Go play in the NFL! An incredible story of Toronto Raptors signee Ishmail Wainright / News - Basketnews.com

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It was one of the decisive possessions late in the fourth quarter. Ishmail Wainright stepped on the court as the Falcons defensive anchor at the crunch time of the second German division game in Trier. Soon Wainright made a physical play and committed a foul. "Go play in the NFL!" the referee shocked the player.

Ishmail Wainright

Position:SFAge:26Height:196 cmWeight:110 kgBirth place:Missouri, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

"Coach, he told me to go to play football!" player turned to his bench.

After two years, he came back to the United States, but not for the NFL. Meet the Toronto Raptors' newest signing Ishmail Wainright, whose pro basketball journey started unlike anyone else's.

'Take a better look at him'

Late in August, Falcons were on a pre-season camp in China. The German club was in the market for a defensive forward, who would be physical, could switch, and play multiple positions. First, agent Bennet Ahnfeldt offered to check Ishmail Wainright.

If you had typed Wainright's name on Youtube in 2018, you would have found NFL video clips. After four years at Baylor's basketball program as a two-sport athlete, Wainright decided to give American football a shot. He stayed at Baylor for the fifth year to play for the football team. And he was good. In summer 2018, Wainright earned a tryout with the NFL team Buffalo Bills. However, he didn't make the cut.

Although basketball was not something new to him. In four seasons at Baylor, 1.96 m forward averaged 3.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2 assists per 19 minutes of the NCAA action.

"Ralph, I think he's too short for us," Vytautas Buzas, Falcons assistant coach back in the day, told head coach Ralph Junge after watching few highlight videos.

"Take a better look at him," Junge smiled.

Thanks to a low internet speed in China, Buzas spent all night watching Wainright's NCAA games. And he was surprised.

"He didn't play a big role in Baylor. He was behind two future NBA bigs and couldn't use his full potential because he wasn't involved in the game enough," Buzas said in an interview with BasketNews. "But he was an incredible defender, a big body with huge defensive potential. So we decided that Wainright could help us."

Wainright's football experience didn't bother the Falcons at all. They looked at it as an advantage. Nobody could have matched his physicality, ability to create space for himself and keep every opponent in front of him in Pro A.

By coincidence, Falcons played the USA team in China, whose assistant coach was Wainright's relatives. He assured them Ishmail had no personality issues. Although he also wasn't sure if he could dominate in European basketball. Finally, Falcons signed Wainright.

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Impressed everybody straight from the airport

Wainright came to the Falcons gym straight from the airport, after a long flight to Frankfurt and a 2.5-hour drive by car to Nuremberg. His new team played a friendly tournament the next day, so Falcons coaching staff wanted to involve their new player in the lineup as fast as possible.

Wainright had no problem with that at all. He was all smiling and willing to work.

"From the first practice, you could see how incredibly gifted he was. His physical abilities, character, basketball IQ, potential... His success was all programmed," Buzas smiles. "When he entered the court, you could notice very quickly how fast he mastered all the information. He quickly learned the new sets, communicated on the court really well, and fit our locker room so fast. Players accepted him as he was already one of us. And his body... You couldn't compare it to anything."

Wainright joined the pre-season camp with some unnecessary weight. His body was ready for American football, not basketball, so it took some time for him to adjust. There were games where Wainright received five fouls in 13 minutes. At first, he couldn't control his body, which was used to different levels of contact and hits. In some drills, Wainright was dominating. But he couldn't keep it consistent on a daily basis.

"After a few practices, we saw how much he wanted to learn and change. He was like a ticking bomb. He had such great tools. He could attack you if he wanted. He could stop you if he wanted. He could abuse everybody in the paint with such a strong upper body and incredibly strong legs," Buzas said to BasketNews.

After the fifth exhibition game in Frankfurt, against the BBL team, Buzas took Wainright aside and told him.

"If you understand what tools you have, the sky is the limit for you. You can do all these things on every stage," Buzas told his player, admitting that Wainright took it with a smile on his face as if he didn't believe his words.

Mental change

Before the season, the media questioned what Falcons would do with Wainright and how they would use him on the court. And there was that infamous game in Trier, where the referee called a foul on Wainright and told him to go to play in the NFL. That was a huge scandal. Buzas was offended by what the referee did.

"I told him you couldn't act like that with a player," the Lithuanian coach recalls.

Falcons made an official complaint, and it was accepted. Soon the referee announced a public apology for his actions.

"Ish took it as a huge motivation to adapt, to change himself, and to learn more about basketball. Although you never had to push him hard. He was always fully motivated," Buzas added.

When Wainright decided to come to Europe, he never turned back to the football field again. He was fully committed to basketball. Soon Wainright himself realized that basketball was a better fit for him. It was a more dynamic game, not based on physical abilities that much. And he was a die-hard basketball student. He often took Buzas' arm and asked him to show some videos so he could learn.

"We just had to make that mental change. We were convincing him that he must dominate every second on the floor. That everybody around him also needs to understand that. But in this way, it will be easier for him, and that was how he could help his team more," Buzas explained.

"We told him to abuse everybody on the court," the current Falcons head coach added. "It took some time. There was a lot of shouting from us. He took it as a lesson and motivation. Soon he became just unstoppable, a huge mismatch for every player."

Wainright averaged 12.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in his debut season in Europe. He led Falcons to the Pro A finals and got called up by the first division team, RASTA Vechta.

"When he figured it out, he started enjoying it. For me, as a coach, it was the most wonderful thing to watch how he was enjoying it," Buzas said. "Also, to watch how everybody else didn't have an answer for his game."

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Following PJ Tucker's footsteps

Buzas is not a huge fan of NBA basketball, and he prefers EuroLeague rather than NBA. He discussed it with Wainright quite frequently. Coach pushed Wainright to watch more EuroLeague action and learn from it. For example, during the season, Buzas invited his players to his apartment to watch EuroLeague games.

So Buzas was delighted reading news that Wainright was close to signing with the EuroLeague team from his country Zalgiris Kaunas. The Lithuanian coach promised to take him to one of the Baltic Sea resorts, Palanga.

But after his third season in Europe, Wainright received a lot of interest on both sides of the Atlantic. During the season 2020-21, Toronto Raptors approached Wainright and made an offer. His French team SIG Strasbourg didn't let him go, but Wainright finally fulfilled his dream a few months later.

Monday morning, Buzas was reading NBA Summer League news, checking the box score of the Toronto Raptors. Wainright agreed with Toronto on a two-year guaranteed deal at the start of the NBA free agency.

The Raptors beat the New York Knicks 89-79 on the opening day of the Summer League, Wainright added 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in his first game as a Raptor.

"That was the first thing I've checked that morning," Buzas smiles. "10 points, the highest plus/minus. Ish is doing his job."

According to Buzas, that's a player who is all about his team's victory. He won't be your main scorer, he won't demand the ball, and he'll always be there for dirty work. Wainright leads his team by example on the defensive end, communication on the floor, and dedication.

"I think it will take some time for him to adapt. But he'll do his job. He will be that guy who will get up from the bench, defend hard, set the screens, fight for the rebounds, make good decisions. He might be a PJ Tucker type of player," Buzas said. "I believe Ish also has the potential to be a decent shooter. I always told him that you don't need to be perfect yet. But if you shoot 36%, the defense won't be allowed to take risks on you. Everything is in his hands."

Vytautas Buzas is with Falcons again. He's the head coach now, preparing his team for a new Pro A campaign. There's no better story than one about his good friend Ish when he needs to motivate his players.

"This is a story worth a million dollars," Buzas smiles. "How we managed to recruit him, how incredible was his development, his will, and dedication... I don't want to use his fame as a spotlight for myself. I just want to share a story of a great person who fully deserved it. Now he's on the highest stage. I'm extremely happy to see my friend reaching such a high stage only in three years. He did it by himself. He had a clear goal, and we were only his friends through that journey."

Credit Imago Images Scanpix

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