NBA predraft camp: Day 2/ from SI.com

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NBA predraft camp: Day 2
'Cuse's Nichols displays pure stroke; Gray impressive
 

 
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- From the moment an NBA scout starts to develop an 
opinion on a prospect, he's looking for it: the one identifiable NBA-level 
skill a player possesses and can provide with such consistency that it will be the 
foundation of his playing career. 
To gain a foothold in the league, a player must demonstrate that skill time 
and again in college or international play. Once he establishes that ability, 
he can start to build on it by improving the other parts of his game. NBA 
superstars may possess a handful or more of these skills, but many players today 
are specialists and are expected to enter a game and immediately display their 
talent, whether it be shooting, rebounding, defending or playmaking. 
For Syracuse forward Demetris Nichols, that NBA-level skill is perimeter 
shooting. He averaged 18.9 points as a senior, shooting 41.7 percent from 
three-point range and making 100 three-pointers in 35 games. A likely second-round 
pick in the June 28 draft, Nichols has certainly demonstrated his one skill to 
draft-day decision-makers over the first two days of the predraft camp at 
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. 
In two games, Nichols, owner of a flawless release and superior weight 
balance, made 13-of-16 shots, including 7-for-9 from three-point range. He scored a 
combined 35 points, putting him among the camp's leaders. His other stats over 
two games: six rebounds and two assists.  
Although most of the conversation Thursday among the NBA intelligentsia here 
was about the triumvirate of new coaching hires -- Billy Donovan by the 
Orlando Magic, Jim O'Brien by the Indiana Pacers and Marc Iavaroni by the Memphis 
Grizzlies -- NBA types did spend some time viewing the performances of draft 
hopefuls. Here are a few examples of what they saw: 
• Taurean Green of Florida brought his game and his own personal cheering 
section to Thursday's early-evening game. Green tallied 10 points and five 
assists, and two of the game's best plays showed off his smooth point guard skills. 
On one play, he maneuvered around his man and penetrated deep into the lane, 
drawing another defender before dishing to Oklahoma State's Mario Boggan for a 
layup. He then beat Cal State Fullerton guard Bobby Brown, a good defender, 
all the way to the basket and connected on a slick banking layup following a 
freeing crossover dribble. Fellow Florida national championship team members 
Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer cheered Green's efforts from behind the 
team's bench, although they also merrily heckled him for his mistakes. "We 
don't like these three turnovers," Horford said facetiously. 
• Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray continued to show off his streamlined physique 
and bulked-up offensive game. After delivering 15 points and nine rebounds 
Wednesday, Gray returned with a 16-point, five-rebound effort Thursday. Gray has 
shown scouts that he has a traditional big man's power game, muscling up 
shots close to the basket while also being active on both backboards. Gray has 
been a bigger presence in the lane than he was when I saw him during the season 
for the Panthers. 
• Trey Johnson of Jackson State, who finished second in the nation in scoring 
with 27.1 points per game, shook off a forgettable first game here, bouncing 
back with a 16-point performance in his team's 88-85 victory. Johnson is that 
rare big-time college scorer who doesn't shoot many three-pointers. The 
physically strong shooting guard prefers to drive his defender back with a power 
dribble or two, and then pull up for a mid-range shot. 
• J.R. Reynolds of Virginia is a fine scorer (18.4 ppg last season), but at 
about 6-2, he'll have to show he can play point guard to get a chance in the 
NBA. Golden State Warriors assistant coach Stephen Silas, head coach of 
Reynolds' team here, switched Reynolds to the point in the second half of Thursday's 
game. Unfortunately for Reynolds, a familiar face from the ACC, Maryland's D.J. 
Strawberry, one of the toughest defensive guards in college basketball, was 
his adversary. Reynolds did find DePaul's Sammy Mejia for a layup with a long 
lead pass from near half-court, but Strawberry won the matchup by stripping 
Reynolds for a turnover in one confrontation and making him give up his dribble 
above the three-point circle another time. 
• Nevada's backcourt players continued to play well enough to make their 
decision on whether to stay in the draft a tough one. Point guard Ramon Sessions 
had another crisp effort, producing 16 points, five assists and four rebounds 
in a 21-minute stint. Sessions needs work on the mechanics of his perimeter 
shot, but there's no denying his ability to run a team. Shooting guard Marcelus 
Kemp was a bit quieter than Sessions, but recorded his second straight day of 
double-figure scoring with 10 points, including a nifty offensive rebound that 
he turned into a three-point play with a splendid turnaround jumper on the 
baseline. Nevada coach Mark Fox will be sweating through a few more shirts until 
the June 18 deadline decision day for Sessions and Kemp. 
• Lithuanian forward Antanas Kavaliauskas, an unheralded role player who 
played in the shadow of Acie Law and Joseph Jones at Texas A&M, combined to score 
28 points (on 11-of-17 shooting) and grab 13 rebounds in 42 minutes in his 
first two games. The 6-10 forward guarded big men in the post as well as small 
forwards away from the basket. 
• NBA assistants are serving as head coaches here while former NBA players 
interested in gaining coaching experience are working as assistants. In addition 
to the Warriors' Silas, Mark Aguirre of the New York Knicks, Ralph Lewis of 
the Seattle SuperSonics, Rex Kalamian of the Minnesota Timberwolves, John Loyer 
of the Philadelphia 76ers and Paul Cormier of the Memphis Grizzlies are 
serving as head coaches. Former players assisting them include Tony Campbell, Greg 
Graham, Jeff Grayer, Jay Humphries, Terry Mills and Eric Murdock. 
• We'll close this with two memorable plays from Thursday. One came from 
Australian scoring guard Brad Newley, who has had trouble locating shots in the 
camp (he's 4-for-10) and has seemed to be playing a bit tight. Newley let out a 
lot of pent-up frustration with an unbelievable two-handed monster jam after a 
penetration into the lane. 
The other play involved a mid-court steal by Kyle Visser, a 6-11, 250-pound 
center from Wake Forest. When Visser snatched his steal on a beautiful ball 
denial of a pass back out to the top, he quickly realized he was ahead of all 
defenders and began to dribble the ball into the frontcourt as quickly as he 
could. When two defenders caught him from behind at about the opposite foul line, 
each one fouled him, one hitting him high and the other low. But Visser, 
determined to get off a shot, thrust his body forward into the lane with a 
hurdler's splayed leg kick and loosed a shot attempt at the basket. The errant attempt 
was no thing of beauty, to be sure, but Visser received a standing ovation 
from his entire bench for his hustle and perseverance. Visser shot 5-for-5 and 
scored 11 points for the game.



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