Poeltl arrives in Toronto for first time with plenty of familiarity


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TORONTO — Jakob Poeltl never visited Toronto before the Raptors selected him with the ninth overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft Thursday night.

The former Runnin’ Utes center from Austria worked out for the Toronto-based NBA team in Buffalo prior to the draft.

But when he walked into his new facilities before an introductory press conference with general manager Masai Ujiri and Toronto media, he felt comfortable. He flashed smiles and a familiar No. 42 jersey following his press conference.

His former teammate Delon Wright gave Poeltl a pretty good introduction, too.

“I’m really excited to be here,” Poeltl said. “I’m happy to be here in Toronto, and I’m glad I can get working again. The process was fun, but I’m kind of glad it’s over … and now I just really want to get working again.

“I only came straight to the airport from here, but it looks beautiful. I’ve only heard good things about it from Delon, and he had a great time last year here. He loves this city, and I’ve only heard great things about it. I’m looking forward to seeing more.”

Poeltl is the first native Austria drafted into the NBA in the country’s history. He has a few countrymen who play pro basketball, like former Metro State standout Benjamin Ortner, who plays in Italy and Thomas Schreiner in Spain’s Liga ACB.

But Poeltl — the child of two international volleyball players who has played basketball since he was 6 years old — hopes his NBA example can put more Austrians into the sport that is still dwarfed by alpine skiing, ice hockey and soccer in his home country.

“It’s still a little bit unbelievable that I’m the first one from Austria to come to the NBA,” Poeltl said. “It’s pretty amazing, and I hope it is positively going to influence the basketball in Austria. It’s on its way up, but it’s not a very high level. I hope that me and a couple of other guys playing in Europe that it will push the level of play in Austria.”

Poeltl elected for an education at the University of Utah rather than going pro in Europe, as many of his countrymen do. It’s a decision he didn’t take lightly, but one he never regrets.

“College had the whole package for me. I could continue to get an education, and have a Plan B besides basketball, and also get a really good basketball opportunity at the same time,” said Poeltl, who was a pre-business major at Utah. “I really liked the idea, and more and more colleges started hitting me up.”

The 7-foot-1 Poeltl is the fifth center on Toronto’s roster, behind Jonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo, Lucas Noguiera and Jason Thompson. He’s one of two draft picks the Raptors chose alongside New Mexico State’s Pascal Siakam.

“This kid loves to play. He loves to play the game of basketball. Legit,” Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri said. “We’ve done our homework on him.

“He’s got a good level of skill for the game … and to me, the big guys just continue to get better.”

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