Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
‘Old man’ Gafford finds speed
FAYETTEVILLE — Earlier this month, Daniel Gafford got a taste of what it will be like to play in the NBA.
The 6-11 forward could be getting ready for his rookie season with an NBA team, but he opted to return for his sophomore season at the University of Arkansas after being projected as a firstround
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draft pick.
Gafford got to play with some NBA stars — including Kevin Durant — at the Nike Skills Academy held in Los Angeles on Aug. 8-12.
Durant, the NBA Finals MVP the past two seasons while leading the Golden State Warriors to back-toback championships, was Gafford’s teammate during a game early in camp.
Later in the week, Gafford played on the same team as Bradley Beal, an All-Star guard for the Washington Wizards.
“It was a good experience,” Gafford said Tuesday. “It gave me a good feeling of playing on the NBA level, basically.
“And Kevin Durant? I was in shock when they first said I was on his team. But then I had to get my mindset back to where I wanted to work and become a good player at the camp. I wanted to come up there to impress.”
Durant, 29, has a career scoring average of 27.1 points in 11 NBA seasons.
“He gave me some passes, and I set a screen for him,” Gafford said with a laugh. “But other than that, he just basically did what Kevin Durant does.”
Gafford was one of three SEC players at the Nike camp along with Alabama’s Herbert Jones and John Petty, who are both perimeter players.
Among the big men Gafford went against were 6-9 Iowa junior Tyler Cook, 6-8 Villanova senior Eric Paschall and 7-2 Oregon freshman Bol Bol.
Along with Durant and Beal, other NBA players at the camp included LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Paul George and Devin Booker.
Former NBA players who served as counselors included Gary Payton, Rasheed Wallace, Ron Harper, Kenny Smith, Rod Strickland, Brian Shaw, John Lucas and Greg Anthony.
“All the campers were getting an experience of playing with an NBA player,” Gafford said. “Getting the feel for what it’s like to play on that level.”
Gafford was among 25 college players at the camp.
“I was honored, because not everybody can get invited to such a big camp like that with NBA Hall of Famers and former NBA players,” Gafford said. “The atmosphere was great. Everybody wanted to work hard.
“There was no complaining about, ‘Oh, I want to go home. I just want to be up here for the gear’ and all that. It was just a working atmosphere, and that’s something
that I like. And that’s something I’m ready for in the future.”
Gafford said playing in such a competitive environment made him realize he has work to do, because early in camp he wasn’t playing well.
“But then I got it together close to the end,” he said. “Playing with Kevin Durant, it showed me hard work pays off, because he’s a hard worker and he’s one of the greats.”
Gafford said he wasn’t in top condition physically for the camp.
“I took it for granted,” he said. “I didn’t really do that much before I went to the camp.
“The first day there, I basically was out of shape. So, I had to get back to the shape where I could run up and down the floor because I was real gassed. I was running like I was an old man out there the first day. I got back used to it, and I just played like I always play for the rest of the camp.”
Several NBA executives and scouts attended the Nike camp, and college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman quoted one of them anonymously who praised Gafford for being a “monster” on both ends of the court with how he dunked and blocked shots.
“I mean, it makes me feel good,” Gafford said. “Seeing that, it makes me want to work harder because I want all of them pretty much saying that about me. But nine times out of 10, I’m really not worried about that right now.
“I’m just worried about the season that’s ahead of us for right now. Ahead of the Razorbacks.”