“For example, in college (at George Washington University) I was the guy who had to score and had to be aggressive. “I feel like I always had that sense,” he said. He has been in the past, but under much different circumstances. The simplest way to say it is that Watanabe needs to be selectively selfish now. Coach Nick Nurse and teammates were constantly insisting they wanted more from the 26-year-old: more shooting, driving and passing. He was a bit too passive, however, mostly because he ceded scoring responsibilities to the likes of Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Norm Powell. He’s a versatile defender with a consistently high work ethic who has shown some offensive prowess. There is much to love about Watanabe’s game, as he showed in his first year with the Raptors last season. “So definitely, I need to be more aggressive to help my teammates and help my team.” Or I can draw attention, I can pass the ball and they can make shots. “I understand that my role is not going to be like that with the Raptors, but still … I need to be more aggressive, because it makes it a lot easier for my teammates to score. “With the international team, I had to be that aggressive every time I touched the ball … so that was a lot different,” Watanabe said. How well he took to those lessons will determine what role, if any, he has with the Raptors this coming season.
London olympic soccer team roster how to#
He learned how to be more assertive on the court, to do more things to help his team and teammates. It was a busy summer, but a vital one for Yuta Watanabe: a series of important games with the Japanese Olympic team and big learning opportunities and trips around the world that was exhausting but key to his professional development.