Top Big East rebounder looks for NBA opening

In a different generation, NBA executives would have beaten down Angel Delgado’s door. That’s what they did for Seton Hall big men of similar profiles like Glenn Mosley, Mark Bryant and Anthony Avent. All three were first-round draft picks, and they played a combined 23 seasons in the league.

The game’s highest level has changed, though, with an emphasis on perimeter play, versatility and athleticism (“measurables,” in scout parlance). Now it’s Delgado knocking on doors, hoping one of them opens. He’s getting some looks – as of early last week, 13 teams had worked him out. The Lakers invited him back for a second workout Wednesday. According to multiple reports, he’s with the Sixers today.

With Thursday’s NBA Draft looming, his sales pitch is straightforward.

“They already know I’m the best rebounder in the country,” Delgado said last week, when reached by phone. “I bring energy, passion and I’m a winner. They’d be getting a guy that is going to bring it every night.”

Of that, there is no doubt. The 6foot-9, 245-pound Delgado is the Big East Conference’s all-time leading rebounder. He won the Kareem AbdulJabbar Award as the best center in college basketball. He nearly broke Kansas over a knee in the NCAA Tournament, furnishing 24 points and 23 boards before 14,000 astonished Jayhawk fans.

“For a guy like Angel, measurables are less important than production,” said his agent, Sam Permut of Roc Nation. “He’s shown on every level that he’s can rebound and pass the ball. He’s a guy who can come in and help out right away. ”

None of the major mock drafts project Delgado to be chosen Thursday, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get a shot. If he goes undrafted, he’ll be signed as a free agent and get a longer look in summer-league action.