‘Shout out to Rexdale.’ The Raptors’ first Canadian draft pick, Dalano Banton, already has big plans

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This article was published 01/08/2021 (1888 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dalano Banton is a beacon and an inspiration, living proof to kids with big dreams growing up in Rexdale that, with an unwavering belief and uncompromising work ethic, anything is possible.

It is how he has lived his 21 years on Earth, how he wants to be known and how he wants to serve: as a role model for youngsters in the same circumstances he grew up in.

Now he’s the first Canadian ever drafted by the Raptors and the first true NBA prospect to come out of North Rexdale — but not, he hopes, the last.

“(It’s) just everybody being able to see me and know that, OK, coming to this gym and the same gyms that you’re going to today could go a long way if you just keep your mind to it,” the second-round pick said in a Sunday Zoom call with reporters.

“It’s not about where you are, it’s about where you plan to be. So that’s kind of the things I try and stress to the kids in my neighbourhood … live bigger than what you are. You might be in a situation that you are, but dream bigger, plan to live bigger.”

Banton’s dreams took a giant step toward being fulfilled Thursday when the Raptors drafted him 46th. The selection of a Canadian was not only a watershed moment for him, but for the franchise.

There is still a long way for Banton to go to make it to the NBA — it’s likely he’ll start next season with the G League Raptors 905 — but the step he took is substantial and, he hopes, inspirational.

“It really starts with you, but I feel like just coming from where I come from, it gives a lot of people hope,” he said. “I feel like a lot of people think they can make it now, and if you just believe in yourself you will.”

The Raptors are intrigued by the developmental prospects for the guard, who played last season for former NBA player and coach Fred Hoiberg at Nebraska.

Banton is six-foot-nine, but woefully thin by NBA standards. He showed enough as a passer, defender and ball handler for the Raptors to take a chance on him. They seem to know what makes him tick.

“We think he’s talented. He’s big, he plays a little point guard, he sees the floor really well, can rebound really well,” Toronto general manager Bobby Webster said. “Shout out to Rexdale. I’m sure they’re all really excited for him, and we’ll see what he can do.

“We have Summer League in a week. He needs to work on his body. He needs to get stronger. He needs to continue his shooting and his skill development. But at his size and his (level of) playmaking and rebounding, we feel like there’s a profile of a kid that can make it.”

If Banton does — or when he does, it would seem, given his drive — he’ll always have a piece of Rexdale with him.

His days as a young kid playing at the Rexdale Community Hub and North Kipling Community Centre not only helped him develop basketball skills. They kept him out of trouble.

“It’s like two minutes from each other … so (it was) just being able to take advantage of those community centres to just keep yourself off the street, keep yourself out of trouble. I feel like that was the blessing for me that I had,” he said. “I had those community centres to just keep me in the gym.”

And when it came time to choose a uniform number, it was easy.

“I’m from the north side of Rexdale … and the 45 comes from the 45 Kipling bus that runs out from Kipling and Mount Olive,” he said. “… I was trying to think of a number that means something to me. I was kind of getting tired of just wearing numbers. I feel like you could always make meaning of something … everyone who knows me knows I’m a guy who takes where I’m from with me, with pride.”

Doug Smith is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @smithraps