Orlando Pre-Draft Camp Preview (Part Two): Suggested Rosters

Part One: Orlando Pre-Draft Camp--More relevant than ever?

The NBA Pre-Draft camp (traditionally held in Chicago, this year outside of Orlando) is the only official NBA Pre-Draft camp open to NCAA seniors, underclassmen and International players. It will be conducted this year from June 6th-10th at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

According to an NBA press release sent out on March 6th; “The NBA Pre-Draft Camp invites top NBA Draft prospects annually to work out and be evaluated by league coaches, general managers, scouts and front office executives. Pre-Draft Camp drills, games, and strength and conditioning will be conducted at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex, one of the premier sports destinations for athletes and spectators that plays host to 170 sporting events each year, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp and Atlanta Braves spring training. The 220-acre complex includes a field house with room for six full-size basketball courts, a 3,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art weight training facility, locker rooms, athletic training facilities, classrooms, office space and a media workroom. “

This year the NBA Pre-Draft camp will receive more television exposure than ever, as ESPNU will be broadcasting 6 hours of the camp live over two days, and NBATV will provide in-depth daily coverage.

To give fans an idea of what to expect at the Pre-Draft camp next month, DraftExpress will provide an in-depth analysis of last year’s roster and “physical only invites” and attempt to project which players should or will be invited this year.

Analysis of Last Year’s Roster

-64 players were invited. 6 teams are made up of 10 or 11 players each.

-The roster’s initial makeup was as follow:

• 17 NCAA Underclassmen (notables: Dee Brown, Randolph Morris, Kevin Pittsnogle)
• 2 High School Players: (Brandon Rush, Louis Williams)
• 3 Automatically Eligible 1983-born Internationals (Marcin Gortat, Yiannis Bourousis, Drago Pasalic)
• 2 Non-Division I Players: (Daryl Dorsey, And1 tour; Robert Whaley, NAIA)
• 40 NCAA Seniors (notables: Luther Head, David Lee, Ronny Turiaf)
• The following players pulled out of the camp before it started: Randolph Morris, Louis Williams. They were replaced by Will Bynum and Mustafa Al-Sayyad, both NCAA seniors.
• 21 players from the 2005 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament ended up moving on to the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp.

Results:

- 3 players who participated in the camp landed in the first round: (Luther Head, Jason Maxiell, David Lee).

- 8 players who participated in the camp landed in the second round: (Salim Stoudamire, Ronny Turiaf, Travis Diener, Bracey Wright, Robert Whaley, Dijon Thompson, Marcin Gortat, Alex Acker).

- 8 players who refused their invites (according to our research) landed in the 2nd round: (Brandon Bass, CJ Miles, Von Wafer, Louis Williams, Andray Blatche, Ryan Gomes, Lawrence Roberts, Amir Johnson).

- 3 players who refused their invites (according to our research) went undrafted: (Kennedy Winston, Angelo Gigli, Randolph Morris).

- 9 of the 17 NCAA underclassmen ended up pulling their name out of the draft.

- Of the 8 underclassmen who stayed in, only two were drafted period (Bracey Wright; #43, Alex Acker; #60).

- Not being invited to the Pre-Draft camp does not necessarily mean that a player will not be drafted. Daniel Ewing and Orien Greene are two examples from last year.

Physical Only Invites

-Every year a number of players (usually between 30-40) who feel they are assured of being drafted in the 1st round decide not to attend the camp, in order to not hurt their stock or risk injury. Some are receiving bad advice, and some end up being invited to the camp to get measured, conduct mandatory physicals, and participate in the combine. Last year there were a record 26 players who got these “physical only” invites. Of those “elite” 26 players:

-20 were drafted in the first round. See the entire list here at the bottom.

-4 were drafted in the second round (Ersan Ilyasova, Chris Taft, Monta Ellis, Martynas Andriuskevicius)

-2 pulled out at the deadline: (Rudy Fernández, Nemanja Aleksandrov)

-Of the top 25 players eventually drafted, 4 did not participate in anything related to the pre-draft camp: (#21 Nate Robinson, #10 Andrew Bynum, #12 Yaroslav Korolev, #13 Fran Vázquez)

Positional Analysis

Using last year’s initial roster as a gauge, DraftExpress will project the 64 player roster using the following criteria:

- Pure Swingmen- Players who played either shooting guard or small forward in college and display most of the characteristics the NBA looks for in that position. (ex: Mike Gansey, Richard Roby, Bobby Jones.) Total invited: 10

- Combo Forwards - Players who played power forward or center in college, but who likely need to move down a position or two and play at least some small forward to make it in the NBA. (ex: Steven Smith, Steve Novak, Eric Hicks) Total invited: 10

- Back to Basket Bigs: - A rare commodity and the easiest position to get selected at, size, some athleticism and any resemblance of a back to the basket game garners an invite. (ex: Aaron Gray, Yemi Nicholson, Justin Williams)Total invited: 10

- Combo Guards - The toughest position to get invited from, these players are mostly college shooting guards who either did not play much point in their career, did not do a very good job convincing of their playmaking skills when they did, or show intriguing point guard skills to go along with shooting guard size. (ex: Daniel Gibson, Yotam Halperin, Curtis Stinson) Total invited: 10

- Pure Point Guards - The committee’s favorite, these are the guys that make everyone around them better and help the scouts out in separating the cream from the crop. (ex: Jose Juan Barea, Sean Dockery, Chris Quinn) Total invited: 10

- True Power Forwards- Real power forwards who have some game facing the basket or need to show it, are sometimes undersized, and need to engage in trench warfare to separate themselves from the pack. (ex: James Augustine, Paul Millsap, Alexander Johnson) Total Invited: 14

Players currently projected to be drafted in the top 20 of the draft were excluded, as they traditionally do not show up for the camp. International players who will be participating in their league playoffs (example: Sergio Rodriguez, Thabo Sefolosha, Damir Markota) are also excluded, unless we’ve received indication that they plan on attending.

Notes on the list:

-This is not the official list made by the committee, but rather our own personal suggestions and observations of who will or should be invited.

-The actual committee that decides who will be invited is made up of a number of NBA GMs, Presidents, Player Personnel Directors ,the NBA’s Scouting Service (Ryan and Marty Blake), Stu Jackson and Matt Winick. Out of respect for the work they do, we will not release their names, as they do not announce them publicly.

-After the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in early April, all 30 NBA teams were asked to submit a list of 60 players they would like to see invited to the pre-draft camp. Their list will only be made up of NCAA seniors and 1984-born automatically eligible internationals. The players who get the most “votes” from NBA teams stand the best chance of being invited. NBA personnel we spoke with who were involved in making their team’s list told us they traditionally do not “waste” spots on their list for players they believe will not show up, such as Brandon Roy or Shelden Williams for example.

-Also after Portsmouth, 100 prospects are sent out “alternate letters” asking whether they would attend the pre-draft camp, should they be invited. All the top seniors get this invite and are asked to check yes or no and send it back to the league office. Receiving an alternate letter does not guarantee an invite, while not receiving a letter does not mean that a player will not be invited, although his chances are obviously lessened. Draftexpress was notified that real invite letters are starting to go out this week.

-Consistent with NCAA rules, travel expenses and lodging are paid for by the NBA, regardless of whether the player is an underclassmen, senior or International.

-This year’s pre-draft camp is unique for a number of reasons. Please read part one of our Orlando pre-draft camp preview to understand why.

Suggested Rosters

TEAM ONE

1. Jose Juan Barea, PG; 5-10, Senior, Northeastern
2. Mustafa Shakur, PG; 6-4, Junior, Arizona
3. Allan Ray, PG/SG; 6-2, Senior, Villanova
4. Rashad Anderson, SG; 6-4; Senior, UConn
5. Bobby Jones, SG/SF; 6-7, Senior, Washington
6. Paul Millsap, PF, 6-8; Junior, Louisiana Tech
7. Pops Mensah-Bonsu, PF; 6-9, Senior, George Washington
8. Paulius Jankunas, PF; 6-8, 1984 International, Lithuania
9. Aaron Gray, Center; 7-0, Junior, Pitt
10. Justin Williams, PF/C; 6-10, Senior, Wyoming

TEAM TWO

1. Yotam Halperin, PG/SG; 6-5, 1984 International, Israel
2. CJ Watson, PG; 6-2, Senior, Tennessee
3. Daniel Horton, PG/SG; 6-2, Senior, Michigan
4. Richard Roby, SG; 6-5, Sophomore, Colorado
5. James White, SG/SF; 6-7, Senior, Cincinnati
6. PJ Tucker, SF; 6-5, Junior, Texas
7. Nick George, SF; 6-6, Senior, VCU
8. James Augustine, PF, 6-10; Senior, Illinois
9. Leon Powe, PF; 6-7, Sophomore, Cal
10. Kenny Adeleke, PF, 6-8, Senior, Hartford
11. Terence Dials, PF/C, 6-9, Senior, Ohio State

TEAM THREE

1. Sean Dockery, PG; 6-2, Senior, Duke
2. Daniel Gibson, PG/SG; 6-2, Sophomore, Texas
3. Curtis Stinson, PG/SG; 6-3, Junior, Iowa State
4. Taquan Dean, PG/SG; 6-2, Senior, Louisville
5. Hassan Adams, SG/SF; 6-4, Senior, Arizona
6. Steven Smith, SF/PF; 6-9, Senior, La Salle
7. Christian Maraker, SF/PF; 6-9, Senior, Pacific
8. Matt Haryasz, PF; 6-10; Senior, Stanford
9. Taj Gray, PF; 6-8; Senior, Oklahoma
10. Yemi Nicholson, Center; 6-10, Senior, Denver
11. Torin Francis, PF/C; 6-10, Senior, Notre Dame

TEAM FOUR

1. Terrell Everett, PG; 6-4, Senior, Oklahoma
2. Gerry McNamara, PG; 6-2, Senior, Syracuse
3. Darius Washington, PG/SG; 6-2, Sophomore, Memphis
4. Shannon Brown, SG; 6-4, Junior, Michigan State
5. Nik Caner-Medley, SF; 6-8; Senior, Maryland
6. Eric Hicks, SF/PF; 6-6, Senior, Cincinnati
7. Nick Fazekas, PF, 6-11; Junior, Nevada
8. Marcus Slaughter, PF; 6-8, Junior, San Diego State
9. J.P. Batista, PF; 6-8, Senior, Gonzaga
10. Josh Boone, PF/C; 6-10, Junior, UConn
11. Eric Williams, PF/C, 6-8, Senior, Wake Forest

Team Five

1. Chris Quinn, PG; 6-2, Senior, Notre Dame
2. Quincy Douby, PG/SG; 6-3, Junior, Rutgers
3. Dwayne Mitchell, PG/SG; 6-4, Senior, Louisiana Lafayette
4. Mike Gansey, SG; 6-4, Senior, West Virginia
5. Viktor Keirou, SG; 6-6, 1984 International, Russia
6. Craig Smith, SF/PF; 6-6, Senior, Boston College
7. Steve Novak, SF/PF; 6-10; Senior, Marquette
8. Alexander Johnson, PF; 6-9, Junior, Florida State
9. Ryan Hollins, PF; 6-11, Senior, UCLA
10. Michael Southall, Center; 6-11, Senior, Louisiana Lafayette

TEAM SIX

1. Will Blalock, PG; 5-11, Senior, Iowa State
2. Chris Hernandez, PG; 6-2, Senior, Stanford
3. Bobby Brown, PG/SG; 6-1, Junior, Cal State Fullerton
4. Sun Yue, PG/SF; 6-9, 1985 International, China
5. Brad Newley, SG/SF; 6-7, 1985 International, Australia
6. Denham Brown, SG/SF; 6-6, Senior, UConn
7. Travis Garrison, SF/PF; 6-8, Senior, Maryland
8. Kevin Pittsnogle, PF; 6-10, Senior, West Virginia
9. Louis Amundson, PF; 6-9, Senior, UNLV
10. Vladimir Veremeenko, PF; 6-11, 1984 International, Belarus
11. Solomon Jones, PF/C; 6-10, Senior, South Florida

Totals:

-64 Players

-22 2006 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament Invitees.

-16 NCAA Underclassmen

-42 NCAA Seniors

-4 Automatically eligible 1984-born Internationals

-2 1985-born Internationals

-0 Non-Division I Players

Waiting List

Morris Almond

Akin Akingbala

Brandon Bowman

Cedric Bozeman

Greg Brunner

Brad Buckman

Thomas Gardner

Vincent Grier

Mike Hall

Tedric Hill

Brandon Heath

Marco Killingsworth

Tarence Kinsey

Carl Krauser

Aleks Maric

Paul Miller

David Noel

Danilo Pinnock

Julian Sensley

Ricky Soliver

Vedran Vukusic

Curtis Withers