Haven't seen these posted anywhere. Here are a couple blog posts from Morway, one from yesterday and one for today.
http://my.nba.com/thread.jspa?threadID=580006148
Plenty of local interest in Pre-Draft Camp
May 28, 2008
By David Morway
Pacers General Manager
The NBA Pre-Draft Camp runs through Friday in Orlando and we have a large contingent here to help evaluate the prospects. Most of the lottery-type players are invited for physicals but don't participate in the games, so we're here more to scout candidates for our second-round pick, No. 41 overall, than our first-round pick at No. 11.
Three players from last year's camp were drafted in the first round and there are two or three guys here this year that could go in the first round, but probably not at No. 11 for us. The league invited 15 guys for physicals only and there are about another 15, not including the international players, who chose not to play. There are about 30-plus international players that are not here, primarily because most of them are still playing in their various leagues overseas. But it's still a very good camp. The feeling there's a lot of depth in this draft has been confirmed from the quality of the guys we've seen here.
Because there has been so much local interest in several players in this year's draft, and several are here for the pre-draft camp, let's take a look at their prospects.
Eric Gordon (Indiana University, Indianapolis North Central High) is obviously a very good basketball player. He's considered to be projected somewhere in the lottery. Because he was invited to come down for a physical only, that shows where he fits into the equation. He's been more of a two-guard and his shooting ability is obviously a skill that's very important in our league. I don't think he necessarily has to play point guard in the NBA. People might look at a guy of his size and think of him as a point guard but I think the fact is the league is getting smaller. Ben Gordon isn't a point guard. He plays two and they can put him at the point. I think Eric is in that type of mold and there are a lot of guys in that mold now.
D.J. White (Indiana University) was invited to the camp and chose not to attend. Those are difficult decisions for a player and/or his representative to make. I'm not quite sure why D.J. chose not to come but I'm sure he has a lot of workouts planned and he has a full body of work over a four-year career and he's a good ballplayer.
I would've liked to see Mike Green (Butler University) get an invitation. My understanding is he was on the borderline. He's the kind of young man you’d like to see get an opportunity. He did alright at Portsmouth and had a very nice career at Butler. Even though he didn't quite make it here, he's still on the radar. He's a good ballplayer and I'm sure he'll have a number of workouts.
George Hill (IUPUI, Indianapolis Broad Ripple High) is an interesting player. He's very athletic, he's long, he's quick. I think he needs come in here and play within himself, show he can defend, show he can run, show he can handle the basketball and show his basketball IQ. On the first night of drills he did a nice job and he needs to continue that. He's going to have a decision to make. He can pull out of the draft before the June 16 deadline and I guess that will be determined by the information he receives about his prospects. I suspect we'll take a close look at him.
Robert Vaden (Indianapolis Pike High, transferred from I.U. to Alabama-Birmingham) looks great. He's lost quite a bit of weight so his body looks very, very good. He's a talented young man and he's played very well so far, so we'll see how that goes. Patrick Ewing Jr. (another I.U. transfer) is also here. He's a 6-8, 6-9 guy that can defend twos, threes and fours. He reminds a lot of people in the league of a Bruce Bowen type of player. Stanley Burrell (Xavier University, Indianapolis Ben Davis High) is also down here and doing a nice job. He's probably a little between the one and the two but he can really defend and is a tough kid.
It's an important camp because you see the kids play against each other, so you get a sense for how they handle the speed of the game, the athleticism, the length. You also get a chance to see their basketball IQ – how quickly they pick up the plays that are put in, how quickly they learn to play with a bunch of different guys they haven't played with before. And they're playing under a lot of pressure in front of a lot of scouts and general managers and coaches so it gives you an opportunity to see how they react to that kind of thing.
This is just one piece of the puzzle. We talk about it all the time, that their body of work is very important because it's what they've done over a period of time, whether it's one, two, three or four years. There are different camps, workouts, psychological exams, all the skills tests, background checks – all these things are taken into account to make the decision. This is one piece of that equation.
http://my.nba.com/thread.jspa?threadID=580006148
Plenty of local interest in Pre-Draft Camp
May 28, 2008
By David Morway
Pacers General Manager
The NBA Pre-Draft Camp runs through Friday in Orlando and we have a large contingent here to help evaluate the prospects. Most of the lottery-type players are invited for physicals but don't participate in the games, so we're here more to scout candidates for our second-round pick, No. 41 overall, than our first-round pick at No. 11.
Three players from last year's camp were drafted in the first round and there are two or three guys here this year that could go in the first round, but probably not at No. 11 for us. The league invited 15 guys for physicals only and there are about another 15, not including the international players, who chose not to play. There are about 30-plus international players that are not here, primarily because most of them are still playing in their various leagues overseas. But it's still a very good camp. The feeling there's a lot of depth in this draft has been confirmed from the quality of the guys we've seen here.
Because there has been so much local interest in several players in this year's draft, and several are here for the pre-draft camp, let's take a look at their prospects.
Eric Gordon (Indiana University, Indianapolis North Central High) is obviously a very good basketball player. He's considered to be projected somewhere in the lottery. Because he was invited to come down for a physical only, that shows where he fits into the equation. He's been more of a two-guard and his shooting ability is obviously a skill that's very important in our league. I don't think he necessarily has to play point guard in the NBA. People might look at a guy of his size and think of him as a point guard but I think the fact is the league is getting smaller. Ben Gordon isn't a point guard. He plays two and they can put him at the point. I think Eric is in that type of mold and there are a lot of guys in that mold now.
D.J. White (Indiana University) was invited to the camp and chose not to attend. Those are difficult decisions for a player and/or his representative to make. I'm not quite sure why D.J. chose not to come but I'm sure he has a lot of workouts planned and he has a full body of work over a four-year career and he's a good ballplayer.
I would've liked to see Mike Green (Butler University) get an invitation. My understanding is he was on the borderline. He's the kind of young man you’d like to see get an opportunity. He did alright at Portsmouth and had a very nice career at Butler. Even though he didn't quite make it here, he's still on the radar. He's a good ballplayer and I'm sure he'll have a number of workouts.
George Hill (IUPUI, Indianapolis Broad Ripple High) is an interesting player. He's very athletic, he's long, he's quick. I think he needs come in here and play within himself, show he can defend, show he can run, show he can handle the basketball and show his basketball IQ. On the first night of drills he did a nice job and he needs to continue that. He's going to have a decision to make. He can pull out of the draft before the June 16 deadline and I guess that will be determined by the information he receives about his prospects. I suspect we'll take a close look at him.
Robert Vaden (Indianapolis Pike High, transferred from I.U. to Alabama-Birmingham) looks great. He's lost quite a bit of weight so his body looks very, very good. He's a talented young man and he's played very well so far, so we'll see how that goes. Patrick Ewing Jr. (another I.U. transfer) is also here. He's a 6-8, 6-9 guy that can defend twos, threes and fours. He reminds a lot of people in the league of a Bruce Bowen type of player. Stanley Burrell (Xavier University, Indianapolis Ben Davis High) is also down here and doing a nice job. He's probably a little between the one and the two but he can really defend and is a tough kid.
It's an important camp because you see the kids play against each other, so you get a sense for how they handle the speed of the game, the athleticism, the length. You also get a chance to see their basketball IQ – how quickly they pick up the plays that are put in, how quickly they learn to play with a bunch of different guys they haven't played with before. And they're playing under a lot of pressure in front of a lot of scouts and general managers and coaches so it gives you an opportunity to see how they react to that kind of thing.
This is just one piece of the puzzle. We talk about it all the time, that their body of work is very important because it's what they've done over a period of time, whether it's one, two, three or four years. There are different camps, workouts, psychological exams, all the skills tests, background checks – all these things are taken into account to make the decision. This is one piece of that equation.
Comment