SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - It's been over two years since Carlos Morais tried to become the first Angolan to play in the NBA, but the topic remains very much alive in the basketball loving country. So I invited Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey to share his impressions on the Angolan ace.

Back in October 2013, Morais had just led Angola to their 11th continental trophy in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire when Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri, who attended the competition, confirmed what he had told me a few days earlier - that a number of players had impressed him.

Ujiri invited Morais - the tournament's MVP - to join the Raptors for the pre-season and the agreement between the player and the club made international headlines for good reason.

After all, he was just trying to become the second African player - after Nigerian Ejike Ugboaja - to enter the NBA directly from an African league. Although Ugboaja was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, he never played in any regular season game. So Morais was on the way to make history.

At the time, I questioned in this column, whether Morais would become the first the Angolan in the NBA.

He was 27 years of age at the time and was competing with Julyan Stone and Chris Wright for a spot in the in the Raptors 15-player roster. The 1.93m shooting guard had six points in 21 minutes in three preseason games with the Raptors, but the Morais euphoria in Angola as well as parts of the Angolan community in Toronto was short-lived as the Raptors waived him and Wright to keep Stone, instead.

At the time, Angolans speculated that Morais' age was the main reason he was waved, but he took to his Facebook account to thank fans, but made sure to remain positive.

It's because of Morais' experience with the Raptors - which generated so much interest not only in his native Angola but pretty much everywhere - that I caught up with Casey in London last week.

"Really great shooter," Casey told me when I asked him to describe the kind of player that he found in Morais. "At the time, just the numbers cut him. He is an NBA shooter. Masai [Ujiri] brought him in, and we looked at him, but we just didn't have a roster spot for him. [He is a] Great kid. And, I was just happy to see him having success in a lot of international games."

He is one the best shooters that I have seen in a long time as far as getting his feet set, big time scorer. - Casey

Then, I asked Casey whether Morais would have a chance elsewhere in the league.

"I don't know," he replied. "It just depends on the opportunities, right timing, right situations has to be right for him. This whole league is about opportunities. Age wasn't an issue at all. We had a lot of wing players already on the contracts, we had one opening, and that went to another player."

It was a tough decision because he was a good shooter. He showed it everyday in practice. That’s the thing about the NBA, the timing in this league is unbelievable. - Casey

What surprised me most was the fact that Casey has been involved with African basketball and Africa-born players longer that I was aware of. So he was very comfortable to discuss his views, not only on Morais' potential, but also on the growth of basketball in general.

"I have coached African players before in Seattle, Dallas, and basketball there, is growing over the years,” he explained. "I coached a Kenyan national team back in the 1980s. Just to see the growth in African basketball is unbelievable.

"The young coaches have gotten better at teaching the fundamentals. So every year the younger players from Africa that have come to the league have gotten better and better.

I had a great time at Basketball Without Border in South Africa. Just experiencing and watching the young players grow, understanding basketball better at an early age was unbelievable. - Casey

Bismack Biyombo, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a clear example of Casey’s views on African players. He joined the Raptors for the 2015-16 season, after spending his first four NBA campaigns with the Charlotte Hornets and is averaging career-highs of 5.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game through 40 games.

"He has been a huge help to us," Casey said. "His spirit, his approach, his toughness, his intensity, has been great. That's something that I welcome. He is my kind of guy."

Having watched many games myself, Casey just confirmed what I always believed. The NBA is all about opportunities.

Julio Chitunda

FIBA

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