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KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Every time that Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins heads north of the border and the subject of Canadian basketball players is broached, one name always comes up: Vince Carter.He was the star with amazing leaping ability for the expansion Toronto Raptors in the 1990s, doing things that many kids growing up in a hockey-mad country had never thought possible. Carter was a scoring machine, sure, but he did it with a certain flair that endeared him to youngsters.Now, those kids are starting to come of age.Led by Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, the past two No. 1 overall picks in the NBA draft, the Canadian pipeline has begun to gush with talent. Eight players from the nation have been picked in the first round of the draft in the past four years, a number made even more remarkable by the fact that very few players had even played in the NBA before the 1990s.You know what people up there tell me changed everything? They attribute it to Vince, Dawkins said. It inspired kids in Canada who used to play hockey to play basketball. More kids means more growth for the game, and youre seeing that spill into higher levels of the NCAA.Bennett was among those kids who grew up watching Carter with awe-struck admiration.The young Timberwolves forward learned the game around the Jane and Finch Boys and Girls Club in Toronto, and every once in a while the club would take field trips to Raptors games.Thats when we seen him doing all these types of dunks, Bennett said. We just had a love for his game.Bennett eventually moved to the U.S. and played high school basketball at Nevadas Findlay Prep. After one season at UNLV, he was chosen first in the 2013 draft by the Cavaliers.His path has become a familiar one for young prospects from Canada.While prep schools there are becoming better and better, and the summer AAU circuit gives them plenty of exposure, the best players still tend to head south for school. That includes Wiggins, the son of former NBA player Mitch Wiggins, who also grew up watching Carter in Toronto but wound up at West Virginias Huntington Prep for high school.Wiggins was so dynamic that he actually reclassified to graduate a year earlier, and was still the No. 1 prospect in the country. He ultimately went to Kansas for a year, setting several records at the tradition-rich school.Now, after he and Bennett were traded from Cleveland, they are together in Minnesota.Its been getting bigger and bigger every year, Wiggins said of basketball in Canada. Players started to get a chance to go to the States and go to prep schools down here.That has made it even easier for them to get on college coaches radars, and helps to explain why so many Canadian prospects have turned into first-round draft picks.Its certainly not like it was in the 1950s, when Ernie Vandeweghe arrived out of Montreal and played several seasons for the Knicks. Its not even like it was in the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s, when Bill Wennington was winning titles on Michael Jordans Bulls, and Rick Fox was winning championships alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeal.Youre always fighting against hockey, said Sidney Lowe, who coached the Grizzlies when they were an expansion team in Vancouver. But the thing about the Toronto area is they withstood the tough times. Their support is unbelievable and the result is you see more kids from Canada playing basketball and making it to this level.Guys like Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, first-round picks in 2011, and Andrew Nicholson, a first-round pick the following year. Bennett was joined by Kelly Olynyk in going in the first round in 2013, and Wiggins was joined by Tyler Ennis and Nik Stauskas this past spring.At the grassroots level, theyre extremely organized, Arizona coach Sean Miller said. You watch some of their teams on our travel circuit that we have here in the United States, their teams are participating in that. You can tell theyre very well coached.Arizona is among numerous high-profile schools pursuing the top-ranked prep player in the class of 2016, 7-foot centre Thon Maker. Duke, Kansas and Kentucky are also in the mix.His teammate at Ontarios Athlete Institute, five-star guard Jamal Murray, is considering Michigan State, Ohio State and Missouri. On the other side of the country in British Colombia, 6-foot-6 guard Jermaine Haley is looking at Louisville, Memphis and Gonzaga.Canada is producing good players and they seem to be more abundant than maybe in the past, said Arizona State coach Herb Sendek, who lured 7-foot-2 Jordan Bachynski out of Calgary a few years ago. Bachynski graduated last year and now plays professionally in Turkey.Theres very few guys that fall through the cracks anymore that are unknown, Sendek said. Those kids come down and play club basketball and schools have a way of finding out about kids. The good players in Canada, like Jordan and others, theyre heavily recruited.And the pipeline doesnt look like its going to run dry anytime soon. Custom Baseball Jerseys . A night later, he was back to help lead a rout of the Detroit Pistons. John Wall had 20 points and 11 assists, and Beal scored 10 of his 15 points during the second quarter as Washington pulled away for a 106-82 victory on Saturday. Custom Toronto Blue Jays Nike Jerseys . The injury could land Machado on the 15-day disabled list, but its not as serious as it looked on Monday night, when the third baseman crumpled in a heap at the plate after taking an awkward swing in a game against the New York Yankees. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ .Y. - Joe Johnson hit six 3-pointers in his 27 points, Mason Plumlee added 18 points, and the Brooklyn Nets won their 11th straight at home, beating the Boston Celtics 114-98 Friday night. Custom Milwaukee Brewers Nike Jerseys . But the young forward is more than willing to shed a little blood if thats what it takes to make the team this season. "It caught me pretty good, dazed me for that shift, but I didnt want to be off the ice for too long," he said after practice, his lip still bleeding a little despite the plastic stitches holding it together. Custom Seattle Mariners Nike Jerseys . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Defensive lineman Jarius Wynn has another chance to prove himself after the journeyman free agent signed with the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday. The Bills become his fifth team in six seasons since the Georgia product was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round in 2009. "I guess the biggest thing has been opportunity," Wynn said during a telephone conference call, when asked about the challenges hes faced in a winding career. "Thats what I think has been a problem. But Ive been grateful and glad to do whatever the team gave me, and go out there and show my talent." Listed at 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds, Wynn split last season between San Diego and Dallas. The Cowboys were in need of healthy defensive linemen when they signed Wynn in October, shortly afterr he was released by the Chargers.dddddddddddd Wynn spent his first three years in Green Bay, and the 2012 season with the Tennessee Titans. Overall, he has 8 1/2 sacks in 58 career games. Mostly used as a defensive end, Wynn has the bulk to play tackle. He is expected to provide depth on a defence thats making the switch to a 4-3 system under new co-ordinator Jim Schwartz. "I feel like I have shown improvement to guys that I can play in this league and rotate in the rotation," Wynn said. "But Im not trying to be a rotation guy this year. Im trying to come in and win the starting position." That will be a tough task. The Bills already have a solid front made up of ends Jerry Hughes and Mario Williams, and tackles Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus. ' ' '