Tag: NBA Draft Combine

Bronny James among 78 NBA draft prospects invited to combine

Former USC Trojans guard Bronny James is among the 78 players invited to the 2024 NBA draft combine.

Former USC Trojans point guard Bronny James is among the 78 players invited to the 2024 NBA draft combine, which will take place May 12-19 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Prospects are invited based on a vote by team executives, with the list representing an indication of which players have the best odds of being drafted or signed as undrafted free agents.

The event will feature live scrimmages as well as strength and agility testing, shooting drills, measurements, and provides a big time opportunity for prospects to either raise – or lower – their stock ahead of the NBA draft on June 27.

James is the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, and while his performance on the court at USC last season doesn’t look NBA worthy, he was a highly regarded prospect out of high school and could get looks from GMs late in the second round – even after reports made it clear LeBron is no longer pushing to play with his son next season.

Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists last year in 25 games for USC, missing the start of the season while recovering from cardiac arrest suffered over the summer. He shot just 48.1% on two pointers and 26.7% from beyond the arc, while converting 67.6% of the time at the free throw line.

The 6’3 guard also entered the NCAA transfer portal at the conclusion of the season, so if he opts not to stay in the NBA draft process and wants to return to school – he has the option to find a new home.

Speculation that Bronny could go play for Duquesne, where his dad’s old teammate Dru Joyce is head coach, could gain further traction if Bronny ultimately pulls out of the NBA draft process.

Notre Dame’s Markus Burton not invited to NBA Draft Combine

Not really a surprise, but probably a bummer for him.

When he declared for the NBA draft, Notre Dame guard [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] made it clear he was retaining his college eligibility. The purpose, he indicated, was to see where he stood as a basketball player and take feedback from those who follow young players for a living.

It turns out Burton won’t get the opportunity to showcase his skills at this year’s NBA Draft Combine. The list of invitees has been released, and Burton is not there:

If you look at any mock draft for this year or even next year, you won’t find Burton anywhere. It’s clear that nobody thinks he’s ready to take the next step on his basketball journey. Tom Noie, the longtime Irish beat reporter for the South Bend Tribune, said it best on social media:

So what Burton likely sees as bad news is good news for Irish fans. He will stay with the Irish for at least another year and possibly two more. It’s time for him to build his legacy in South Bend.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

NBA.com recognizes Jordan Walsh’s impressive week at NBA Draft Combine

Jordan Walsh is gaining a lot of attention following his stellar week at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

[autotag]Jordan Walsh[/autotag]’s impressive week at the NBA Draft Combine did not go unnoticed.

Walsh’s performance earned a lot of praise from scouts and reporters in attendance, including the NBA’s official website. Over the weekend, NBA.com writer Luke Akinsola named Walsh as one of seven standout prospects from last week’s combine.

“The former McDonald’s All-American impressed during the player drill circuit Monday,” said Akinsola. “Wiry, dexterous and athletic — the versatile 6-foot-7 G/F is capable of guarding four positions on the floor and uses his explosiveness and athleticism to blow by defenders on offense.

“He’s also a terrific finisher around the rim as the 19-year-old’s upside was on full display Thursday – stuffing the stat sheet with 15 points, seven boards and five assists. The projected late first-round pick helped his case with his performance this week in Chicago.”

As Akinsola mentioned, the former Razorback helped raise his draft stock tremendously during the combine. He scored in the top half of every speed, agility and shooting drill on top of a spectacular showing on Thursday’s scrimmage – recording 15 points (4-11 FG, 1-3 3PT), seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and knocked down 6-of-7 free throws.

Walsh is currently projected to be selected somewhere between the late first round and early second round by most major mock drafts. He announced his intent to enter the NBA Draft on April 19, but said that he would go through the process while maintaining his eligibility to return to Arkansas.

He has until May 31 to withdraw his name from the draft process and return to Fayetteville next season, but after last week’s combine performance it’s looking very unlikely that will happen.

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Kris Murray updates progress at NBA draft Combine

Kris Murray drew a crowd of executives at the 2023 NBA draft Combine. The former Hawkeye star updated his progress ahead of the NBA draft.

Kris Murray ascended into stardom this past season with the Iowa Hawkeyes,  averaging 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. The Cedar Rapids native made the most of his decision to return to Iowa City.

In addition to points and rebounds, Murray stuffed the stat sheet all over. He finished the 2022-23 men’s college basketball season with per game averages of 2.0 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.

As a result, he was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the league’s media and by the Associated Press. Murray also garnered consensus third-team All-American honors.

His monster season had him up for a number of the top national awards, too. Murray was a finalist for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year and the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year. The 6-foot-8, 220 pound forward was also a semifinalist for the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Player of the Year Trophy.

Murray’s night in and night out performances leading Iowa to a 19-14 (11-9 Big Ten) mark earned him an NBA draft Combine invite. The buzz from DraftExpress‘ Jonathan Givony is that plenty of NBA executives were on hand to watch Murray’s Combine workout.

Murray caught up with Andy Katz of NCAA.com to discuss how his time at Iowa prepared him for the 2023 NBA draft. Last summer, Murray entered his name into the 2022 NBA draft before eventually withdrawing his name.

Katz started by asking how getting to be the lead option in his final year at Iowa benefitted him going forward.

“Yeah, I think it was one of the big reasons why I came back. Just to kind of make a name for myself. I knew that I’d have the opportunity to do it. It was just whether I took the reins or not. This last year’s gave me a lot of confidence in myself and that I know I can play at this next level. Playing in the Big Ten’s tough, especially because it’s a really scout-oriented conference. You get the best out of everyone every single day and I think it really prepared me for what’s to come,” Murray said.

Of course, his twin brother, Keegan Murray, just ended a fabulous rookie NBA season with the Sacramento Kings. Keegan was named to the NBA All-Rookie first team.

Katz noted how well Keegan’s skills have translated to the NBA and asked how Kris’ skills will.

“I think shooting is something you can’t compete with, being just a great shot maker and being able to space the floor is really key in the NBA. And, I think  just being versatile, I feel like that’s something I’ve always been my whole entire life. Especially these last few years, I’ve been a versatile defender, versatile offensively. Just play multiple positions, guard multiple positions. I think that that’s something I can definitely take to the next level,” Murray said.

Katz pointed out that he’s more than just a floor-spacer. He’s a terrific rebounder and passer. How will that help Murray in the NBA?

“It’ll help a lot. I feel like my passing really came along. The game started to slow down a lot more. I think my playmaking got a lot better. I’ve always had a knack for rebounding. I feel like I’ve always been able to kind of just read the ball off the basket. It’s a simple skill, but it means a lot to teams and I think that’s something that I can really bring,” Murray said.

There’s plenty of NBA draft projections out there suggesting where Murray might wind up. In fact, one of the most recent from For The Win had a Murray twins reunion in Sacramento. For The Win’s Bryan Kalbrosky had Murray going with the No. 24 pick to Sacramento.

Most everywhere you look, Murray is projected as a first-round pick. Katz asked Kris if there was a point before this season where he and his family thought both he and Keegan would be first-round NBA draft picks.

“Probably not up until last year when Keegan started getting some first-round buzz. We play the same, so we knew that if one of us could do it, both of us could do it. It’s definitely kind of a surreal experience for my family just to be in this position. It’s definitely not common ground for them, but it’s soon to be. We’re definitely taking advantage of it and just being grateful for this opportunity,” Murray said.

The 2023 NBA draft will be held on June 22 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshOnREF

Micah Shrewsberry learns one ‘can’t just walk into’ Notre Dame Stadium

The new Irish coach still is feeling his way around campus.

New Notre Dame coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] spent Thursday at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. He made the interview rounds on ESPN, which was covering the event. By far the highlight for him during the broadcast was revealing that he learned a hard truth about Notre Dame Stadium when he first arrived on campus. Specifically, he learned just how exclusive the stadium is:

It’s nice that Shrewsberry was able to be let into the stadium, but it most likely would not have happened if he weren’t a university employee. I made several trips to Purcell Pavilion for basketball coverage this past season and never once gave into the temptation to try and get inside the next-door stadium. For one, I could see that the gates were locked every time, and I surely would have come away disappointed had I decided to go for it. So I guess the only way or anyone else in the general public can see the stadium again is to buy a ticket.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Victor Wembanyama has a really good reason why he isn’t attending the NBA Draft Lottery

Metropolitans 92 are competing for a championship

While basketball fans around the world will soon know where Victor Wembanyama is playing next season, he will not be there to hear it himself.

Usually, we get to meet some of the top prospects on the telecast — like when we saw Chet Holmgren wear a suit for the first time in his life last year. Don’t expect to hear from Wembanyama, however, unless he calls into the show.

The coveted prospect is not attending the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago because his team is still playing international basketball. The big man is currently overseas suiting up for Metropolitans 92 in the French Jeep Elite league against Paris Basketball at Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

The club entered the game tied with ASVEL Basket for the second-best record in the league. ASVEL narrowly escaped with a win over JL Bourg, which made this a must-win game for Wembanyana.

Wembanyama, indeed, led his team to victory behind 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks in the final game of the regular season. The victory led Metropolitans 92 ahead of ASVEL for second place in the standings.

The performance helped Wembanyama secure the scoring title in the primary French league. He also led the league in rebounds, blocks, and total minutes.

Because of this schedule, Wembanayama and his teammate Bilal Coulibaly also cannot attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

As we wrote in our last mock draft, Coulibaly has played particularly well of late and could (and should) be a first-round draft pick as well.

The French Jeep Elite playoffs begin on May 23 and will potentially last until June 24 if the championship series extend to five games.

Meanwhile, the 2023 NBA Draft is June 22. So there could potentially be a real scheduling conflict if the Metropolitans 92 do well in the postseason and compete for a championship, but that’s something we won’t know for at least a few more weeks.

You can watch Wembanyama and Coulibaly during the playoffs for free via the NBA App.

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NBA Draft outlook: Four Razorbacks invited to combine

Four Razorbacks were officially invited to the NBA Draft combine. Here’s a list of the four potential draftees and how fans can watch the combine process.

With the end of the college basketball season, Arkansas saw five players from last year’s Sweet Sixteen team declare for the NBA Draft.

[autotag]Anthony Black[/autotag], [autotag]Ricky Council[/autotag], [autotag]Devo Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Nick Smith Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Walsh[/autotag] all announced their intentions to go through the NBA Draft process. Davis and Walsh announced their decisions with the caveat that they could potentially return to Fayetteville next season, but that is looking less and less likely by the day.

The Razorbacks could potentially make history as the second team ever to have five players drafted in a single NBA Draft. Duke in 2022 was the first program to ever accomplish that feat.

Here’s a list of the four Razorbacks who were invited to the NBA Draft combine and how Arkansas fans can watch the combine process.

NBA Draft 2022: Who the top 5 performers at the 2022 Draft Combine were at every drill

A look at some of the best performers from the 2022 NBA Draft Combine.

You’re a fan of the NBA. Perhaps a self-proclaimed basketball junkie. From NBA preseason basketball to the NBA Summer League, you know everything that goes on throughout the calendar year. But you’re going to watch the NBA Draft on Thursday and as each player comes off the board, you’ll realize you know a lot less about this sport than you thought you did.

And that’s okay!

It’s hard to master the NBA and the lead-up to the draft. There are so many prospects to evaluate and numbers to analyze. But that’s what we’re here for.

We take a look back at May’s NBA Draft Combine and see how some of Thursday’s draft prospects performed.

Podcast: The Athletic’s Kelly Iko on Rockets at the NBA draft combine

Kelly Iko shares his observations after spending a week at the 2022 NBA draft combine, including why he likes the potential fit of Paolo Banchero to the Rockets at No. 3 overall.

Kelly Iko, Rockets beat writer for The Athletic, shares his observations after spending a week at the 2022 NBA draft combine in Chicago. Iko joined our Ben DuBose for the latest episode of The Lager Line.

In addition to watching prospects, Iko also spoke with many Rockets executives and staffers — including GM Rafael Stone — after Houston secured the No. 3 overall pick in the draft lottery. As part of this podcast, Iko fills us in on some key takeaways from those conversations.

Other topics include analysis of why Duke’s Paolo Banchero could be the best fit at No. 3; potential options with the No. 17 pick, which belongs to the Rockets via Brooklyn; what draft prospects stood out in on-court activities at the combine; and what Houston is likely to look for as it replaces outgoing assistant coaches Will Weaver and Jeff Hornacek.

Tuesday’s complete episode can be listened to below. Each episode of the show is also made available via flagship radio station SportsTalk 790, as well as to all major podcast distributors under “The Lager Line.”

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25 NBA draft player comparisons, based entirely on 2022 combine performance

What can this tell us about the success a player will have in the NBA?

Now that the 2022 NBA Draft Combine is in the rearview mirror, teams around the league can make some final conclusions about each prospect.

Every year, two of the most interesting takeaways from this scouting event are the official measurements and the athletic testing scores. Based on what we saw last week, we can make some comparisons to previous participants who went on to play in the pros.

The goal of this exercise was not to predict how a player performs on the court or even offer context about their playing style. Instead, this should at least help provide some useful information about the size and athleticism of these prospects.

Before we get into that, however, let’s review some important details.

For starters, these are just physical comparisons! If you want to read about how some of these prospects view themselves, for example, The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov compiled a very helpful list of their answers.

While I do believe these physical comparisons are useful information to understand a prospect in terms of their build and athleticism, I’m not sure if there is very much correlation to on-court success. There are plenty of more athletically gifted players than Nikola Jokic, for example, who have not won back-to-back MVP honors.

Even with the practical utility of these data points, they can always change. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant were much skinnier when they came into the league. But their measurements can give teams areas that the player will need to work on once drafted into their organization.

Also, especially over the last few years, most of the projected lottery picks were not full participants in the NBA Draft Combine. While plenty went through the camp (and used it to improve their draft stock), many top players in the league do not have official measurements to reference.

So if you think that Jaden Ivey is giving Ja Morant vibes, you might be proven right! But we are not able to make that comparison using this particular database because neither was tested in their pre-draft evaluation.

Regardless, although these comparisons aren’t an exact match, they are at least rooted in actual numbers. You can check this app, which was built by Mark Cheung, for any prospects who participated in the NBA combine or G League Elite Camp that did not make the list included below.