News » range, while the Sycamores nailed nine treys and finished

TORONTO - On the eve of his memorable exit interview, Greivis Vasquez sat down for dinner with the leagues most famed and influential global ambassador, carrying on his mission to secure a new contract with the team that gave him new life in the NBA. In Vasquez time, the meal may have lasted six hours. What did he and Drake discuss? Perhaps a certain 2013-14 MVP came up in conversation. Thunder forward and four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant has been on the minds of Raptors fans for the better part of the last year. Could Drake help lure Durant from Oklahoma City when he becomes a free agent following the 2015-16 season? He may have found a partner in crime. "Hopefully I get to play with him one day in the NBA," Vasquez said of Durant, his high school teammate and old friend, guesting on TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Monday. "Hopefully its here in Toronto." He wasnt done. "Imagine if we get KD, Kevin Durant in 2016 and he leads us to a championship," the Raptors point guard added, unprompted in an interview with Bryan Hayes on TSN 1050 the following day. "I think hed have statues right outside the ACC." Well played, sir. Vasquez, the quote that keeps on quoting, is angling for a new deal and with the offseason barely a week old, he has positioned himself favourably. In case you havent heard, Vasquez is quite fond of being in Toronto. A week ago, on a day in which Kyle Lowrys impending free agency took centre stage, it was his backup, Vasquez, that stole the show delivering an emotional 19-minute soliloquy, with the occasional question sprinkled in. He thanked the city, its fans, his teammates, coaches and general manager. He thanked the Toronto school board. "My son cannot wake up at 8:00 in the morning, he wakes up at six because hes excited to go to school." He thanked his waiter at the local all-you-can-eat Brazilian steak house. So, he was thorough. It was exit interview meets academy award acceptance speech, only no one had the heart to play him off with music. "Thats Greivis," GM Masai Ujiri said a day later. The 27-year-old point guard rarely holds back on the court, playing the game with a refreshing passion that helped spark Torontos remarkable turnaround in 2014. The same could be said about his approach away from basketball. "Id use the word passionate for Greivis," said newly extended head coach Dwane Casey. "He has stones. Hes probably, truth be told, probably the most confident player on the team. He feels like he can score on LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan in his prime, which is great and you need that." "If you tell him, Greivis, run through that window right there, hes going to do it. Now he may look at you a little bit, but hell do it." Vasquez, a restricted free agent this summer, is sincere in his sentiments, he truly hopes to remain a Raptor and the way hes gone about publicizing it could go a long way in ensuring hes back with the team next season. "It would be heartbreaking if I dont come back," Vasquez exclaimed on a Monday afternoon in the bowels of the Air Canada Centre. "Im an emotional guy, so I really embrace, Im really committed to the team, to the city, to this franchise." Seven days later, there was Vasquez, on stage shaking hands with Torontos Deputy Mayor and representing the organization as May 12 was proclaimed "Raptors Day". After arriving in an early-season trade from Sacramento - where he says he lost his passion for the game - Vasquez averaged 9.5 points and 3.7 assists in 61 games for the Raptors, his fourth NBA stop in four years. He has not wasted the opportunity. Hes gone all in. The Venezuelan-native has established himself as an emotional leader on the team and an ambassador in the city. For good measure hes also offering up his services in recruiting one of the NBAs premier talents, should he still be around in 2016. But will he be around? Ujiri will not be pressured, not by elaborate speeches or the promise of an endorsement in two years from now. Vasquez will be retained if Ujiri determines it makes sense in basketball terms, and it may. Still, the extracurricular incentives cant hurt, especially if the Raptors GM values continuity and chemistry as much as he has indicated. "We hope to get something done," Ujiri told TSN.ca, in reference to Vasquezs contract status. "Hes one of those pieces on the team where you know that hes always going to be a great teammates and hes going to go out and compete." As Vasquez walked off the podium, an audience of assembled media brimming after he captivated them with a season-ending speech for the ages, he left the room the same way he entered it 20 minutes earlier. The "loveable underdog" - as he once referred to himself - wore a black cap decorated with the words "We The North" on his head and a big smile across his face. "Im not taking this for granted," he told the city and its acting mayor on Raptors Day. "Im saying it because I mean it." And he does, but he knows exactly what hes doing. Hirving Lozano Jersey . 42 sitting next to the bench. The 57-year-old with greying hair couldnt box out or grab a rebound, but owner Ted Leonsis waved his red towel and egged on a cheering crowd that chanted "Free Nene!" The Wizards did just fine without the suspended Brazilian forward. Marco Fabian Jersey . The 29-year-old German, the 2011 overall World Cup champion, says she has decided "to end my career now. http://www.mexiconationalshop.us/Customized/. PAUL, Minn. Miguel Layun Jersey . -- Caris LeVert had 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, and No. Mexico Jerseys . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position.Wichita, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - As a result of last Wednesdays win at Drake, the 16th-ranked Wichita State Shockers picked up where they left off last season when they won each of their 18 Missouri Valley Conference games. This evening, the Shockers will entertain the Illinois State Redbirds as they seek their 12th win of the campaign, and seventh in as many opportunities at home. Illinois State recently had a modest two-game win streak stopped in its MVC opener against visiting Indiana State on New Years Eve, as the Sycamores prevailed in a 63-61 final. The loss was the fifth in 13 games for the Redbirds this season, and their third in seven home bouts. ISU won its first two road games of the campaign, before stumbling in its most recent (89-77 at Murray State on Dec. 20). Wichita State bounced back from a 60-54 loss to George Washington to post a 66-58 win at Drake in its league lid-lifter the last time out. The defeat to the Colonials being only the teams second of the season, the other coming in a 69-68 final in overtime at Utah on Dec. 3. Wichita State leads the all-time series with Illinois State by the slimmest of margins, 38-37, and the Shockers have won the last five meetings. Tony Wills scored 16 points and MiKyle McIntosh added 11 more, but it wasnt enough as Illinois State dropped a two-point decision to Indiana State last Wednesday. The Redbirds shot just 35.8 percent from the field, which included a 6-of-17 effort from 3-point range, while the Sycamores nailed nine treys and finished at 42.6 perceent overall.dddddddddddd Both teams were extremely careless with the basketball, as Indiana State committed 24 turnovers and Illinois State 20. The difference however, being the Sycamores scored 26 points off the miscues, and the Redbirds only 15. For the season, Daishon Knight is the teams leading scorer at 14.4 ppg, while the injured DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell nips at his heels with 14.1 ppg. No other player is averaging double figures, although Bobby Hunter (9.6 ppg) is close to joining the ranks. The Redbirds are outscoring the opposition by 7.7 ppg, while also laying claim to favorable margins in both rebounding (+5.2) and turnovers (+1.9). Ron Baker poured in 23 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out four assists in leading Wichita State to its recent win over Drake. Tekele Cotton added 17 points, four boards and four helpers for the Shockers, who knocked down 9-of-17 3-point attempts and converted 17-of-23 free throws, all while committing only five turnovers. WSU was outrebounded, 38-29, but held the Bulldogs to 33.3 percent field goal efficiency. Baker is now averaging 17.1 ppg to pace the Shockers, while Fred VanVleet and Darius Carter net 11.3 ppg apiece. Cotton turns in 9.9 ppg while pacing the teams rebounding effort with 6.3 rpg. VanVleet serves as Wichita States primary playmaker as both ends of the court, logging 67 assists and 26 steals. The Shockers are scoring 73.7 ppg while permitting 60.1 ppg, and their defensive effort goads the opposition into nearly 15 turnovers per outing. 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