"The Big Cat came clean a day early.

Jamaal Magloire, also known as the Big Cat, will become the first Canadian to don the uniform of the Toronto Raptors.

The deal won't be made official until 2 p.m. Friday when NBA teams can officially begin announcing their respective roster moves for the coming season.

The former Eastern Commerce standout returns home at the tail end of a 12-year NBA career to provide a little more muscle in the paint, a little leadership in the locker room, and whatever minutes a compressed schedule can offer a guy whose NBA career is winding down.

Toronto will be Magloire's eighth and, barring something unforeseen, final team in a career that began when the Charlotte Hornets selected him 19th overall in the 2000 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky.

"This has been a dream of mine for a very long time," Magloire said of his imminent homecoming following a workout at the Raptors' practice facility at the ACC Thursday. "I haven't played that much in the past three years so all that anticipation has built up and I'll be ready."

For Magloire the opportunity to be that first Canadian on a Raptors' roster is meaningful.

"It's very important for me," he said. "I want to leave some kind of legacy behind and going into my 12th year there's not much of a window left. I think this a great opportunity to resurrect my career, and to do it in the right way in the right place.""