NBA Draft Combine

NBA AM: Day 1 Of The Draft Combine

By: Steve Kyler Last Updated: 5/21/10 10:04 AM ET


Draft Combine Day 1: The first day of the 2010 NBA Draft Combine went off without a hitch. There were no real issues or injuries and as expected there was some gamesmanship from the agents that made the day interesting. While the Combine can influence how teams feel about a certain player, nothing that happens on the court matters nearly as much as you'd think.

Not much about this week is about basketball, this is more or less the Human Resources component of the program where teams can meet face to face with players in a job interview setting and more importantly they can put the players through detailed medical exams including a full body MRI.

Here are some notes from the opening day:

John and Turner: Two years ago when Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley entered the Combine media room it was clear that neither were ready for prime time. This year, John Wall and Evan Turner represent the top two selections and both are more than ready for prime time.

John Wall was far better with the media than expected and he has a kindness to him you wouldn't expect from a kid that's lived in the spotlight as long as he has. Team personnel that have met with him gush over his poise and maturity. Wall has been doing some training at Impact Basketball in Los Angeles, and is getting rave reviews from his trainers who say he has a passion for the game that shows in how he trains and that he is a sponge for knowledge, instruction and guidance.

Evan Turner also showed a lot of poise yesterday proving that he is ready for life at the next level. Turner refused to concede the top overall pick to John Wall and Wizards' sources say that while Wall is the top name in this class they are going to evaluate all of their options including meeting with Turner and possibly DeMarcus Cousins.

There is almost no doubt that both Turner and Wall will handle life in the NBA well, and given how teams are talking about both there is almost no chance those are not the top two names called.

Not On My Team: DeMarcus Cousins is a spectacular basketball player. He's going to be one of the top five names called on June 24th and he'll likely spend a long time in the NBA because of his talent.

That said there is absolutely no chance that guy ends up on my team.

NBA teams have openly questioned DeMarcus' maturity and his temper, something scouts and GMs alike have witnessed this season at Kentucky.

Yesterday DeMarcus was surrounded by all of the media in attendance, and one of the first questions asked was about his reputation and temper, and in almost comical fashion he only proved the rumors to be true with his answers – think Rasheed Wallace on his worst day. DeMarcus created enough of a stir that his fellow Kentucky teammates ultimately were asked about playing with him and their answers were not flattering.

Conversations with team personnel last night after the meetings revealed the perception of Cousins is not very high and while a team in the top five likely selects him, as one GM explained, teams are trying to talk themselves into drafting Cousins because he's so big and projected so high as player.

The running joke after Day 1 was that someone should start a pool for how many times this season DeMarcus blows up after a game and blames someone else for his situation.

Not a good way to start the process.

Derrick Favors: In every draft class there is a kid that comes off as being one year away, and this year its Favors. Derrick is a bright young man, who is a little overwhelmed and nervous about the process. He is soft spoken and tends to blend in – as much as a 6'10 basketball player can.

The biggest part of the Combine process is the individual team interviews, and while any team can request a meeting with a player, sometimes the meeting requests paint an interesting picture.

You would expect that Favors, who is arguably the fourth-best talent in the draft class, would be talking to the top 8 to 10 teams, and if you looked at his interview list you'd be right. However there was one team that jumped off the page for Favors – the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs hold the 20th pick in the first round and have no shot at drafting Favors as they stand, but they met with him yesterday which is sure to fuel the trade speculation.

Sources close to the situation pointed out last night that while San Antonio meeting with Favors is interesting, they also reminded the team interview portion of the Combine was designed around this very concept.

If a team has interest in a player, they would want to meet with that player before giving up assets to move up in the draft, and just because a team meets with a player outside of their range, that does not mean they will meet the price tag to move up.

But Derrick Favors meeting with the San Antonio Spurs is interesting, especially when the New Jersey Nets have been floating that they would consider trading the third overall pick for the right kind of veteran – Tony Parker anyone?

Bravo New Orleans: Yesterday several of the top prospects opted not to compete in the basketball skills portion of the combine. As one agent joked, "What's my guy gonna prove running the four-man weave?"

The New Orleans Hornets didn't find it nearly as funny, opting to cancel interviews with players that did not participate yesterday. Now, it's unclear if New Orleans is erasing these players from their consideration, but it was a very interesting statement to the field as a whole this process is important and if you're not competing, we're not drafting you.

As one executive explained last night, the purpose of the basketball drills is not to evaluate a player, as most teams have seen the guys they are interest in more than a dozen times. What teams are looking for in this setting is how you compete with one executive saying "if you dog it in a light workout, you'll likely dog it at the next level."

Agents fear unnecessary exposure – maybe their guy looks bad, maybe their guy gets hurt, but as was the general consensus last night, too many guys needing to show they had heart and competitive desire didn't not participate and are likely looking to tumble.

Bravo New Orleans, now if only six other teams would follow suit, it might actually matter.

Injuries: There were four notable no-shows yesterday. Duke's Jon Scheyer was a late scratch. Word from his camp is he may have mono, which casts a huge cloud over his place in the NBA.

Quincy Pondexter was a late scratch, word is he has a broken finger and could miss workouts as a result.

Elliott Williams was also a no-show, with sources saying he too withdrew at the last minute. The scuttle surrounding Williams is he may have a significant knee injury, with some in the lobby speculating he may have an ACL tear.

Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe also did not show for media sessions, although no one could pinpoint why.

The Ready for Primetime Players: While the personal side does not influence where a player gets drafted, it can often reflect how successful a player will be in NBA over their career. Yesterday several players proved they are ready for the next level and some of the most notable are: John Wall, Evan Turner, Wesley Johnson, Patrick Paterson, Larry Sanders, Mikhail Torrance, Paul George, Sharron Collins, Andy Rautins, Luke Babbitt, Xavier Henry and Gani Lawal.

2010 NBA Draft Combine Recap


by Bryan Crawford

52 of the best collegiate basketball prospects converged on Chicago this week for the NBA’s annual pre-draft combine. From physicals, individual interviews and workouts for teams, to group skills testing and drills held at the famed Attack Athletics Center run by Tim Grover, the Windy Center was the center of the basketball world over the past few days. The event gives NBA scouts, coaches, and GM’s an opportunity to get an up-close and personal look at a few of the players who make up the 2010 draft class.

For the combine, players are grouped together by their projected positions in the NBA and are taken through a battery of tests and drills to measure things like vertical jump, speed, agility, and general basketball IQ. Of course, the center of attention in this year’s class were Kentucky’s John Wall and Ohio State’s Evan Turner who will almost assuredly be the first two names David Stern calls at the podium in Madison Square Garden next month. On the advice of their agents, neither participated on the first day of the combine and had very limited participation on day two, but their basketball fates are already set. However, their absencse gave opportunities for other players to shine and potentially raise their stock as well.

img00017-20100521-1303One of the players whose stock really elevated was 6-7 swingman Paul George from Fresno State. Teams love his length and athleticism and he seems to really be climbing up the draft board. He’s also enjoying the experience that comes along with fulfilling a lifelong dream. “This is fun. This is what I dreamed of since I was a little kid. Nobody in Palmdale [California, where George is from] can really say that they’ve done something like this. This is a dream. This is what people really try to experience and try to get to.” George interviewed with ten teams at the combine. The list includes Memphis, San Antonio, Chicago, Phoenix, and Portland just to name a few. George says it doesn’t matter to him where he plays; he just wants to wear an NBA jersey. “I don’t have no ego to say I don’t want to go here or I want to go there; I’ll be happy to play for whoever drafts me.”

Another player a lot of teams seem very intrigued by is NCAA Tournament darling, Gordon img00016-20100521-1258Hayward from the Butler Bulldogs. Hayward as you recall led his Butler squad on an incredible run this past season and he came within a miraculous half-court shot of knocking off Duke for the National Championship. At 6-8, teams like his size and his incredible basketball skills, but what many people may not know is that he developed those skills when he was much shorter and growing at the rate that he did is still taking some time for him to get used to. “I’m still kind of getting adjusted into my body. It hasn’t been very long since I’ve been at this height. I went from 5-11 as a freshman [in high school] to 6-8 as a senior. It was weird looking at everyone at eye level walking down the hall to looking over everyone. And you don’t even realize it when you’re growing. It all came really fast.”

What also came quickly for Hayward was his meteoric rise into the national spotlight and his place on many draft boards as he interviewed with a number of teams while in Chicago. “I interviewed with eight teams [on Thursday}. I interviewed with Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Utah, Atlanta, and I interviewed with the Bulls. I know I'm leaving somebody out, but it's been a lot."

Brooklyn's own, Lance Stephenson, aka Born Ready was also in Chicago to show teams what he can do. Currently projected as a second rounder, Stephenson hoped to elevate his stock with a strong showing at the combine. At 6-6, he has an NBA body and looks to be ready to compete physically in the League. He came into the combine in terrific shape and he hoped that coaches and GM's took notice not only of his skills, but also his intangibles as well. "I'm a hard worker, real good on defense, and I'm a leader on and off the court. So I think I bring a lot to a team."

Xavier's Jordan Crawford is tired of hearing about "LeDunk."

Every time he's asked he just shakes his head, almost in disbelief that people are still talking about it. He just wants people to know that there is a lot more to him than just one isolated incident. "I was happier with the way that I played in the tournament more than any other thing. People started talking about how I can play the game instead of a dunk in a scrimmage. That was a scrimmage; it wasn't no game or nothing like that. He wasn't playing his hardest. How many times have you seen LeBron give up a dunk when he's playing hard? He was just having fun at his camp. So yeah, I'm tired of talking about it." However, as tired as he may be of discussing it, he does realize the importance of that moment in his basketball career, especially after transferring from Indiana to Xavier. "[The dunk] put my name back out there after sitting out a year. You don’t get talked about when you’re being redshirted. But it put me back out there and I got a chance to let people know that I was for real.”

One of the more interesting people at the combine was DeMarcus Cousins from Kentucky. Not only is he big, he’s surly. Think Kendrick Perkins with much better basketball skills. During the media sessions, he became annoyed when questions were raised about his maturity and attitude. As a result, his interviews were riddled with short and oftentimes one word answers to questions, and a lot of awkward pauses. While some found it annoying, I found it enjoyably funny and he’s good for interesting quotes if you can, you know, get him to actually talk.

When asked who he looked forward to playing against in the NBA Cousins said simply, “Shaq and Dwight Howard.” When asked why he answered, “Those are the two dominant big men in the League and I’m trying to get there.” When asked if he was the villain of the draft class he coolly responded, “Yep… Which one would you take? A nasty big man or a friendly one?” When I told him that I wanted my big man to be a little mean, he calmly said, “Thank you.” When a reporter questioned him about being a poor teammate, Cousins said, “That’s ridiculous. You talk to any of my teammates and you’ll get a positive answer back.” And when asked if Coach John Calipari gave him any advice before coming to the combine, Cousins said, “Yeah. He told me to smile.” Laughter erupted.

Projected to go within the first four picks, Cousins should be an immediate impact to whichever team drafts him.

During the combine, anthropometric measurements are taken of players to give their exact height with and without shoes, their weight, wingspan, standing reach, body fat, hand length and hand width. Some of the numbers were staggering.

John Wall, although being three inches shorter than Evan Turner, has a wingspan more than an inch longer than Turners. Turner’s wingspan measured out at 6 feet, 8 inches, while Wall’s wingspan measured and impressive, 6 feet, 9 and-one-quarter inches. Hassan Whiteside from Marshall had the longest wingspan of anyone at the combine at 7 feet, 7 inches. The longest standing reach measurements belonged to three players, all big men. Whiteside, 7-1 Jerome Jordan from Tulsa, and 7-1 Solomon Alabi from Florida State all measured out at 9 feet, 5 inches. The biggest hands of the combine belonged to Craig Brackins from Iowa State whose had width measure out at 11.3 inches.

Dexter Pittman, whose 16-year-old brother was tragically shot and killed during Day 1 of the combine forcing him to return to his family’s home in Houston, looked to be in much better shape compared to his days at the University of Texas. He came in looking much slimmer physically and looked a lot more nimble on his feet. However he had the highest body-fat percentage of any of the combine’s participants at 20.8 percent, but an impressive wingspan for a 6-11 player that measured out at 7 feet, 6 inches. The player with the lowest body fat percentage was Ole Miss Guard Terrico White at 3.7 percent. A close second was Manny Harris from Michigan at 3.8 percent.