Anthony Bennett had so much fun playing for Team Canada this summer that he decided to come home and play for Canada’s team.

Bennett slipped on a Raptors jersey for the first time at media day on Monday and instead of avoiding pressure he seems to be embracing as much pressure as possible.

He could have gone somewhere else where he would be out of the limelight, but instead decided to come to Toronto. He could have changed his jersey, but instead he stayed with his familiar No. 15 which was previously worn in Toronto by Vince Carter, Amir Johnson and Jorge Garbajosa, three of the most popular players in team history (Carter, of course, is also one of the most hated).

Some players would have shied away from the distractions that come with playing at home, but Bennett was focused on signing here after a buyout was worked out with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“I feel like it was the perfect situation for me,” Bennett said Monday, after admitting that putting on a Raptors jersey did feel a bit weird.

“Coming home, playing in front of family, friends, fans, it’s just being comfortable. Comfortable and just going out there and playing with confidence.”

Confidence is a key for Bennett, but he knows he won’t be handed anything. The team has told him as much.

“This is a good place for him. It’s home,” said head coach Dwane Casey.

“He should feel comfortable. But again all the time and everything else, he’s going to have to come in and earn it ... that doesn’t mean anything is going to be given to him. And I don’t think he wants anything given to him. He’s a super young man and a young talent.”

Bennett said this is the healthiest he has felt since his lone year at UNLV, a season that preceded him becoming the first Canadian No. 1 overall pick.

For the league minimum, Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri really had nothing to lose.

“We got a good chance to get him. We jumped on it,” Ujiri said.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for him, a good opportunity for us. He’s coming in and he’s going to have to play and prove himself a little bit. He’s coming in, I don’t know where he is in the rankings of the players with the coach. He’s going to have to work. I think he’s up for the challenge. It’s something new. We’ll see how it goes.

“We feel like we’re a growing team and we can absorb a guy like that. When you can get a guy that talented — was he (worthy of being) the no. 1 guy in the draft? We don’t know. It didn’t work out in a couple places. I think he’s moved past that. I think the experiences he’s gone through will help him. For us to get a Canadian 22-year-old power forward that is athletic and can play at the minimum? We’ll take it. He’ll have a chance.”

“The coaching staff will help me out a whole lot, plus all these great players. I feel like I can improve,” Bennett added.

Having Cory Joseph, also from the Greater Toronto Area, on board also should be beneficial.

“I feel like there’s a new beginning there. I think he’ll do great for us, for the city and the country. I think he’ll revive his NBA career,” Joseph said of Bennett.

“I’m very excited to have to two of us here, representing our city and our country. And I’m just really excited. I can’t even put it into words.”

PATTERSON’S TO LOSE?

The most interesting training camp battle will be over who starts at power forward. Patrick Patterson is seen as the likeliest candidate – he’s the holdover, has started some games in the past and complements Jonas Valanciunas well offensively, but he knows nothing is guaranteed.

“When I got here, Amir (Johnson) was hands down the starting four, so now there’s an opportunity for me to be a starting four. An opportunity for James (Johnson), Luis (Scola) and also Anthony as well. Now it’s different because the only spot that’s three in the starting lineup is the starting four position,” Patterson said.

“It’s up for grabs right now, different mindset heading into training camp. Just trying to showcase my skills, showcase to the coaching staff and my teammates why I believe I should start.”

Asked whether Patterson felt the job was his to lose, Patterson said, “part of me does, just because Amir was a starter and then I was a backup four. Without Amir here, I feel like I should go into that role, but everything is earned, nothing is given, just going out and proving myself and in my mindset it’s something I feel like I can prove and hopefully earn.”

Casey indicated that fit might trump out a player having a better camp.

“ We gotta find out who fits better with (Jonas Valanciunas) more than anything else, offensively and defensively, more so than who wins the spot,”Casey said.

Scola and Valanciunas don’t project to be a fit either offensively or defensively for various reasons.

“The better person may be on the second unit. We gotta figure that out. That’s something we’re going to look at. But it’s not going to be a competition on who beats who out. It’s going to be who fits better, who fits better with (Bismack) Biyombo with the second unit. So those are the things we’re going to find out in camp.”

QUOTABLES

Choice quotes from media day:

“I feel faster, I feel a lot lighter, I feel quicker, I feel sharper. I still feel strong because when I go in the weight room, I still move the same weight I’ve always moved. I can still bench press you.” Kyle Lowry, answering questions about whether his lighter frame would impact his strength.

“It’s nice having abs, I can walk around with my shirt off, my wife’s like ‘wow.’ She likes me.” - Lowry again.

“Our job as a staff is to kind of get everything together and make sure we get all the pieces fitting in the right slots — put the square pegs in the square holes and the round holes in the round holes. Make sure they all work.” - Casey on the new and old faces meshing together.

“Pretty much everything. Offensive side. Not hitting shots. Not moving the ball, not sharing the ball, defence itself. Not getting stops, rebounding. It was just everything that could go wrong did go wrong for us.” - Patterson about what happened in the playoffs against Washington.

“Its an important season, for more reasons than one. For the team’s sake, my sake. Its important that I come out and perform.” - Terrence Ross.

“I think I’m a very unique individual. I’ve been through a lot, you know. I just want to share my story with a lot of people, let them see how I live day to day. I’m an average Joe, just like you.” - DeMarre Carroll on embracing social media.

AROUND THE RIM

Casey said he thinks the defence will be much-improved thanks to the additions of DeMarre Carroll, Biyombo, Joseph and others, as well as DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross exclusively guarding shooting guards instead of also having to match up with bigger small forwards ... Casey added that Valanciunas will now finish more games. “Well, he’s getting to the point of his career with the experience, that he should be able to do that. I noticed they didn’t use him as much in Europe at the end of games, but we plan to use him, especially offensively, down the stretch. ‘Cause, again, he’s one of our better free throw shooters. Father time is a great teacher and developer of those kind of situations,” Casey said ... The revamped coaching staff, which includes veterans Andy Greer and Rex Kalamian and former star Jerry Stackhouse, was in the house and eager to get going ... Bruno Caboclo was noticeably bigger, having spent ample time in the gym this summer, but he also said he has grown about half an inch ... DeRozan said it was strange not having Amir Johnson around since they were the longest-serving Raptors for years.

@WolstatSun