Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh (4) dunks the ball.[AP Photo]

Despite coaching a youthful Toronto Raptors team packed with international players, Sam Mitchell knows the time to win is now.

"As a coach I can't afford to think it will take years to build a winner," Mitchell told reporters. "If it's going to take years, it will be for somebody else. I'll be gone."

The Raptors are one of the biggest surprises of the season, leading the Atlantic Division with a roster featuring Spaniards Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Calderon, Italian Andrea Bargnani, and Slovenians Rasho Nesterovic and Uros Slokar.

Mitchell's team may lead the league in languages spoken in the locker room but that has not affected their results.

"It's the same as coaching a guy if he was from Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, New York, Wisconsin," Mitchell told reporters. "It's no different. They're basketball players."

The Raptors' turnaround is all-the-more remarkable considering only four players were with the club a year ago. Toronto (32-29) is mired in a modest three-game losing streak but considering they were 27-55 last season, Raptors fans have little to complain about.

Washington whipped Toronto 129-109 on Tuesday but the plans hatched by Mitchell and General Manager Bryan Colangelo to stockpile international talent have been a success.

"It's never been an issue for us," Mitchell said. "Bryan and I never thought about that when we put this team together. We never thought about where people were from. We thought, 'Could they help our basketball team?'

"We wanted to know what kind of man they were. Are they going to fit in with what we do, the fabric of our team? Those are the questions."

TEAM LEADER

All-Star forward Chris Bosh is the undisputed team leader, averaging 22.8 points a game, but Bargnani (11.1 points), Garbajosa (8.5 points) and Calderon (5.1 assists) are making significant contributions.

"From the first day of practice all he cared about was winning," said Garbajosa, a 29-year-old first-year Raptor who played seven seasons in the Spanish pro leagues and four in Italy. "He didn't care if you were from Spain, Italy or wherever. He said it's all about winning."

Bargnani, a 21-year-old seven-footer, said despite differences between the NBA and European game they were all just basketball players.

"We have nine new players so we need some time to become a team," said Bargnani, who led Benetton to Italy's Lega A Championship a year ago. "We just have to learn to play together. Basketball is basketball. It doesn't matter where you're from."

Mitchell said he has had no problem communicating with the international players and if they failed to understand him in practice it was probably his own doing.

"Their English is fine. If I said something they didn't get it was because I'm from the South and my English isn't that good," he said.