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As promised, I will be covering the Orlando NBA Pre-Draft Camp on a day to day basis. Unfortunately, to my knowledge unlike the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, the boxscores for these games are not posted online on a daily basis. So it looks like I will have to rely on the other sites who actually attend the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp for the bulk of my information. I will however through my 2 cents in and I will definitely elaborate with my own analysis at any chance I get.
Day 1 of the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp, from what I can tell, does not include any official games and is mostly drills and scrimmages.
Here is what DraftExpress had to say about Day 1 of the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp:
The Pre-Draft camp is getting very good reviews early on, as the rosters assembled are extremely intriguing considering the type of high-profile college players that ended up making it out here. Wayne Ellington, Shan Foster, J.R. Giddens, Malik Hairston, Devon Hardin, Richard Hendrix, Davon Jefferson, Lester Hudson, Ty Lawson, Maarty Leunen, David Padgett, Trent Plaisted, Joey Dorsey, Gary Forbes, Pat Calathes, Richard Roby and Bryce Taylor are just some of the names highlighting the list. “I like this roster a lot better than the last four or five years” Detroit Pistons Director of Basketball Operations Tony Ronzone.
Regardless of how things might sound on first glance, there were a few players that stood out. We’ll be breaking the standouts here in a lot more depth over the next few days, but early on, some of the guys that made a solid first impression included Lester Hudson, George Hill, Brian Roberts, Pat Calathes and Richard Hendrix. These players stood out more so because of their calmness and poise picking their spots than anything really. Too many players here decided to go out and try to make things happen on their own time after time rather than let things come to them and play up to their strengths.
Day 1 of the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp, from what I can tell, does not include any official games and is mostly drills and scrimmages.
Here is what DraftExpress had to say about Day 1 of the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp:
The Pre-Draft camp is getting very good reviews early on, as the rosters assembled are extremely intriguing considering the type of high-profile college players that ended up making it out here. Wayne Ellington, Shan Foster, J.R. Giddens, Malik Hairston, Devon Hardin, Richard Hendrix, Davon Jefferson, Lester Hudson, Ty Lawson, Maarty Leunen, David Padgett, Trent Plaisted, Joey Dorsey, Gary Forbes, Pat Calathes, Richard Roby and Bryce Taylor are just some of the names highlighting the list. “I like this roster a lot better than the last four or five years” Detroit Pistons Director of Basketball Operations Tony Ronzone.
Regardless of how things might sound on first glance, there were a few players that stood out. We’ll be breaking the standouts here in a lot more depth over the next few days, but early on, some of the guys that made a solid first impression included Lester Hudson, George Hill, Brian Roberts, Pat Calathes and Richard Hendrix. These players stood out more so because of their calmness and poise picking their spots than anything really. Too many players here decided to go out and try to make things happen on their own time after time rather than let things come to them and play up to their strengths.
Now going into this, I knew I was going to keep an eye on Gary Forbes, Joey Dorsey, Shan Foster, Ty Lawson, Pat Calathes, and some of the other well known players at the camp but now I am also going to be watching Tenn.-Martin's Lester Hudson:
By now you’ve probably heard of Lester Hudson. If you have, you’ve probably heard about his amazing story: how he failed to graduate from high school or junior college; how he wound up at the University of Tennessee-Martin, and of course, the jaw dropping numbers. In his first three games played at the Division 1 level, Hudson torched national runner-up Memphis for 35 points, and recorded the first quadruple-double in Division 1 men’s basketball history. Hudson’s journey by now has been recounted by dozens of publications across the country, not that the 23 year old junior is complaining.
Lester Hudson averaged 25.7 points on 46.4% shooting, with 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.8 steals per game. Hudson is a combo-type guard as he measures in at 6'3 and 190 lbs. Now he wasn't playing against the best competition at Tenn.-Martin but he is a sleeper type of prospect in this camp because he is someone who the scouts really don't know how much talent he has because of the level of competition he has been playing against. Now if he comes in and dominates the camp, then he could be someone who was undervalued and could move up on the draft boards. It's possible he could be a Rodney Stuckey type of player, which would be a good find for an NBA team. So I will definitely be keeping an eye on what is said about Lester Hudson going forward.
Here's some more on Hudson via ESPN's Chad Ford:
Earlier on Tuesday we broke down the top 10 guys to watch in the camp. After talking with numerous scouts and GMs, they named another sleeper to keep an eye on: Tennessee-Martin's Lester Hudson.
Hudson is a super-athletic guard who once got a quadruple-double in a game this year. He's a dynamic scorer but needs to prove to scouts that he can be a point guard on the floor. He's very undersized to play any other position. Here, Hudson was really impressive, showing great poise, athleticism and shooting ability on the floor. He had a number of GMs saying he's the guy they want to get a closer look at. If he plays as well as he did Tuesday night, he could be the sleeper of the draft.
Here is some more coverage, via NBADraft.net:
List of players that should be here but are not (presumably because of their choice):
JJ Hickson 6-9 235 PF NC State Fr.
Here is some more coverage, via NBADraft.net:
List of players that should be here but are not (presumably because of their choice):
JJ Hickson 6-9 235 PF NC State Fr.
Will Daniels 6-8 225 SF Rhode Island Sr.
The list of players that should be here but are not (presumably were not invited):
Derrick Low 6-1 186 PG Wash. St. Sr.
The list of players that should be here but are not (presumably were not invited):
Derrick Low 6-1 186 PG Wash. St. Sr.
Bo McCalebb 6-0 180 PG New Orleans Sr.
5 Players to Watch for(NBADraft.net):
Richard Hendrix -- Looks like he has been working hard in preparation for the camp. Possessing a finely chiseled body that he knows how to use, Hendrix has looked like a man amongst boys in the short scrimmages. With a strong and consistent performance this week, he can solidify himself as a first round pick.
5 Players to Watch for(NBADraft.net):
Richard Hendrix -- Looks like he has been working hard in preparation for the camp. Possessing a finely chiseled body that he knows how to use, Hendrix has looked like a man amongst boys in the short scrimmages. With a strong and consistent performance this week, he can solidify himself as a first round pick.
Lester Hudson -- There is no question that he can put the ball into the hoop, however, his scoring may need to take a back seat to his playmaking, as he should use the camp to prove that he can be a point guard at the next level. In the early scrimmages he has shown that he has come with the right mentality as he was looking to set his teammates up, displaying nice handles and court vision.
Sonny Weems -- Never lacking in athleticism and explosiveness, Weems needs to prove that he has expanded his skill-set. In the short time that we have seen him today, he showed some nice moves off the dribble, and a fairly effective midrange jumpshot. Continuing to show that he can play in the half court will improve his stock tremendously.
Trent Plaisted -- Has come in great shape and showed terrific aggressiveness attacking and finishing around the hoop. He runs the floor incredibly well and plays with a lot of energy. Needs to prove that his post game has continued to grow and that he has developed a more extensive repertoire with his back to the basket.
Joey Dorsey -- An extremely hard worker that definitely didn’t show up to camp to make friends. Aggressive play, combined with his strength and athleticism make him one of the more intriguing prospects. He may just impress enough, to play himself into the 1st round.
5 Sleepers(NBADraft.net):
George Hill – Coming from little known IUPUI, even after a very impressive season, many have not seen much of Hill. Although he is likely to return for his senior year, a good showing this week will do more than put his name on the map. Seeing him play today, one cannot help but notice that his smooth and controlled game is very effective even against better competition. A consistent shooter, he has good handles, nice length and a very deceiving first step allowing him to play both guard positions
Mike Taylor -- Rumor has it that the NBDL participant turned down a few 10-day contracts in order to keep himself eligible for the draft. There are questions about his actual position, as he is a much better scorer than distributor, however at 6-2 he is somewhat undersized playing off the ball. Already, he has shown that his quickness will cause problems for defenses and by proving that he can create for teammates he may actually justify turning down those short stints in the league by hearing his name called on draft night.
Reggie Williams -- The back to back NCAA scoring leader is continuing to show that he belongs. His game may look a bit unorthodox, but there is no question that he gets the job done both scoring wise and by setting up his teammates. His great feel for the game and uncanny ability to put the ball in the hole are undeniable and may be enough to offset the size and quickness concerns some have about him. It may not be farfetched to say that a good week at camp could result in the former VMI Cadet moving into the 2nd round.
Ramel Bradley -- His aggressive play and scoring ability turned enough heads at Portsmouth to earn him an invite here. Attacking people off the dribble and being able to turn the corner are his strengths, and even though he is a long shot to get drafted, continuing to do what he does best will definitely open doors for the future.
Orlando Pre-Draft Camp - Day 2 - Part 1
Orlando Pre-Draft Camp - Day 2 - Part 2
Orlando Pre-Draft Camp - Day 3
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