Wrapping up Orlando



BDodgers at aol.com BDodgers at aol.com
Sat Jun 2 23:06:52 CDT 2007 

 
Wrapping up Orlando: lottery picks, first-rounders and sleepers
 
(http://x.go.com/cgi/x.pl?goto=http://search.espn.go.com/keyword/search?searchString=chad_ford&name=SEARCH_m_archive&srvc=sz)    
By Chad Ford
ESPN.com



 


 
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Another NBA predraft camp has come and gone without 
any clear first-rounders emerging from the pack.  
In fact, the 62 participants in Friday's games were largely ignored once the 
NBA began working out many of the lottery prospects on another court at the 
other end of the arena. 
Roughly 20 to 30 people watched the second and third games of the day while 
hundreds crowded at the other end to get a look at all the guys who skipped the 
5-on-5 part of the event. 
On the second level, prospects were tested on strength, vertical jumps, 
shuttle drills and sprints. They were also measured and weighed. Down below, 18 of 
the best prospects integrated with the other 62 prospects to run four-man 
weaves, shooting drills and post work. 
Just about all of the top prospects looked really good in that environment. 
_Greg Oden_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19020)  showed excellent athleticism and dexterity. _Kevin 
Durant_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19021)  showed off his trademark intensity and shooting prowess. 
_Nick Young_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=18955)  barely missed in the shooting drills. _Al Horford_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=18
841)  and _Spencer Hawes_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19025)  looked awesome in post drills. _Joakim 
Noah_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=18958)  and _Jason Smith_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=18889)  ran the floor well.  
There were really only two significant exceptions. _Mike Conley_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19055)  
really struggled shooting the ball in drills. _Brandan Wright_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19023)  
struggled a little bit with the more complicated drills -- he looked a little 
lost at times. 
Overall the workouts were light and noncompetitive, so there wasn't much to 
be gleaned. Still, they kept scouts and GMs firmly planted in their seats for 
nearly four hours. 
Now everyone will wait breathlessly for the testing results.  
One result leaked early on Friday, thanks to some detective work by a 
Grizzlies scout. There has been a rumor going around that Horford would measure 
considerably shorter than his listed height of 6-9. But Horford measured nearly 6-9 
in socks and 6-10 in shoes. With those measurements and his 7-3 wingspan, 
he's got great size for a power forward. I think he's a lock for the Grizzlies at 
No. 4 if Jerry West is running the draft. 
The downside of the drills was that NBA teams didn't really get to see much 
of the last two games.  
In the first game of the morning, Ohio State freshman _Daequan Cook_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19036
)  put on perhaps the best performance of the camp, scoring 22 points on 
9-for-14 shooting.  
France's _Ali Traore_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=18998)  also continued his hot streak, scoring 19 
points on 8-for-12 shooting. 
Both players are on the first-round bubble. Ditto for Florida point guard 
_Taurean Green_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19046) , who was widely credited as the best player at the 
camp.  
Pittsburgh center _Aaron Gray_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=18961)  played well enough and looked trim 
enough to get consideration in the first round. The same could be said for 
Boston College's _Jared Dudley_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=18883) , though I think he's a long shot. 
A number of other players shored up their claim to the second round. 
Syracuse's _Demetris Nichols_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=18962) , Nevada's _Ramon Sessions_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19148) , 
Florida's _Chris Richard_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19138) , Marist's _Jared Jordan_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19107) , 
UMass's _Stephane Lasme_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19127) , Maryland's D.J. Strawberry, Lithuania's 
_Renaldas Seibutis_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19008) , Jackson State's _Trey Johnson_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19106) , North 
Carolina's _Reyshawn Terry_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19072) , Providence's _Herbert Hill_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19105) 
, and Virginia Tech's _Zabian Dowdell_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19112)  played well enough to hear 
their names called on draft night. 
The sleepers of the camp were China's Yue Sun and Virginia Tech's Coleman 
Collins, who came out of nowhere to play well here. 
Several underclassmen may have hurt their chances of being drafted. 
Marquette's _Dominic James_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19033) , Fresno State's _Dominic McGuire_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19103) , 
Texas A&M's _James Jones_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=17916) , Virginia's _Sean Singletary_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19071) 
, Nevada's _Marcelus Kemp_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=18980) , and Clemson's _James Mays_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19110) 
 need to return to school. They didn't play well enough to warrant a 
first-round selection, and even a second-round selection is questionable for some of 
them.  
That may be a problem for James and McGuire, who are rumored to be unwilling 
to return to school. 
Likewise, several seniors might have hurt their chances to be drafted with 
with poor performances. Virginia's J.R. Reynolds, Ohio State's _Ron Lewis_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19
125) , Oregon's _Aaron Brooks_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId=19102)  and Wake Forest's _Kyle Visser_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2007&playerId
=19082)  underperformed here. 
Coming Monday: our new mock draft, based on what we saw and heard in Orlando. 
_Chad Ford_ (http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/writeback?name=Chad+Ford)  
covers the NBA for ESPN Insider





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