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Draft Combine Updates: Thursday Evening

May 16th, 2013 at 9:03pm CST by Luke Adams
9:03pm: We'll post any remaining evening updates from Chicago here:
  • Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy tweets that international prospect Mouhammadou Jaiteh will forego Eurocamp and will work out for NBA teams instead, possibly as early as a group workout with Minnesota. 
  • The Oregonian's Jason Quick reports that the Trail Blazers met with James Southerland yesterday.

2:47pm: More afternoon combine updates from Chicago:

  • Ben McLemore has already interviewed with the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, and Pelicans, according to SI.com's Chris Mannix (via Twitter). McLemore expects to meet with the Bobcats, Magic, and Pistons tonight, according to various reports (all Twitter links).
  • Victor Oladipo will also meet with the Pistons tonight, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
  • Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (via Twitter) adds Otto Porter to the list of prospects interviewed by the Timberwolves, but says the T-Wolves won't get a chance to meet with Oladipo, who was on the team's wish list.
  • Jamaal Franklin tells Jason Quick of the Oregonian that when he met with the Trail Blazers yesterday, the whole meeting consisted of a psychological test (Twitter link).
  • Andre Roberson met with the Magic yesterday, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter).
  • Shams Charania of RealGM.com has a list of the 12 prospects the Bulls plan to work out on Monday (Twitter link).
  • Jeff Withey is "extremely excited" to be meeting with the Sixers, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

1:35pm: We covered the Thursday morning updates from Chicago's predraft camp earlier today, but with so many tidbits surfacing throughout the day, we're starting an afternoon post to round up the latest notes:

  • ESPN.com's Chad Ford hears that two international prospects have received first-round guarantees: Dennis Schroeder and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Twitter link).
  • Michael Carter-Williams has met with several teams, including the Trail Blazers, Bobcats, Pistons, Timberwolves, and Thunder, according to various reports (all links go to Twitter). Carter-Williams is hearing he could be drafted anywhere between third and 15th overall, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
  • We heard this morning that the Celtics had spoken to Cody Zeller and Glen Rice Jr. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe adds a few more names to the list of Boston interviewees (via Twitter): Mason Plumlee, Rudy Gobert, and Victor Oladipo.
  • C.J. McCollum won't meet with the Trail Blazers this week, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (Twitter link). However, he will meet with the Pistons tomorrow, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (via Twitter), and has already interviewed with the Magic, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). SI.com's Chris Mannix (Twitter link) adds the Thunder, Nuggets, and Cavaliers to the list of teams who have spoekn to McCollum, who has 15 total interviews scheduled.
  • Robbins notes in a separate tweet that the Magic also met with Myck Kabongo.
  • Isaiah Canaan will meet with the Wizards on Friday, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
  • Canaan, Andre Roberson, and Grant Jerrett all met with the Pistons last night, tweets Langlois.
  • Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (via Twitter) that the Bucks met with Shane Larkin yesterday and will work him out later this month.
  • Erik Murphy has interviews lined up with the Grizzlies, Clippers, and possibly the Pacers, tweets Robbins.
  • Seth Curry will meet today with the Lakers, Rockets, and Knicks, tweets Bonnell.
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Prospect Profile: C.J. McCollum

April 13th, 2013 at 9:09am CST by Zachary Links

The FGCU Eagles were the darlings of this year's NCAA tournament but last March was Lehigh's time in the sun.  The No. 15 Mountain Hawks knocked off No. 2 Duke, thanks in large part to a 30 point blowout performance from junior guard C.J. McCollum.  McCollum's stock was skyhigh, but he chose to return to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for another year.  Most players in his position would have taken the money and ran, but the journalism major explained his position in an article for The Sporting News.

"My family and I believe another year in college will be more beneficial for me on and off court. If I were in a situation where I needed money, I would definitely consider taking my career to the next level. But both of my parents work hard to ensure my brother and I can live comfortably, which takes away any added pressure to pursue a professional career at this time. The fact that my brother plays professionally over in Israel doesn’t hurt, either," McCollum said.

Some wondered if McCollum was costing himself a guaranteed deal by passing up the chance to go in the first round of the 2012 draft.  There were also doubters for the guard when he fractured his left foot this past January.  Even though the injury cost him the second half of the season and a chance to flex his muscles in the Patriot League tournament, the senior is still going to go off the board inside of the first 30 picks.

The foot injury came at a rather inopportune time as McCollum was averaging 25.7 points per contest on the year.  Just as he did in his junior year, McCollum showed that he can create his own opportunities to score when necessary.  There's going to be some debate over whether the 6'3" prospect can play the point guard position in part because of the amount of shots that he took for Lehigh.  The reality is, however, that he was charged with scoring in bunches for his team and he has decent court vision.  He doesn't project to be Jason Kidd, but he can certainly be an effective shoot-first combo guard at the next level.

On the other side of the floor, McCollum has shown that he can be an effective defender with a knack for stripping the ball away.  He's also not shy about cleaning the glass and his 6.5 RPG in his last full season shows it.  He'll be at a height disadvantage in the NBA, but his tenacity should help balance things out somewhat.

The biggest strike against McCollum is his overall lack of speed.  He was obviously quick enough to beat defenders in college, but his lack of a fifth gear could hurt him in the pros.  Regardless, McCollum finds himself in a talent-starved draft class and he's going to get nabbed in the first round despite missing the bulk of his senior season.  Most mock drafts have him going mid-first round, but there's a good chance we see him work his way up to the lottery.

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Draft Rumors: Dobos, McCollum, Muscala

April 11th, 2013 at 9:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hungarian center Laszlo Dobos is entering the draft, agent Giorgio Dimitropoulos tweets. The 19-year-old is 7'2" with a 7'8" wingspan, but he's been largely off the radar for draftniks — neither DraftExpress nor ESPN.com has ranked or profiled him. Unlike college underclassmen, who can't return to school if they don't withdraw by Tuesday, Dobos can leave the draft pool any time from now through June 17th and still return to CAI Zaragoza, his Spanish league team. Here's more on the draft front:

  • A pair of college seniors have signed with the Excel Sports Management agency, reports Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal. C.J. McCollum will have Sam Goldfeder as his representative, while Mike Muscala's agent will be Sean Kennedy (Twitter links). 
  • An NBA assistant GM shared his list of the top 30 prospects with Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Sulia link). Not surprisingly, Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore and Marcus Smart lead off, though the unnamed executive cautioned that it's "extremely early," and much could change between now and the draft. 
  • Chris Mannix of SI.com implores Louisville junior guard Russ Smith to leave the draft field by Tuesday's deadline. Most teams peg him as a second-rounder, while others have him going undrafted, Mannix says. Mark Deeks of ShamSports thinks Smith's should stay in the draft, arguing that his stock isn't getting any higher (Twitter links).
  • The ideal draft scenario would allow the Timberwolves to draft Victor Oladipo, according to Jim Rand of the Star Tribune. 
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Draft Notes: Burke, Jones, McCollum

April 9th, 2012 at 12:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Earlier we passed along that Kansas junior Thomas Robinson is announcing his decision to enter the draft today. Here's more on the draft front:

  • Freshman point guard Trey Burke is headed back to Michigan, the school has announced, as Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter link). He would have been a second-round pick, according to NBADraft.net.
  • Goodman also tweets that sources say Baylor sophomore power forward Perry Jones III will enter the NBA Draft. Jones is projected to go ninth overall by Draft Express and 13th by NBADraft.net.
  • Lehigh junior C.J. McCollum writes on The Sporting News website that he will return for his senior season. He declared his intent to enter the draft last month, but did not hire an agent. Tomorrow is the deadline for collegians who've declared for the draft to withdraw and still maintain their college eligibility. The hero of 15th-seeded Lehigh's win over No. 2 seed Duke in the NCAA Tournament this year has been projected as the 28th overall pick in this year's draft by NBADraft.net, while Draft Express looks ahead and sees him as the 22nd best prospect for 2013.
  • TNT's David Aldridge, writing for NBA.com, takes a look at the point guards in the draft this year, which has plenty of question marks after North Carolina's Kendall Marshall. With McCollum, whom Aldridge calls his sleeper, off the board, it looks even thinner.
  • In his NBA.com Morning Tip column, Aldridge also says the league and the NCAA have money in mind when they talk about requiring players to spend more time in college before entering the draft. Schools would benefit from keeping their stars around, and the league wouldn't have to pay them as they develop.
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Odds & Ends: Draft, McCollum, Chandler, Magic

March 27th, 2012 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

As we approach the season's final few weeks, some teams will jockey for playoff spots while clubs on the other end of the spectrum jockey for draft position. Henry Abbott of ESPN.com's TrueHoop writes today about the issue of tanking that inevitably arises at this point in the season, and what can be done to avoid it. The piece is highly recommended, and includes a fascinating tidbit on four general mangers on non-playoff teams who reportedly only put in part-time hours.

Here are a few more links from around the Association for Tuesday afternoon:

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