NOTE FROM THE UNDERGROUND

William F. Reed

November 10, 1997

As Isiah Thomas and other Raptors officials prepared for last June's draft, they were certain their choice (at No. 9) would be French-born Olivier Saint-Jean of San Jose State. Instead, to Thomas's surprise, Tracy McGrady (right), the phenom out of Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C., was still on the board. Thomas is even happier than he was on draft night: In preseason McGrady, 18, showed flashes of brilliance that have the Raptors convinced he'll beat their '96 top choice, Marcus Camby, to the All-Star Game.