UMass Gary Forbes Goes Undrafted

Gary Forbes is another player who went undrafted last night and this one was definitely a shocker to me. Forbes played great and was arguably the best player in both the Portsmouth and Orlando Pre-Draft camps and I expected someone to take him in the second round for sure.

Here is the scoop on Gary Forbes going undrafted last night, via MassLive.

For Gary Forbes, this was not the way it was supposed to work out.

Impressive showings at two spring pre-draft camps weren't enough for the former University of Massachusetts star to be taken in the NBA draft, held last night in New York.

Instead, Forbes will pursue an NBA job as a free agent, since he is almost certain to be offered tryouts by various teams.

The 6-foot-7 Forbes, who was the Atlantic 10 Conference player of the year as a senior, was probably the most talked-about player at pre-draft camps in Portsmouth, Va., and Orlando, Fla. His scoring ability drew raves, and there were scattered suggestions he might have played himself into late first-round consideration.

As selection night approached, however, some mock drafts didn't have Forbes being chosen at all. As it turned out, those projections were correct.

For the UMass program, the spurning of Forbes recalls the disappointment of the 1995 draft. That year, UMass forward Lou Roe went in as a widely expected first-round choice, but wound up being taken by Detroit as the first pick of the second round.

For Roe, the difference of one spot was huge. First-round choices are accorded preferential status and substantially larger salaries, while second-rounders are in some cases granted little more security than quality free agents.

In Roe's case, his 6-foot-7 size was considered too small for his natural power forward role. Forbes is also 6-7, but plays shooting guard, where he is certainly big enough by NBA standards.

While enthusiasm for Roe faded as the draft neared, Forbes played so well at the pre-draft camps that his stock appeared to be at an all-time high.

Last night's results mean UMass could not match its 1995-96 achievement of draftees in consecutive years. Marcus Camby, the No. 2 overall pick by Toronto in 1996, followed Roe's selection.

Stephane Lasme was Golden State's second-round pick in 2007, the 46th overall choice.

As with Roe, the 6-8 Lasme was considered small for his natural low-post position, and his offense away from the basket was raw at best.

Injured in preseason, Lasme played only four seconds in one game before the Warriors released him, but he signed with Miami.

Forbes' liability is defense, but his scoring talent - driving, 3-point shooting and post-up skills with the right matchups - seemed beyond question.

Among those who said Forbes has draft-worthy talent was Danny Ainge, basketball operations director of the Boston Celtics. Ainge didn't promise to draft him, though, and Forbes' defensive questions may have been an issue with the Celtics, who believed defense carried them to the NBA title.

Six UMass alums have played in the NBA: Julius Erving, Al Skinner, Roe, Camby, Lari Ketner and Lasme. A total of 14 have been drafted, but 10 (including Erving and Skinner) came before the draft was compacted into two rounds.

I'm pretty sure Forbes will make a team but I don't expect that team to be the Celtics because they picked up similar players in J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker last night. Forbes will get an invite to summer league for sure and when he does I will give an update with all the details.

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