CLEVELAND - The NBA All-Star weekend is the unofficial halfway mark of the NBA season and to say Anthony Bennetts rookie campaign hasnt gone quite as expected so far would be an understatement. Phil Niekro Jersey . The 20-year-old rookie from Toronto, the first Canadian ever selected with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft when the Cleveland Cavaliers grabbed him in 2013, has had anything but a storybook beginning to his professional career. While the rest of the NBAs best and brightest spent their weekend in New Orleans for All-Star festivities, Bennett was just the second No. 1 pick to not be selected for the annual Rising Stars game, composed of the leagues best rookie and sophomore players since Washingtons Kwame Brown in 2001. Bennett is patient when asked about his struggles. After starting his professional career 0-for-15 from the floor, hes had to get used to talking about it. "Well, its not the way I planned it to go, I can say that," Bennett said. "Im pretty sure everything will turn around soon. Im working hard and Ive got my teammates with me. The coaching staff has been helping me a lot so Ive just got to keep my head up and go hard." While his start hasnt been ideal, Bennett has faced the music and remained calm amid pressures and criticisms coming from all angles. Speaking in the Cavaliers locker room before a recent game in Cleveland, Bennett was frank about his struggles this season, while also confident that the tide was turning. "Its overwhelming, but Im pretty level headed," Bennett said. "Ive got nice teammates who have been in the league a few years. They can tell me a lot of what theyve been through. Ive been humble, level headed and working every day." The advice from teammates and coaches is the same: keep working. A visit to the Cavaliers practice facility showed he is taking that advice to heart. Long after everyone else has left the floor, Bennett remained. Practising free throws under the watchful eye of an assistant coach, Bennett looked like any other NBA rookie. "Everybody has had their part," Bennett said of the Cavaliers organization. "Helping me with my game, shooting after practice, or pulling me aside and giving me pointers here and there. Everybody has been really helpful." Injuring his shoulder prior to the NBA Draft, Bennetts rookie season was derailed before it began. Missing the Las Vegas Summer League where rookies get their first taste of NBA life, while also being unable to train during the offseason, Bennett came into the Cavaliers training camp with extra weight to accompany the extra pressure that every first overall pick carries with him. Playing sparingly at the beginning of the season, Bennett has worked hard to shed the extra pounds and get into game shape so hes ready to go when his name is called. Last Tuesday night, in a victory against the Sacramento Kings, Bennett posted his best performance to date, recording 19 points and 10 rebounds. He followed up the next night with a two-point, two-rebound performance. Bennetts roller-coaster experience serves as a reminder of the patience necessary when drafting young players each year. With half a season behind him, Bennett is starting to get a feel for what to expect each night he steps onto the floor as a pro. "In college it would be one game, someones a seven-footer, but the next game someone is six-foot-six," Bennett said. "Everyone is pretty much the same size now. Youve got to go hard every time." In addition to staying after practice for extra work, Bennett often returns for a second session. How does the first overall pick deal with the lows that have accompanied his season thus far? With a little help from his hometown friends. "My close friends from back home, theyve been with me from the start, before this [being in the NBA], so they see my ups, they see my downs. They know what Im going through." After a game where he hasnt performed well, or even gotten the chance to get off the bench, they are the ones who help keep Bennett focused on whats in front of him. "Every time I have a bad game or am feeling down, I hit them up and they tell me to keep staying with it," Bennett said. "Theyll come out here and after bad games theyll go with me straight to the gym. Thats something thats really helpful for me and Im thankful for it." As Bennett begins to show flashes of why the Cavaliers wanted him in the first place, he isnt allowing an unexpectedly difficult beginning make him lose sight of the fact that hes living his NBA dream. "Its a huge honour. Its a blessing, you know? I just cant let this opportunity slide for me. I have to work hard every day. This is my job. I have to work hard and be happy about it." Danny Santana Jersey . Lack replaced an injured Roberto Luongo late in the first period then watched defenceman Chris Tanev score the winning goal midway through the third as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Jets 2-1 in a tight NHL game. Scott Kazmir Jersey . Still, its a start. Josh Baileys goal with 1:40 left capped a furious third-period rally, and the Islanders edged the Penguins 4-3 on Friday night. http://www.thebravesteamshop.com/Braves-Hank-Aaron-Kids-Jersey/ .com) - Mikko Korhonen carded a 5-under 67 on Thursday to claim medalist honors at the European Tours Final Qualifying Stage tournament.TORONTO – Dave Bolland did not hesitate when asked who would win on Friday. "Canada," Bolland said with a smile. "Is that a question?" One day earlier, though, fellow Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri wasnt so sure his home and native land could pull off the win against the United States in the semi-finals of the Olympic hockey tournament. "I want to say Canada, but to be honest with you, the U.S. looks better," Kadri, a native of London, Ont., said. "We dont know if Naz is Canadian or American," Bolland, from Mimico, Ont., said with a chuckle. "We dont know what he is or who hes cheering for. He could be cheering for the Belarusians." Roommate Turmoil The North American rivalry has many fault lines throughout the Leafs dressing room even though a vast majority of the players – 20 in total – are Canadian. The issue: two of the key players on Team USA are also two-thirds of Torontos top line: Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. The man who centres that line in the NHL, Reginas Tyler Bozak, may be the Leaf who is most torn. After all, Bozak is close friends with Kessel and actually lives with the Leafs leading scorer. "Thats a tough question for me to answer," Bozak admitted when asked where his loyalties lie. "Ive got my two wingers on the U.S. and Im Canadian so I guess Im cheering for both. I just hope Phil and JVR play really well and maybe Canada wins. I dont know. "Its going to be an exciting game to watch, for sure. I really cant make any predictions. I dont know. The U.S. has been playing great. Canadas kind of snuck by with a few wins, buut every games different and it should be a fun one to watch. Mike Foltynewicz Jersey. " Another set of roommates are also at odds over the game and are actually putting their money where their mouthes are. Defencemen Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, from Vancouver and Minnetonka, MN respectively, have placed a friendly wager on the game. "I cant tell you what it is," Rielly said. "Hes overconfident. I think Team Canada will be fine." Most Leafs, however, were trying to take the diplomatic approach with head coach and Sudbury, Ont. native Randy Carlyle, acknowledging the semi-final showdown "was pulling your heart strings in different directions." The Diplomatic Approach "We hope and wish our players all the luck in the world as far as an organization," said Carlyle, "but I am Canadian." "I hope that Phil and JVR do well," said captain Dion Phaneuf, who hails from Edmonton and was invited to Hockey Canadas orientation camp in the summer, "so Im in the middle, thats for sure. Any time you have teammates competing, you want them to do well, but Im Canadian and I have lots of respect for Hockey Canada." What everyone can agree on is that Kessel and van Riemsdyk are having a much better Sochi experience than Nikolai Kulemin, who was the other Leaf taking part in the Winter Games. "Nobody asks questions about how youre going to feel about Nikolai Kulemin coming back and thats a tough one," said Carlyle. "Host country and the way their tournament unravelled, hes part of our hockey club and weve got to find a way to build him back up and get him going again." 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