TORONTO - Dwight Buycks is not your typical NBA rookie. The lone first-year player on Torontos roster, Buycks has taken a different path than most of the leagues rookies, one that should afford him a greater appreciation of this opportunity he has chased so relentlessly. Buycks comes to the Raptors following an MVP season in the French league, a worthwhile detour for him after spending the year prior in the NBA development league and going undrafted in 2011. "My dream has always been to play in the NBA," said the 24-year-old guard after practice Tuesday. "So that was the route I had to take at the time and it wasnt a problem for me to take it." Choosing to go play overseas was a difficult decision for the former Marquette Golden Eagle and Milwaukee native. He had heard both pros and cons about making the move - an increasingly popular option for players on the cusp of the NBA - but knew it was the best way for him to get back on the radar. "Its always been something that was talked about," he remembered, "so when the time came [there] wasnt too much to think about." Still a young man, his basketball career had hit several unexpected roadblocks but his willingness to fight through them and adapt to his new surroundings allowed him to excel. "It definitely was a great year, my first full season overseas," said Buycks, who averaged 18.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists with Gravelines of the French Pro A league in 2012-13. "I got over there and we connected real good, the team, the players, the coaches, they put a lot of trust in me with the basketball and to lead them to win games." Many young players, and recently some veterans at the end of their celebrated careers, have headed overseas looking for an easy paycheque and a fast track path (back) to the NBA. Generally, it doesnt take long for those players to realize the experience, the brand of basketball and the culture change is far more than they bargained for. Buycks, on the other hand, committed himself to it, which allowed him to reap the benefits. "It definitely is a grind to go over there for that long a time," he admitted, specifically citing the food and general way of living being different from what he was used to. "When I went over there I made the choice to not go home. "I wanted to stay there the whole time, so for our little Christmas break I decided to stay there and not go home because I didnt want to get comfortable with being home and then have to go right back. So that was definitely a tough decision for me to make but I think it paid off." Buycks turned enough heads to score an invite to the Orlando Summer League with Oklahoma City, where he continued his strong play and ultimately received a guaranteed contract offer from Masai Ujiri and the Raptors. Averaging 7.0 points and 2.8 assists in four preseason games with Toronto, Buycks has been the recipient of significant praise from his new head coach. "He played well in Summer League, hes played well in training camp and hes done a decent job in the exhibition games," Dwane Casey said of Buycks. "[Hes made] typical rookie mistakes but I dont know if there are any guards [taken] in the late first or second round [in this years draft] that are as good as Dwight." "For us it was a steal," he continued. "It was a good eye for his talent because he has speed and quickness you cant teach." Not surprisingly his work ethic has caught Caseys eye and his commitment to defence - something hes familiar with having played in a hard-nosed defensive system with Marquette - has helped him fit right in. With Kyle Lowry locked in as the starter, Buycks is competing with the more experienced D.J. Augustin for playing time as the back-up point guard. Both players bring different strengths to the table meaning, at least for now, this battle has all the makings of a platoon. "Its going to be a fluid back-up situation," Casey has stated, dependent on match-ups and who has the hot hand. Buycks would appear to be the underdog in this scenario given Augustins experience and past success but underestimate the reigning French league MVP at your own risk. Hes been overlooked before. "It wouldnt be a problem whatever my role is for the team," he said. "Im just trying to help the team win games anyway I can. Whether thats playing or not playing Im going to help these guys off the court when Im not in the game." Preseason schedule, a double-edged sword After playing four exhibition games last week the Raptors have just one on the schedule for this week, a Wednesday affair with Kelly Olynyk and the Boston Celtics at the Air Canada Centre. You can hear it live on TSN 1050 Radio at 7pm et. For Casey and the coaching staff this is both a blessing and a curse, as the team will get the additional practice time theyve desired but have a limited opportunity to implement their work in-game. "Its a double-edged sword," Casey said. "So were going to spend our time on the practice floor working on our timing, defensive rotations and all those things but then too we want to see those things executed in the game. Youd like to have it where it wasnt so spread out but it is what it is." Just about halfway through training camp, the team has reached a juncture where maintaining focus is one of the biggest challenges with everyone looking ahead to the regular season. "Today I had to ramp them up a couple times but thats normal NBA training camp," Casey said after practice Tuesday. "But the good teams, the teams that are serious about winning maintain that focus, that edge." "Youve got to take advantage of preseason to get out all the kinks, all the rustiness, all the things youve been working on in training camp," DeMar DeRozan acknowledged, having been though this process four times before, going into his fifth year. "For a player like me, Im ready to play now, but were just going to use these last couple games to get ready." Fake China Jerseys . -- Chad Labelle scored the winner 17:36 into the third period to give Medicine Hat a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday and lift the Tigers into the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs. China Jerseys Cheap . Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/. The Laval Rouge et Or defensive back/kick-returner gained the invitation following his showing Sunday at an NFL regional combine in Baltimore. Cheap Jerseys From China .The McLaren MP4-30 was launched on Thursday, with chief executive Ron Dennis saying it marks the start of a lengthy journey back to winning grands prix and eventually world championships.McLaren, which hasnt won a grand prix since 2012, will be using Honda engines for the first time since 1992, and has signed two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to partner Jenson Button for the upcoming season. China Jerseys Wholesale . -- Jane Kish stopped all 25 shots she faced as the Weyburn Gold Wings blanked the Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-0 on Friday to advance to the gold-medal game at the Esso Cup.Connor McDavid is out in front of Jack Eichel in NHL Central Scoutings 2015 mid-season prospect rankings. While the two players are the consensus top two prospects for the 2015 Draft according to most rankings, the NHLs list has the Erie Otters centre in the No. 1 spot at the seasons halfway point. McDavid returned to action during the 2015 World Junior Championship after breaking his hand in mid-November. He won a gold medal with Team Canada at the tournament and has scored five goals and four assists in four games since returning to Erie on Jan. 8. Eichel, who captained the U.S. World Junior team that finished fifth at the tournament, has 34 points in 20 games this season with Boston University. Rounding out the top five North American skaters are Boston College blueliner Noah Hanifin, Kingston Frontenacs winger Lawson Crouse and McDavids Erie teammate Dylan Strome. The top international skater is Swedish blueliner Oliver Kylington, who missed the World Juniors due to injury. European skaters playing in the Canadian Hockey League help make up the Top 15 on the North American skaters list, including Pavel Zacha (Sarnia) and Jakub Zboril (Saint John), as well as Russian defender Ivan Provorov who plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Barries Mackenzie Blackwood and Magnitogorsk 2s Ilya Samsonov were named the top North American and International goalies, respectively. Also notable in the goalie rankings is the fourth-ranked international goalie, Denis Godla. The Slovakian netminder made headlines as a fan favourite at the World Juniors as the tournaments best goaltender and Most Valuable Player. Read the Top 30 list for the North American and International skaters below, along with the Top 10 North American and International goaltenders. North American Skaters RANK NAME TEAM (LEAGUE) HT WT POS. 1 Connor McDavid Erie (OHL) 6-0 195 C 2 Jack Eichel Boston University (NCAA) 6-2 196 C 3 Noah Hanifin Boston College (NCAA) 6-2 203 D 4 Lawson Crouse Kingston (OHL) 6-2 211 LW 5 Dylan Strome Erie (OHL) 6-3 187 C 6 Zachary Werenski Michigan (NCAA) 6-2 206 D 7 Mitchell Marner London (OHL) 5-11 155 C 8 Pavel Zacha Sarnia (OHL) 6-3 210 C 9 Mathew Barzal Seattle (WHL) 5-11 175 C 10 Ivan Provorov Brandon (WHL) 6-0 191 D 11 Jakub Zboril Saint John (QMJHL) 6-0 184 D 12 Timo Meier Halifax (QMJHL) 6-1 208 RW 13 Nicholas Merkley Kelowna (WHL) 5-10 191 C 14 Kyle Connor Youngstown (USHL) 6-1 177 LW 15 Thomas Chabot Saint John (QMJHL) 6-1 181 D 16 Brandon Carlo Tri-City (WHL) 6-4 198 D 17 Filip Chlapik Charlottetown (QMJHL) 6-0 194 C 18 Jansen Harkins Prince George (WHL) 6-0 177 C 19 Paul Bittner Portland (WHL) 6-4 206 LW 20 Daniel Sprong Charlottetown (QMJHL) 6-0 189 RW 21 Evgeny Svechnikov Cape Breton (QMJHL) 6-2 199 LW 22 Jordan Greenway US U-18 6-4 222 LW 23 Jeremy Roy Sherbrooke (QMJHL) 5-11 189 D 24 Jake DeBrusk Swift Current (WHL) 5-11 171 LW 25 Nicolas Roy Chicoutimi (QMJHL) 6-4 199 C 26 Travis Konecny Ottawa (OHL) 5-9 174 C 27 Colin White US U-18 6-0 183 C 28 Brock Boeser Waterloo (USHL) 6-0 191 RW 29 Thomas Novak Waterloo (USHL) 6-0 179 C 30 Guillaume Brisebois Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL) 6-1 170 D International Skaters RANK NAME TEAM (LEAGUE) HT WT POS 1 Oliver Kylington AIK (SWE2) 6-0 181 D 2 Mikko Rantanen TPS (FIN) 6-3 211 RW 3 Jens Looke Brynas (SWE) 6-0 180 RW 4 Michael Spacek Pardubice (CZE) 5-11 187 RW 5 Jacob Larsson Frolunda Jr.dddddddddddd (SWEJR) 6-2 191 D 6 Gabriel Carlsson Linkoping Jr. (SWEJR) 6-4 183 D 7 Denis Gurianov Togliatti 2 (RUSJR) 6-2 183 RW 8 Filip Ahl HV 71 Jr. (SWEJR) 6-3 211 LW 9 Sebastian Aho Skelleftea (SWE) 5-9 165 D 10 David Kase Chomutov (CZE2) 5-11 169 RW 11 Roope Hintz Ilves (FIN) 6-2 185 LW 12 Jonas Siegenthaler Zurich (SUI) 6-2 220 D 13 Yegor Rykov SKA St. Petersburg 2 (RUSJR) 6-1 216 D 14 Alexander Dergachyov SKA St. Petersburg 2 (RUSJR) 6-4 200 C 15 Jesper Lindgren Modo Jr. (SWEJR) 6-0 161 D 16 Sebastian Aho Karpat (FIN) 5-11 172 RW 17 Robin Kovacs AIK (SWE2) 6-0 172 RW 18 Artem Volkov MVD Balashikha 2 (RUSJR) 6-1 189 D 19 Lucas Carlsson Brynas Jr. (SWEJR) 6-0 180 D 20 Lukas Jasek Trinec (CZE) 5-11 165 RW 21 Julius Nattinen JYP 2 (FIN2) 6-1 191 C 22 Joel Eriksson Ek Farjestad Jr. (SWEJR) 6-1 180 C 23 Denis Malgin Zurich (SUI) 5-8 163 C 24 Erik Cernak Kosice (SVK) 6-3 203 D 25 Aleksi Saarela Assat (FIN) 5-10 198 C 26 Vladislav Gavrikov Yaroslavl 2 (RUSJR) 6-2 205 D 27 Jan Ordos Liberec Jr. (CZEJR) 5-11 176 LW 28 Jan Dufek Brno Jr. (CZEJR) 5-11 172 RW 29 Dmitri Yudin St. Petersburg (RUS) 6-2 185 D 30 Roman Dymacek Brno Jr. (CZEJR) 6-0 175 LW North American and International Goaltenders RANK NAME TEAM (LEAGUE) HT WT NA1 Mackenzie Blackwood Barrie (OHL) 6-4 215 NA2 Callum Booth Quebec (QMJHL) 6-2 199 NA3 Samuel Montembeault Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) 6-2 164 NA4 Matej Tomek Topeka (NAHL) 6-2 180 NA5 Luke Opilka US U-18 6-1 192 NA6 Michael McNiven Owen Sound (OHL) 6-0 205 NA7 Michael Lackey US U-18 6-2 214 NA8 Nick Schneider Medicine Hat (WHL) 6-1 160 NA9 Adin Hill Portland (WHL) 6-3 198 NA10 Connor Hicks Belleville (OHL) 6-3 189 INT1 Ilya Samsonov Manitogorsk 2 (RUSJR) 6-3 200 INT2 Daniel Vladar Kladno (CZE2) 6-5 185 INT3 Felix Sandstrom Brynas Jr. (SWEJR) 6-2 191 INT4 Denis Godla Bratislava (RUS) 5-11 176 INT5 Adam Huska Slovakia U-18 (SVK2) 6-3 189 INT6 Adam Werner Farjestad Jr. (SWEJR) 6-4 185 INT7 Veini Vehvilainen JYP 2 (FIN2) 6-0 180 INT8 Christian Heljanko HIFK Jr. (FINJR) 5-10 169 INT9 Ales Stezka Liberec Jr. (CZEJR) 6-3 178 INT10 George Sorensen Herning (DEN) 5-10 172 ' ' '