HOUSTON, Texas — It was just over a year ago that Jamal Shead was on the outside looking in on his NBA dream.
The Toronto Raptors were practicing at the Guy Lewis Development Centre at the University of Houston. And up above the practice floor Shead, then a star senior with the Cougars, was perched on a couch in a lounge looking down and trying to imagine his future as the Raptors went through their paces below.
Shead had no way to know for sure he was going to be drafted, even after a stellar four-year career for the Cougars. As an undersized defence-first point guard with a shaky jumper, nothing was guaranteed. As for which team would take him?
But he was focused. This was an NBA team training on the same floor where he…