At the open tryout for the Raptors 905 NBA D-League team, class shows quickly.

There’s Tut Ruach, a Mississauga high school hoops legend, stripping the ball from an overmatched guard and making the pass that leads to a basket. On an adjacent court at the University of Toronto Mississauga, former Dalhousie standout Robert Nortmann throws down a thunderous dunk over an opponent’s outstretched arms.

Other players’ lack of pedigree is revealed in seconds. A skinny guard with a bushy moustache spends nearly an entire scrimmage lingering beneath the goal, leaving his team shorthanded on defence and waiting on a pass he can flip into the goal. When he finally gets his shot, an opponent swats it away.

Seventy-five men answered the Raptors 905’s open casting call, with nearly as many skill levels on display Saturday. Coaches will winnow that pack to a more select group for further evaluation Sunday, and up to five players can leave this weekend with an invite to the Raptors farm team’s training camp in early November.

“You’re looking for some versatility, guys that can play multiple positions,” said Raptors 905 coach Jesse Mermuys. “You just want to see the guys who know how to play the right way, are good teammates, they’re energetic . . . like they have a feel for the next level.”

When they begin play in mid-November the Raptors 905 will have a monopoly in Toronto’s two biggest western suburbs. Shortly after they were founded they bought out the NBL Canada’s Mississauga Power, while the Brampton A’s have moved to Orangeville.

But they still face challenges. While it normally takes a full year to set up a D-League club, the Raptors 905 will field a team just five months after the its creation.

A longer timeline would have been simpler logistically but wouldn’t have helped Bruno Caboclo, a top Raptors draft pick and long-term prospect who languished in the D-League last season. Rather than risk letting Caboclo spend another season in limbo, the Raptors compressed their farm team’s schedule to give him a place to develop.

“It’s going to be such a big boost for the guys at the end of the bench who might not get all the game experience that you’d hope for,” said Raptors 905 general manager Dan Tolzman. “This is going to be an opportunity for them . . . to get more reps and have live game action, which is the best learning tool.”

But Caboclo can’t play by himself, which is why the Raptors selected 16 players in last month’s expansion draft. Those players aren’t obligated to join the team, but the D-League holds its regular draft in late October for players cut from NBA training camps.

And every team in the league holds events like this, where second-tier pros, local hoops heroes, and men’s league lifers hope to catch a coach’s attention.

Ruach starred at Mississauga’s Father Michael Goetz Secondary School before moving on to York University. From there he played pro in Sweden and became an NBL Canada all-star, even playing with the Mississauga Power before the Raptors 905 took over. He considered seeking another job in Europe but would rather play in Mississauga.

It’s closer both to home and to the NBA.

“There’s a million talented guys. You have to be in the right place at the right time,” Ruach said. “If you make this team and you get to play a little bit and (the Raptors) need a call-up and you’re right there, you’re in the right place and you’ve got the opportunity.”

Depending on when they registered, participants paid between $225 and $275 for Saturday’s audition.

And even though only a handful will earn invites to training camp they’ll all receive plenty in return for their money and effort.

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Each player gets two tickets to a regular-season game, and a reversible Raptors 905 practice jersey.

And when they return to pickup games and men’s leagues, they’ll all be able to say they “had a tryout with the Raptors” without technically lying.