Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors Is Well Worth His Weight in Gold!

By Louis "King of Roncesvalles" Pisano

The big Italian who got the big lire this season has been making his presence known in every game and is making GM Brian Colangelo look good for locking him up for five years.

Il Mago as he has been so nicknamed, meaning “The Magician,” has had a magic hand since he was drafted by the Raptors and as he ages like a nice bottle of Amarone he is indeed getting better with age.

As the Raptors have added parts to the team throughout his young career in the NBA he has seemingly been able to continue to progress through the ups and downs and take and amalgamate the positives from everyone around him continually evolving as a player.

Having watched his play progress and seeing him night in and night out with that unfazed, calm demeanour which exudes professionalism, I wait with unbearable anticipation to see him let off that yell and show a bit of emotion after hitting a three at the end of a game to seal the deal as he did tonight against the Clippers in a 22 point come from behind win.

The addition of another Italian, Marco Bellinelli, who's been bringing it at both ends of the court while coming off the bench, has been another boost seemingly for Bargnani and the team.

The Raptors are truly a mirror image and immaculate representation of the city of Toronto with its multicultural diverse blends.

As the Italians who came over here when Toronto was nothing but a dirt patch, creating many of the beautiful buildings that are a part of our heritage and foundations of our city, so has Brian Colangelo done so with this Toronto basketball team and these two Italian players adding solidity to the Raptors for years to come.

Being a Torontonian I haven’t had much to cheer about in the last number of years as it stands for any of our professional sports teams, now with this team I have the utmost faith that I will see the post-season and one with some success.

Go Raps GO!