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Bargnani is from Rome – the city which doesn’t need anything else
Even as a rookie, Bargnani was isolated from most of the team in Toronoto. He mainly spent time with Spaniard Jorge Garbajosa, who he knew from his time in Treviso and who spoke Italian. At home, the football fan watched on satellite games of his favorite club, Lazio Roma, giving him a piece of home away from home. Zanini said that Golden State Warriors’ Italian guard Marco Belinelli and Danilo Gallinari of the New York Knicks deal entirely differently with their time outside of Italy. “They are from the new globalized generation, dreamt from a life in the U.S.,” said the journalist. But unlike Belinelli and Gallinari, Bargnani is from Rome – the city which doesn’t need anything else. Bargnani shows little interest in his new home Toronto even though Italian immigrants have left their marks on the city. Among Toronto’s 2.5 million residents, some 200,000 call Italian their mother tongue. Toronto also plays a big role in Italian professional basketball players in North America. In 1946, the Italian-Canadian Henry Biasatti was the first foreign professional basketball player in the United States, playing for the Toronto Huskies of the BAA. In 1995, the former expansion team Raptors signed Italian Vincenzo Esposito. But both Esposito and compatriot Stefano Rusconi, who was signed by the Phoenix Suns in 1995, were the biggest warnings for Bargnani, according to Zanini. “They were the perfect examples of Italian athletes who did nothing abroad because they missed ‘la dolce vita’ too much,” said Zanini. Esposito was chauffeured around Toronto by his fiancé because he was too scared to drive alone or buy gas at a gas station. And the Suns gave “Rusco” a three-year contract, which made everyone in Italy laugh as the tanned center with a toothpaste smile was known for a lax work ethic. Rusconi complained in Phoenix about homesickness and left the league after playing just seven times for the Suns. Both Esposite (39 years) and Rusconi (41) are still playing today – but more as “what could have been” reminders – in the Italian third league.
Andrea and the safety blanket
Of course, the only comparison possibly relevant between Andrea Bargnani and Esposito and Rusconi is the Italian mentality – not their basketball ability. Chiara Zanini is convinced that Bargnani’s slow cultural familiarization slowed his playing skills.
The change for the good came in summer 2008. Toronto signed Jermaine O’Neal as new center as a clear sign from management to the disappointing talent Bargnani. The Italian realized quickly that he could be banished to a bench role behind O’Neal and Bosh. And Bargnani arrived at the start of training camp in Ottawa nearly eight kilos heavier. In the off-season, he added muscle weight and put in plenty of hours with Raptors assistant coach Gordon Herbert. And Bargnani appeared finally ready for the fight under the NBA boards. “I really worked him hard in practice to see how he would react,” said a satisfied O’Neal. “And he did not shy away.” And head coach Sam Mitchell had a clear message – no three-pointers. “Not before practice, not afterwards, not during practice games, not at all,” Mitchell told reporters. It’s kind of like taking the safety blanket away from Linus of the Peanuts.
But the Italian did not let anyone take away his favorite weapon. This past season, he took 3.7 triples per game but hit an excellent 41 percent of them. Bargnani left the blocks and returned to the wing after the firing of the rough Mitchell, with whom the sensible Italian never got along. “Now he plays with more confidence and ease,” Gherardhini said after the move.
Now that the head coaching question mark was answered by the extension with Jay Triano, the main question remains Bargnani’s future. The Italian appears set at the unloved center position as long as Chris Bosh is in Toronto. “I just have to give my best,” said Bargnani about his future. “I cannot predict the future.” With this Roman riddle, you just have to be ready for anything.
