Fall, Clarke among those whose stock on rise
CHICAGO – More than 60 aspiring pro players attended the NBA draft combine last week with the hopes of impressing the plethora of scouts on hand in the Windy City.
Although the draft’s locked-in top three picks — Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and RJ Barrett — were either back at home or didn’t compete in drills or measurements, the battle for the Lakers’ No. 4 pick continues to get interesting.
Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver, Duke’s Cam Reddish and North Carolina’s Coby White all improved their cases via measurements and drills while Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland and Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter might have benefited just as much by skipping the combine.
But it was further down the mock draft board where other players either boosted or hurt their stock, particularly from scrimmages.
Here’s a look at the winners and losers from Thursday and Friday’s action.
Winners
❚ Tacko Fall: The Central Florida big man was in the national spotlight when his team nearly upset Duke in the NCAA tournament’s second round. Now he’s making a case for an NBA future by shot blocking and playing solid pick-and-roll defense in front of scouts. After a strong showing in the G League Elite Camp earned Fall a spot at the combine, the Senegal product measured at 7-7 in shoes with an 8-21⁄4 wingspan and a 10-21⁄2 standing reach, shattering all of the previous measurement records. Those measurements factored with a better-than-expected scrimmage performance should thrust Fall onto most mock draft boards.
❚ Brandon Clarke: During Gonzaga’s 2018-19 season, first-team All-American Rui Hachimura was the team’s best player and a projected top-five pick. But here is an example of how the combine matters. Hachimura skipped the combine and likely fell way down in the lottery, whereas Clarke attended and boosted his stock as a top-10 pick. Despite posting one of the worst wingspans at the combine (which only emphasizes Clarke’s NCAA-leading shot blocking with the ’Zags), he showed off
an impressive vertical jump of 40.50 inches and fared surprisingly well in the lane agility drill.
❚ Jordan Bone: Speaking of vertical jumps, Bone’s vertical leap of 42.50 was second best Thursday and his threequarter-court sprint was a 3.03 — the best of all potential draftees and a better time than Derrick Rose (3.05) and Russell Westbrook (3.08). For a player who flew under the radar at Tennessee and is entertaining the idea of returning to college, his showings at worst let NBA evaluators know his name.
❚ Nassir Little: Forecast as a top-five pick before the 2018-19 season, Little’s production off the bench at North Carolina was inconsistent and the forward conceded he displayed a lot of “hesitancy” in his game that he hopes to show scouts is in the past. Little’s sheer athletic gifts — a 7-11⁄4 wingspan — make him hard to pass up in the top 10, and his combine helped punctuate he’ll likely be a better pro than college player. More than that, Little reportedly impressed in team interviews.
❚ Luka Samanic: The 6-91⁄2 forward tested well in all categories—the shuttle run, vertical leap and three-quartercourt sprint. But it was his play in 5on-5 scrimmages that will likely shift
him up on mock draft boards as one of the few international prospects in this draft. The Croatian had 13 points in less than 20 minutes in one of the scrimmages, showing off his smooth stroke and his ability to defend multiple positions.
❚ Kyle Guy: The Final Four’s most outstanding player is a late secondround pick at best. Looking at him at the combine, he definitely doesn’t pass the eye test as a skinny, 6-2 guard. But that’s why the 5-on-5 scrimmages are so vital for players like Guy, who we already know can shoot the lights out. So when he wasn’t making shots, it was less important compared to his strong showing of passing and driving ability on offense and his defensive quickness. Guy hasn’t lacked exposure, but seeing him blend in at a combine setting likely helped scouts see what they’d be missing by passing on him.
Losers
❚ Bol Bol: The son of NBA giant Manute Bol, the Oregon prospect had his NCAA career cut short with a seasonending foot injury. That lack of exposure dropped the formerly projected top-10 pick down quite a bit with his health uncertain. Unfortunately for Bol, who didn’t participate in drills or scrimmages but underwent measurements, his weight stood out at the combine. He checked in at 208 pounds, and given he’s 7-2, that’s pretty frail. He weighed 234 last summer. In a physical game in which Bol will be expected to bang in the paint as well as step out with his versatility, those are the type of numbers that are off-putting and can cost a player two or more spots in the draft.
❚ Tyler Herro: The Kentucky sharpshooter has been difficult to gauge as a middle- to late-round draft prospect. Some mock draft boards have him going in the top 14; others have him lower. While Herro didn’t struggle at the combine, his natural measurements won’t do him any favors. Herro’s 6-31⁄4 wingspan was one of the worst of the entire combine, and that lack of length could be a deal breaker for some teams that might be weighing defensive potential alongside his obvious offensive prowess.
❚ Darius Bazley: The former Syracuse signee wasn’t unspectacular at the combine, and his mere presence there will help his stock. But taking 2018-19 off drastically hurt Bazley’s pro future prospectus, so he’s already fighting an uphill battle as far as exposure and relevancy. He initially announced he planned to play in the G-League instead of at Syracuse but then decided not to play in the G-League and trained on his own. His performance at the combine had the potential to bring his name back into the draft equation. It really didn’t, even though the 6-9 forward showed glimpses as an NBA-caliber talent in scrimmages. Meanwhile, high schooler Jalen Lecque is in a similar situation where he might turn pro as an 18-yearold, and all he did was enhance his stock at the combine by fitting in with college veterans.
❚ Shamorie Ponds: The St. John’s elite scoring guard posted the secondhighest body fat percentage at the combine (9.8%). While that’s hardly something most teams will harp on, Ponds is in a unique situation as a projected late second-round pick, even with flashes of great play in scrimmages with offensive creativity. He’s also only 5-11 without shoes and trying to show he belongs — something that didn’t seem to come through at this combine due to lack of strength and efficiency.