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Before the 2013-14 NCAA season began, CBSSports.com listed Syracuse point guard and Toronto native Tyler Ennis at 69 on its "Top 100 Players in college hoops." Michigan guard and fellow Canadian Nik Stauskas was one ahead at 68. With 42 days before the NBA Draft in New York City, two of three analysts of the same website have Ennis getting selected in the top 10, while all three have Stauskas going in the 10-14 range. "Ive played against some of the best players in the world and Ive played against some of the best players in my class," Ennis said at the NBA Combine, which began Thursday. "I just have the confidence and I know how hard I work and I know my abilities." Played is the operative word in that sentence. For as much as the 19-year-old Ennis and 20-year-old Stauskas did to get noticed on the court, they both understand to fulfill their NBA dreams theyll have to impress potential employers off the court just as much. "People know how I play and I think the main thing for teams is to get to know me and know if they are going to draft me, what theyre going to deal with," Ennis said. "They want to see, as a nineteen-year-old coming out of college, if youre able to lead grown men in the NBA and I think they are able to get a feel for that in the interviews." The process is something all players have to go through and Stauskas is doing his best to combat the expected nerves. "The main thing for me is to just try to be myself and let teams know what kind of person I am and how I grew up and how I got to this situation right here," the Mississauga native said. Stauskass upbringing could serve him well when talking to NBA clubs. His family originally hails from the basketball-mad Lithuania. "Im a good person, really hard-working, and I come from a great family. I think thats important for people to know and I just want them to know that Im not doing this because I want money or anything like that," he said. "Obviously, the moneys great, but Im really doing this just because I love the game of basketball. This is whats made me happy since I was seven or eight-years-old. I feel like if teams really get that vibe from me, theyre going like that." Both Stauskas and Ennis sat out the first day of the combine. Each player was officially measured - height, weight and wingspan - but neither participated in any of the on-court drills. "Before the combine started, knowing what the drills were going to be, I felt a lot of it was just jump-shooting," Stauskas said. "Obviously, thats the strongest part of my game and I feel that teams already know I can shoot the ball, so coming in, I felt that even if I had a great day shooting the ball, it wasnt really going to do much for me because teams already know thats my strength." Both Canadians, however, will participate in physical testing and the aforementioned team meetings. And although the footage of their abilities is likely endless at this point, both players say there will be a few surprises awaiting any and all who will be watching. "Im not the one dunking all the time but Im able to jump pretty high and Im a lot faster than people think," Ennis said. "Going through the combine I think my numbers will show that its more surprising than people expect. "I dont think people realize I can jump the way I do or run the way I do," Stauskas echoed, "so Im really looking forward to tomorrow, getting in there and working." Mike Marjama Jersey . The San Angelo, Texas product, who was a high school and college quarterback sensation in the Lone Star State, will start his first CFL game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-4) on Friday at Mosaic Stadium against the leagues top team, the Calgary Stampeders (11-2). Ichiro Suzuki Jersey . With the players association in the midst of meetings in Las Vegas, a vote will be held on Friday to decide the CFLPAs presidency and other executive positions. http://www.marinersrookiestore.com/Marin...ma-Kids-Jersey/. Those who impressed in each of the three events were asked to attend the main CFL Combine which begins Friday in Toronto. Jay Buhner Jersey . The flanker began his comeback from a right shoulder injury by coming off the bench on Saturday when Wales opened with a victory over Italy. Warburton replaces Justin Tipuric, one of three changes announced on Tuesday by coach Warren Gatland. Robinson Cano Jersey . That assertion is getting harder and harder to make, especially given the way 23-year-old Danilo Gallinari has been playing this season.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Greg Monroe had a clear message for Detroit Pistons fans Monday.This doesnt mean Im leaving, Monroe said at the teams media day.What he didnt say, though, was that he was staying.This summer, Monroe did something almost unheard of for a frontline NBA player a€” he signed a one-year qualifying deal that costs him almost $10 million for this season but makes him an unrestricted free agent next summer.The obvious implication is that he wants a chance to find a better home after spending his first four seasons with one of the leagues more dysfunctional franchises.The Pistons offered me a long-term deal, but after talking it over with the people that are most important a€” my agent, some friends and my family, I decided to turn it down, he said.It isnt that I want to get out of the city of Detroit or this area a€” I have loved it here since I arrived a€” it is strictly a business decision based on my future as a basketball player.The news wasnt a welcome start to Stan Van Gundys career as Detroits president and coach, because he had talked about building the franchise around his two young post players a€” Monroe (24) and Andre Drummond (21).At worst, if Monroe seemed determined to leave, he said he hoped to get significant talent back in a sign-and-trade deal.Now, though, Van Gundy goes into the off-season knowing that theres a very good chance that hell get no return for a player who has averaged a double-double in each of the past three seasons.I know that I have to separate my two roles, and keep the business side of the game off the court, he said.Right now, I know that Greg is 100 per cent committed to helping this team win this season, and I have no concerns that hes going to let the business side of things affect his game. Well deal with next summer when we get there.Drummond acknowledged that he tried to talk Monroe into a long-term deal, but that hes not going to be working as a recruiter during the season.Greg did what he felt was best for himself, and as his friend, Im going to support him 100 per cent, Drummond said. From today forward, were both going to focus on winning basketball games. Thats it.The biggest question mark over Monroe in the short term is his role on the team.Last years experiment of playing he, Drummond and Josh Smith together didnt work, and Van Gundy doesnt plan to repeat it.ddddddddddddreg, Andre and Josh are three of our best players, but it is equally true that when they werent able to effective play together last year, he said.We intend to use Josh mainly at the 4 and Andre is, of course, going to be at the 5, while Greg can play both. Im not worried about which two will start, because I know the important thing is that you develop a rotation that works for 48 minutes, but I also know that starting is important to players.On top of that, there were reports in the off-season that Monroe had demanded that Smith be traded if the Pistons wanted him to sign a long-term contract. Monroe, though, didnt even allow the question to be fully asked before responding.Lies, lies, lies, he said. I dont know where that came from, but dont say there were rumours, because they were strictly lies. Ive told Coach Van Gundy that, and I reached out to Josh to make sure he realized that there was no truth to those stories. I never said anything like that.Monroes versatility will be more important now that the Pistons have lost backup centre Aaron Gray for the awhile. Gray will miss training camp and be out indefinitely after suffering a cardiac episode last month.Grey had the problem, which he didnt discuss in detail, after a voluntary practice session at the Palace, and is still undergoing testing to find out exactly what needs to be done.When you are a pro athlete, your body is how you make your living, so you know when something is wrong, he said Monday. So I knew that this was something that needed to be dealt with, and the Pistons did a great job putting me in touch with the right people to do that.Grey is getting multiple opinions, so there is no timeline on his return.We hope that by the end of October, were going to have a better idea where Aaron is and when he might be back on the floor, Van Gundy said. At this point, were just focused on making sure hes getting the best possible care.Grey was signed during the summer to back up Drummond and Monroe at centre, so Van Gundy has signed Hasheem Thabeet to a non-guaranteed contract to provide depth at the position. ' ' '