The annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, one of the oldest pre-combine scouting showcases for the best college seniors, officially announced its cancellation because of the developing coronavirus pandemic, per P.I.T. Vice Chairman Mike Morris (Twitter link). The P.I.T. has been operating since 1953.
The P.I.T. was scheduled to run from April 15-18, 2020 at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium was the first to report the news (Twitter link).
College seniors to have benefited from the P.I.T. include Scottie Pippen (drafted with the No. 5 pick in 1987), Dennis Rodman (the No. 26 pick in 1986), Jimmy Butler (the No. 30 pick in 2011), John Stockton (the No. 16 pick in 1984), Tim Hardaway (the No. 14 pick in 1989), Ben Wallace (who went undrafted in 1996), Rick Barry (the No. 2 pick in 1965), Dave Cowens (the No. 4 pick in 1970) and Earl Monroe (the No. 2 pick in 1967).
The draft is going to have some surprises this year I think, between eliminating combines and major prospects not playing much.
Yep. Teams are gonna have to draft on guys production and other hard evidence rather than potential.