He may go first overall to the Toronto Raptors, or he may go fifth to the Atlanta Hawks.

There is one certainty.

Bargnani will soon be playing in the NBA, and he will add to the buzz about European basketball which is so prevalent in the league these days.

Year after year, world class Europeans are crossing the Atlantic to play in the NBA.

Dirk Nowitzki of Germany is the best of the lot.

He recently led the Dallas Mavericks into the NBA Finals.

Pau Gasol of Spain is the most recognisable face of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Peja Stojakovic of Serbia & Montenegro and the Indiana Pacers is one of, if not the best, perimeter shooter in the game.

Now there will be Bargnani.

"What I can tell you is, first of all . . . he's much bigger than people think," said Maurizio Gherardini, the new assistant general manager of Toronto who spent the previous 14 years with Benetton Treviso in Italy.

Bargnani played the last two seasons for Benetton.

Some list him at 6ft 10in, others at 6ft 11in.

But Gherardini said: "He's a seven-footer with no shoes on. He's not 225 [pounds], he's 246 to 248 right now.

"He's got a great body. That's besides the talent."

Toronto's appointment of Gherardini would indicate they are almost certain to pick Bargnani, a player Italy coach Carlo Recalcati is hoping will play at the FIBA World Championship this summer.

If the Raptors do pick him, they will rival the San Antonio Spurs as the league's most international franchise.

San Antonio have guards Tony Parker of France, Manu Ginobili of Argentina and Beno Udrih of Slovenia, and centers Tim Duncan of the US Virgin Islands, Sean Marks of New Zealand and Fabricio Oberto of Argentina.

Toronto signed Jose Manuel Calderon last summer and are hoping to lure his Spanish compatriot Jorge Garbajosa to the franchise this year.

The team recently added Slovenia center and also have Senegalese power forward Pape Sow.

If Bargnani joins Gherardini, bon giorno will be the order of the day in the Canadian city.

Article courtesy of www.fiba.com