A few months after being named the Raptors' new head coach, Darko Rajakovic was in a Bloor West Village coffee shop.

Rajakovic ordered a double espresso and sat down with Madhav Trivedi, the University of Toronto men's basketball head coach. Trivedi had emailed Rajakovic to introduce himself and welcome the Raptors coach to the city.

"We're both coffee lovers, so I said, 'Hey, let's go for a cup of coffee and talk basketball' and he said, 'Yeah, let's do it,' " recalls Trivedi, who has coached for nearly 14 years with stops at McGill and Brock University. 

Almost two years later, that cup of coffee and several great conversations about life and basketball led to an invitation for Trivedi to be a guest coach with the Raptors at this year's NBA Summer League that wrapped up over the weekend.

"I was shocked, to be honest," Trivedi said of Rajakovic's offer. "I know these opportunities are hard to get … I know the Raptors, Darko, they put a lot of thought into the people that they put around the program."

For Rajakovic, it was a no-brainer to invite Trivedi, 38, alongside guest coaches from Turkey and Morocco. It was an opportunity for Rajakovic and the Raptors to give a local coach a chance to learn from the big club.

"We as a team we represent Toronto as a city; we also represent Canada as a whole," Rajakovic said. "I think it's very important to have a connection with local coaches and to open the door for them … to be around the team, to see how we operate."

At Summer League, Trivedi helped Raptors coaches with game scouts, clipping video, running drills and working with individual players. The staff has also been open to him bringing ideas and thoughts to the table. 

"I just want him to see how the Toronto Raptors want to operate and to see those early stages of how we are setting up our foundation, and to be able to understand the long-term vision as well and how we want to develop our team," Rajakovic said.

Mentorship and the opportunity to learn from legendary head coaches were instrumental in Rajakovic's journey to the NBA. He's had the chance to pick the brains of some of the greats, including former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, late Arizona coach Lute Olson and international coaches such as Zeljko Obradovic and Bogdan Tanjevic. 

It's why he's left doors open to local Canadian coaches to sit in and learn during practices.

Trivedi, who grew up in the Bathurst St. and St. Clair Ave. W. area, has taken the open-door policy seriously. He aims to attend practices about two times a month in the regular season. 

"There's been a history of Canadian U Sports coaches connected with the Raptors," said Raptors assistant coach Jama Mahlalela, a former U Sports player and U of T assistant. "I think you see in its current form, coach Darko has done an amazing job of continuing that tradition ... he's always about giving back to Canadian coaches."

The Raptors also have former U Sports players Noah Lewis and Kareem Elliott as player development coaches. Last year, the team had Trevor Pridie, a head coach at Trinity Western University, on the Summer League staff.

It was Pridie's third time as a guest coach with the Raptors, after stints in 2018 and 2019. Last year, Pridie got to ride the bus back from a game with Rajakovic, and remembers how welcome he felt.

"The head coach is hopping in the back seat with a guest coach, driving back to the hotel after a Summer League game," Pridie said. "He's such a good guy. I just love being around the team and the organization."

The friendship Rajakovic has built with Trivedi over basketball also led the Raptors coach to learn more about the basketball ecosystem in Canada. 

"It's a great opportunity for us, as coaches, to learn from them and I think it's a two-way street," Rajakovic said. "It's never just like we are giving back to the community and local coaches. It's also us learning from them. And coach (Trivedi) is an outstanding coach, high-level personality." 

Trivedi will be heading into his fourth season as head coach of U of T. With him at the helm, the school has twice been ranked in the top 10 in the country. He was also an assistant coach for Canada this summer at the FIBA boys' under-16 AmeriCup.

He's hoping to take the developmental secrets Rajakovic has shared and implement them at U of T.  

"There's a lot I've learned about the process of what it takes to be great," Trivedi said. "We always see on TV the end result, but what I really want to take back is the day-to-day thought that goes into every practice plan, every drill, every second that we're on the court.

"There's always a meaning why everyone is doing what they're doing, so I really want to take that approach back."

Source: The Toronto Star