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Day 3




Chicago Pre-Draft Camp – Day 3 Dispatch

by Jed Tai

CHICAGO – The intensity picked up on Day Three of the NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago.

Once again before the day’s three games on the schedule, the players repeated
the same shooting and scrimmage drills from the previous day.

In the opening game of the day, Maurice Williams (Alabama) hit two free throws
in the game’s final seconds for Team 1 to seal a 84-80 victory over Team 4.
Williams, who operated mainly as a scorer from the point, finished with 16
points. Brandon Hunter (Ohio University) took the ball strong to the hole, and
converted 8-for-11 from the line to finish with 16 points. Ruben Douglas (New
Mexico) showed why he led the nation in scoring as he scored from all over on
his way to 14 points while also dishing out three assists. Chris Massie
(Memphis) continued to pound the boards by grabbing seven, while scoring seven
points. Jason Kapono (UCLA) shot the ball well for the second day in a row,
hitting 4-for-6 from the field and scoring nine points.

Team 4 was paced by Marquis Daniels (Auburn), who had the opportunity to play
heavy minutes at point guard with the injury to Brandin Knight (Pittsburgh).
Daniels finished with a team-high 16 points and dished out four assists. Matt
Carroll
(Notre Dame) helped out by dishing out five assists in addition to his
10 points. James Lang (Central Park Christian (AL) HS) continued to prove he
could hang with the big boys with another solid 14 point, six rebound effort,
as he consistently finished off baskets inside. Dahntay Jones (Duke) used his
leaping ability to hit the defensive glass, grabbing nine rebounds overall to
go along with his nine points.

In the day’s second game, Team 2 shot 58.9 percent from the field to sprint
past Team 5, 96-92, in a highly entertaining contest. Troy Bell (Boston
College) has proven himself to be one of the camp’s top scorers, as he led the
way with 20 points on deep threes, pullups, and drives to the basket. He did,
however, revert back into scoring for himself as he only finished with one
assist. Instead, Luke Walton (Arizona) once again picked up the slack on the
passing end, dishing out seven assists with several others not counted because
the player he passed to either missed or was fouled. Wesley Wilson
(Georgetown) put together a tough performance in the post, posting 16 points on
4-for-4 shooting and 8-for-12 from the line. Derrick Zimmerman (Mississippi
State) continued to show his blazing quickness and athleticism and dished out
seven assists, although he did turn the ball over five times. Travis Hansen
(Brigham Young) once again played well in scoring 11 points, and Marvin Stone
(Louisville) and Uche Nsonwu-Amadi (Wyoming) were active inside with 11 and 12
points a piece, with Nsonwu-Amadi grabbing nine boards.

For Team 5, Robert Jackson (Marquette) dominated the paint with his size and
strength for the second night in a row, powering his way to 16 points on
6-for-8 shooting. Marcus Moore (Washington State) improved his play in day
two, scoring 13 points and distributing five assists, although he did settle
for the long jumper a little too much. Bernard King (Texas A&M) made the most
out of his opportunities in registering 13 points, and Ron Slay (Tennessee)
bounced back from a miserable Day One in scoring 10 points, including a
halftime buzzer-beating half-court three-point shot. Ebi Ere (Oklahoma)
chipped in with 10 points, although he continues to struggle with his outside
jumper.

The night’s finale, Team 6 got past Team 3, 76-73, in a heated contest. Andre
Emmett
(Texas Tech) didn’t shoot from the perimeter particularly well, but took
the ball strong to the hold and converted all eight of his free throws for 14
points. Trevor Harvey (Florida State) played extremely aggressive inside and
shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and line in scoring 12 points while
blocking three shots. Carl English (Hawaii) continues to shoot well from the
perimeter, as scouts are enamored with his solid frame. English scored 12
points on 5-for-10 shooting. Jermaine Boyette (Weber State) continues to score
efficiently from the field, making all three field goal attempts, although he
still hasn’t shot more than a layup during the camp.

Team 3 was led by Kirk Penney (Wisconsin) who found his niche from the field in
scoring 15 points and hitting 3-for-7 from three-point range. Keith Bogans
(Kentucky) continues to play with the confidence and comfort that he didn’t
have in Chicago two years ago, scoring 13 points. Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph’s)
consistently made his case for the best point guard in camp, with another solid
performance of 10 points and five assists, although he turned the ball over
five times. Ronald Dupree (Louisiana State) showed off his athleticism and
quickness from the wing and scored 10 points. Jerome Beasley (North Dakota)
didn’t shoot the ball well, but hustled and grabbed ten boards. Theron Smith
(Ball State) remains determined to show he can play on the perimeter, picking
his spots in scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds.

On Friday, the final three games will be played, while players will continue to
perform in drills and scrimmages in a last effort to impress the coaches,
scouts, and GMs on hand.

Off Site: Separate workouts for various players have been held off site, as
NBA personnel have been attending these sessions while the Pre-Draft Camp takes
a break between the morning game (which starts at 11 am) and the first evening
game (which starts at 5 pm). High school early entrants Ndudi Ebi (Houston
Westbury Christian (TX) HS) and Charlie Villanueva (Blair Academy (NJ) HS) had
a workout where apparently Ebi impressed many of those on hand. The buzz is
that Ebi has solidified himself as a first round pick. Malick Badiane
(Senegal-Germany) also had a short workout, but will be having another one on
Friday. Pavel Podkolzine (Russia-Italy) will also have an individual workout
on Friday.

Injury Report: Maurice Williams (Alabama) continues to play on a sprained
ankle, and will not participate in Friday’s sessions. Dahntay Jones (Duke)
bruised his right forearm (apparently on a power slam he delivered) and is
sitting out Friday’s morning session, but will play on Friday night.

     

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