Andrea Bargnani
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Power forward/Center |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Il Mago (The Magician), AB, A-Barg |
| Height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Weight | 250 lb (114 kg) |
| Team | Toronto Raptors |
| Nationality |  Italy |
| Born | October 26, 1985 (age 21) Rome, Italy |
| Draft | 1st overall, 2006 Toronto Raptors |
| Pro career | 2002–present |
| Former teams | Stella Azzurra Roma (2002-03) Benetton Treviso (2003-06) |
Andrea Bargnani, nicknamed "Il Mago", (born October 26, 1985 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian professional basketball player with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. He was selected first overall in the 2006 NBA Draft. Prior to his NBA career, Bargnani played for Italy's Benetton Treviso in the Italian Lega A and the elite Europe-wide Euroleague.
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[edit] European career
Bargnani began his career in 2002-03 with Stella Azzura Roma in Italy's Serie B2 division, averaging 13.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 23 games.[1] He then signed with Italy's Benetton Treviso for the 2003-04 season and played there until 2006.
In 2003-04, he posted averages of 4.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10 games in his first Lega A season with Benetton.[1] He made eight appearances in Euroleague action, recording 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds an outing.[1] Incidentally, Bargnani also faced his future team, the Toronto Raptors, on 20 October, 2003 in a preseason game at the Air Canada Centre. He tallied 13 points, five rebounds, one steal and two blocks in 22 minutes in an 86-83 defeat to the Raptors.
In 2004-05, he averaged 12.2points and 5.4 rebounds in 28 Lega A games for Benetton.[1] In the Euroleague, he averaged 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 18 contests.[1] In 2005-06, he averaged 15.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.8 steals in 47 games for Benetton.[1] He posted a season high of 25 points against Rome. He also shot .528 from the field and .408 from three-point range, and led the Lega A in blocks with 82. In the process, he helped lead Benetton to Italy’s Lega A 2006 championship. In Euroleague competition, he contributed 10.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, while shooting .558 per cent from the floor and .434 from three-point land, in 18 games.[1] He posted a season-high 20 points against Panathinaikos and Strasbourg.[1] Bargnani was subsequently named as the Euroleague "Rising Star" as the “Top European Young Player of the Year” for 2005-06.[1]
[edit] NBA career
Bargnani entered the 2006 NBA Draft and was selected first overall by the Toronto Raptors. In his NBA summer league debut against the Washington Wizards, Bargnani recorded 20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal in 29 minutes of action. He became the first player to foul out in a summer league game as he collected 10 fouls in a game against the Sacramento Kings played on July 9, 2006 during the Vegas Summer League. On November 1, 2006, in his regular season debut against the New Jersey Nets, in 8 minutes of play he recorded 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks.[2] In the process, he also became the fourth ever Italian-born player to play in the NBA.[3]
Like many rookies, Bargnani took some time to adapt to the league and as he slowly improved his game, his confidence and playing time increased. Nonetheless, it did not take long for home fans to warm up to Bargnani. On 7 January, 2007, 10,000 Andrea Bargnani figurines were given away at Air Canada Centre for the game against theWashington Wizards.[4] As the midseason approached, Bargnani was selected as NBA's Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month (January 2007),[5] joining fellow teammate Jorge Garbajosa (winner of the award in December 2006) as the sixth Raptors player to win the monthly honor.[5] Together with Garbajosa, Bargnani was also selected to play in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge game.[6] After the All-Star break, Bargnani continued to work on his defense and shooting (averaging 14.3 ppg and 3.9 rpg in 12 games for the month of February 2007), and he was selected as the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the second straight time on 1 March, 2007.[7] Bargnani became the third Raptor ever to win the award twice, joining Vince Carter and Damon Stoudamire.[7]
On March 21, 2007, Bargnani underwent emergency appendectomy surgery after being taken to hospital following illness experienced after practice the night before.[8] No official timetable has been set for his return by the team although he is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.
So far in the 2006-07 season, as of 24 March, 2007, he is averaging 11.5 points and 3.9 rebounds a game in 25 minutes a game.[9]
[edit] National career
Bargnani has played for the Italian junior and under-20 national teams. He competed on the World Select Team at the 2004 Nike Hoop Summit.
[edit] Player profile
Andrea Bargnani is a power forward standing at 213 cm (7 ft 0 in) and weighing 113.4 kg (250 lbs).[10] He has drawn many comparisons to German NBA player Dirk Nowitzki, mainly due to his ability to shoot from the perimeter, his mobility despite his size, and his ball-handling skills.[11][12] Bargnani is also the first European player,[1] sixth non-American player, and second player without U.S. college or high school experience to be drafted first overall.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Andrea Bargnani Info Page - Bio, nba.com, accessed 23 March 2007.
- ^ Box Score, nba.com, 1 November 2006, accessed 23 March 2007.
- ^ Robbins, Liz, "Going Where No Italian Has Gone", nytimes.com, 28 June 2006, accessed 23 March 2007.
- ^ Raptors Post Up, nba.com/raptors, 7 January 2007, 23 March 2007.
- ^ a b Bargnani Named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month", nba.com/raptors, 1 February 2007, accessed 23 March 2007.
- ^ "No. 1 Draft Picks Bargnani and Bogut Head Selections For 2007 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam", nba.com/allstar2007, 10 February 2007, accessed 23 March 2007.
- ^ a b "Bargnani Named NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month", nba.com/raptors, 1 March 2007, accessed 23 March 2007.
- ^ Raptors' Bargnani has appendix removed, sports.espn.com, 21 March 2007, accessed 23 March 2007.
- ^ Andrea Bargnani Info Page - Career Stats and Totals, nba.com, accessed 24 March 2007.
- ^ Andrea Bargnani Info Page, nba.com, accessed 23 March 2007.
- ^ Broussard, Chris, "ESPN The Magazine: Meet Andrea Bargnani", sports.espn.com, 28 February 2007, accessed 23 March 2007.
- ^ Pelton, Kevin, "Insider Preview - Sonics at Toronto", nba.com/sonics, 11 March 2007, accessed 23 March 2007.
[edit] External links
- NBA.com Official profile
- Andrea Bargnani Unofficial Website - English
- Andrea Bargnani unofficial web-site
- TheDraftInsider player feature
- NBADraft.net
- Andrea Bargnani player profile (InterBasket)
- Video highlights of Bargnani in the Italian League
- Video highlights of Bargnani on March 7, 2007 vs. the Memphis Grizzlies
- ESPN The Magazine: Meet Andrea Bargnani
| Preceded by Andrew Bogut |
NBA first overall draft pick 2006 NBA Draft |
Succeeded by TBD |
| 2006 NBA Draft | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Round Andrea Bargnani | LaMarcus Aldridge | Adam Morrison | Tyrus Thomas | Shelden Williams | Brandon Roy | Randy Foye | Rudy Gay | Patrick O'Bryant | Mouhamed Sene | J.J. Redick | Hilton Armstrong | Thabo Sefolosha | Ronnie Brewer | Cedric Simmons | Rodney Carney | Shawne Williams | Oleksiy Pecherov | Quincy Douby | Renaldo Balkman | Rajon Rondo | Marcus Williams | Josh Boone | Kyle Lowry | Shannon Brown | Jordan Farmar | Sergio Rodríguez | Maurice Ager | Mardy Collins | Joel Freeland |
||
| Second Round James White | Steve Novak | Solomon Jones | Paul Davis | P.J. Tucker | Craig Smith | Bobby Jones | Kosta Perovic | David Noel | Denham Brown | James Augustine | Daniel Gibson | Marcus Vinicius | Lior Eliyahu | Alexander Johnson | Dee Brown | Paul Millsap | Vladimir Veremeenko | Leon Powe | Ryan Hollins | Cheick Samb | Guillermo Diaz | Yotam Halperin | Hassan Adams | Ejike Ugboaja | Edin Bavcic | Loukas Mavrokefalidis | J.R. Pinnock | Damir Markota | Will Blalock |
||
