Andrew Wiggins, the highly touted basketball prospect from Vaughan, Ont., has declared he's forgoing his remaining years of college basketball eligibility to become a pro and enter the NBA draft.

Masai Ujiri, the general manager of the Toronto Raptors, says Wiggins and young players like him are a sign that basketball is on the rise in Canada.

"The one thing good we have going I think is lots of young Canadian players," said Ujiri. "How about that? Twenty-seven Canadian players playing in the NCAA tournament [this year]."

Wiggins has gone on record saying he wants to play for his hometown team, the Toronto Raptors. It's something Ujiri... doesn't want to talk about.

"I wish I could talk about that but I can't," he said. "You can't talk about them until a certain date. So I will not say anything.

"But I can say this: the 27 Canadian players playing in the NCAA tournament, I think that for me that's phenomenal and for me that's the beginning of growth and where basketball I think is taking off in the country."

Masai Ujiri's interview with George airs Monday, March 31, 2014 at 7 pm on CBC.