2014 NBA draft combine: Dante Exum among those with plenty to prove
CHICAGO — The cream of the crop may have passed on this week's NBA draft scouting combine, but it's still an crucial showcase for others jockeying for recognition and selection in the June 26 league draft.
It's especially critical for 18-year-old Dante Exum. The combine is the first live look many NBA scouts and coaches will have of the Australian phenom.
"They all have an idea what I'm about," said Exum, a 6-6 point guard who considered playing college basketball at Indiana but opted to go pro. "They've seen some of the college players play 40-game seasons, but they haven't seen me."
Exum, who starred in Australia's run to a 2013 FIBA Under-19 world championship, had measurements and private discussions with teams and was expected to participate in Friday's on-court drills. He's projected as a possible top five selection.
Potential top draft picks Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins, Duke forward Jabari Parker and Kansas center Joel Embiid skipped the two-day combine, which opened Thursday at Quest Multisport on Chicago's near West Side.
That trio may have had little to prove. But others — even well-known players like Michigan's Glenn Robinson III — are using the combine to display specific skills.
"It's very important," Robinson said. "There were times at Michigan I was just trying to win the game and help my teammates. Now it's time for me to show what I can do and showcase all my skills and what I can do and the skill sets I've been given."
Shabazz Napier, who averaged 18.0 points per game for Connecticut's 2014 national championship team, wants NBA scouts to notice his athletic abilities and prowess at point guard.
"The biggest thing is my athleticism, " said Napier, who spent four years with the Huskies. "A lot of guys don't think I'm athletic at all. My game is just to be a point guard and distribute the ball and make shots and things of that nature. … I'm more elusive than guys think and it shows on the court."
Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis, one of three potential Syracuse draft picks, hopes to make a good impression on and off the court.
"There's no team I wouldn't do an interview with or be interested in," said Ennis, who averaged 12.9 points and 5.5 assists last season. "It's a business. A team may not be picking where I'm going right now, (but) if I do a good interview with them and build a relationship I think that can only help me going forward."
The 59 NBA hopefuls went though private discussions and public workouts on Quest Multisport's main court followed by media interviews with many of the 120 accredited reporters.
But it's not all serious business. UCLA freshman guard Zach LaVine joked about a question one team posed in an interview.
"They said a bat and ball is $1.10, and the bat is a dollar more than the ball, how much is the ball," he said was asked. "I thought it was a trick question and said, 'If you want to play ball you pay whatever the ball costs.'
"I made them laugh."
