized LeBron James from the second LeBron stepped on the court. I was just saying to Nik Nik youre going to be playing against him! "The first time he steps out on the court, and he plays against LeBron, I think hes going to be shell-shocked. Hes probably going to go up to him and ask him for his autograph," he added, laughing. Paul Stauskas cant help but imagine the possible roster permutations. Hes heard the Chicago Bulls — who have the No. 16 pick — might like his son. "We were sitting there thinking Can you imagine Nik, youre playing with (Derrick) Rose? WOW. . . I can just hear it now: Rose to Skauskas, Stauskas back to Rose, OH AND ITS INNNN! That would be fantastic." He thinks Boston — which has both a lottery pick and the No. 17 pick — would be a good fit. "With Rajon Rondo there, I can imagine Nik playing with Rondo," Paul said. "When Rondo first came in the league, both me and Nik saw his very first game and we looked at each other and we go, Wow, is this guy good. So imagine we see this guy and a few years later (Niks) playing side-by-side with him. Its crazy." Rowan Barrett, the assistant GM of Canadas mens basketball program, saw Stauskas play in high school when he was a 15-year-old at Mississaugas Loyola Catholic School. "It was clear that there was talent, there was ability," Barrett said. "The keys you wanted to know were: What was his mind like? And how much would he be willing to work at it? The great thing is he is excellent in both of those areas. Tremendous work ethic and definitely has the mind of a winner. You put those things together with size and length and skill, and you can find yourself a pretty good basketball player. "Im very excited for him." Wiggins, Ennis and Stauskas are all projected lottery picks, which would make this years draft the most successful, in terms of numbers, in Canadian history. Anthony Bennett became the first Canadian to be picked No. 1 overall when he went to Cleveland last year. Canadian Kelly Olynyk (Boston Celtics) was the 13th pick last year. Barrett, 41, said the Canadian growth in the game is a product of opportunities and exposure that werent there when he was growing up in Toronto. "Night and day," Barrett said comparing the generations. Wiggins, Stauskas and Ennis grew up watching the Raptors. Barrett aspired to be a track and field athlete. "I played many of the sports but at that time in Canada, you just had some tremendous athletes in track and field who were bringing home medals from Olympics Games. So those athletes were the ones you wanted to emulate," Barrett said. "But a funny thing happened, I kept growing. "Its a tremendous environment right now for these kids." The 60 participants in this weeks NBA combine will be tested on skills such as vertical leap, shooting, lane agility, and speed. Each team is also allotted a half-hour interview with 18 players of their choosing. Air Max 720 Scontate Uomo . The Senators will put the busy off-season and training camp behind them when they open their regular season on the road. They kick things off Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and then head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Air Max 95 Outlet Italia . First reported by FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, its unknown if the impetus for the deferral proposal came from players or management, but it never left the preliminary stages. http://www.airmaxitaliascarpe.it/scarpe-air-max-95-scontate.html . -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted.MILWAUKEE -- Kyle Lohse had the Chicago Cubs hitting harmless groundballs early in counts. He threw in the occasional fastball to keep batters off balance. The Cubs struggled at the plate with the Milwaukee Brewers veteran locked in with his slider and sinker. Lohse allowed just three hits in a complete game shutout, and Ryan Braun had a two-run homer in the first inning of a 9-0 rout against the Cubs on Sunday. Milwaukee pounded Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija (1-5) for eight earned runs in three innings, raising his ERA from 1.68 to 2.54. "I figured it would be low-scoring on both ends. I knew Kyle had a good chance of keeping them down and I didnt expect to get a lot of runs off Samardzija. Great offence," manager Ron Roenicke said. Braun homered to left on the first pitch he saw from Samardzija, and the Brewers rolled from there with Samardzija having trouble locating his fastball. Lyle Overbay broke the game open with a three-run double in the third. Even Lohse had success at the plate with an RBI single to drive in Overbay to make it 8-0 for the pitchers second run-scoring hit of the game. Lohse (7-1) needed just 93 pitches in tossing his eighth career shutout. "Its fun to go out there and help out, add on, but thats not my main job," Lohse said about his 2 for 3 day with the bat. "My main job was to go out there and get us deep in the game, and I take a little more pride in that." With Lohses pitch count at just 83 pitches after eight innings, Roenicke wasnt even thinking about pulling the veteran. "I didnt even go talk to him. When you see that kind of game and the pitch count that low, its impressive," the skipper said. One of the few highlights for Chicago was Brian Schlitters single to lead off the seventh for the relievers first major league hit. Otherwise it was a frustrating day for the last-place Cubs. They lost their 14th straight series on the road, a streak dating to last September. Samardzijas "command wasnt the bbest today, but it was just one of those days for him," manager Rick Renteria said. Air Max Scontate. "I think very rare." The eight earned runs allowed were as many as Samardzija had given up in his previous six starts. Scooter Gennett had two doubles off Samardzija before hitting his third homer of the year in the fifth off reliever Justin Grimm. Gennetts first double exemplified the Cubs afternoon. A high fly to shallow left-centre in the second fell in between backpedaling shortstop Starlin Castro and charging outfielder Junior Lake, who looked away in frustration as Gennett hustled into second. "You have to take advantage of mistakes against a good pitcher like that. When a team makes mistakes like that, you have to jump on it," Braun said. Two innings later, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was ejected by home plate umpire Jerry Meals for arguing a called third strike and Chicago trailing by eight. The left-handed slugger turned to face Meals and pointed angrily with his left arm at the ground before being sent back to the dugout by Renteria. "I said my peace and I definitely understand why I got ejected," Rizzo said. "Im going to move on." Braun hit his ninth homer of the year and second in three days. The Brewers hope it might be a sign that hes over the right oblique injury that sidelined him for two weeks in May. Notes: Chicago planned to give Luis Valbuena a couple days off as a precaution after Renteria said the infielder was "a little tired, a little sore" with what he described as an abdominal ailment. ... Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez (hamstring) went 0 for 2 and fielded a grounder in four innings in his first game of a two-day rehab stint at the teams Class A affiliate in Appleton. ... ... Chicago is off Monday and opens a three-game series Tuesday against the visiting New York Mets. RH Matt Garza (2-4) starts Monday when Milwaukee welcomes the Minnesota Twins for a two-game series. ' ' '

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