Boca’s Minott ticked off at being drafted 45th
A throng of well-wishers at Josh Minott’s NBA
Draft party hooted and hollered after the 6-foot-9 forward from Boca Raton was selected in the second round Thursday night, but Minott wanted no part of the revelry.
A night that held a reasonable expectation of Minott going in the first round ended with him falling to the middle of the second round, 45th overall.
That led Minott to issue a warning to every wing player selected ahead of him and every franchise that passed him over.
“Angry, Angry,” Minott said during his draft party in downtown Miami. “... I don’t know what to say right now. I’m coming for everybody.
“I thought I was going to go higher. That’s all I got for that one.”
Minott is headed to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who traded for Minott shortly after the Charlotte Hornets selected him.
Minnesota is hoping it has a dynamic, ultra-competitive wing player to pair with swingman Anthony Edwards and center KarlAnthony Towns.
“I will bring energy, hustle, rebounding, playmaking and defense,” said Minott, who played one season at Memphis. “Off ball, on ball, blocked shots, everything man, offensive creativity, IQ , everything.”
Those skills were on display when Minott led Boca Raton St. Andrews School to its first state title before rebuffing programs such as Baylor, Florida State and Stanford for the opportunity to play for Memphis and former NBA star Penny Hardaway.
Opinions varied on Minott leading up to the draft.
In the NBAdraftroom.com rankings, Minott was listed as the No. 7 small forward. But in the Yahoo
sports mock draft, he was pegged as high as Round 1 and the No. 29 overall selection and as low as Round 2 and the No. 49 overall selection.
Minott got perhaps his most significant endorsement from Naismith Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, who served as an
assistant at Memphis last season.
“If you draft him, he’ll be like a lottery pick in two years,” Brown told the New York Post. “He’s young, long, athletic quick.
“He’s just got to grow and get better. He grew two inches when I was
there. He’s that hightwitch athlete. So many NBA people have called me about him. A couple of years, you might have a diamond.’’
Minott came off the bench for most of his season at Memphis but showed enough flash for the league to take notice.
He was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman team after averaging 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game.
His best game came against Tulsa when he had 18 points and nine rebounds.
Minott bet on himself as a one-and-done prospect, and so far it has paid off, much to the delight of his supporters.
Friends, family members, former teammates and his AAU and high school coaches all hunkered down with Minott until he was selected late Thursday night.
“It’s great to see everybody here,” Minott said. “It’s a blessing just to know there is all this support behind me, and that is one of the things that brightened up my night — having the love here no matter what.
“Whether it was, I don’t know, being drafted 20 or 45, it’s just good to have this support system here.”