Former William Fleming teammates have high hopes in NBA draft
William Fleming grads Jamelle Hagins and Troy Daniels are on the scouts’ radar.
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
It is unlikely that Jamelle Hagins or Troy Daniels will be picked in the NBA draft tonight.
But it is quite likely that the former William Fleming teammates will still get the opportunity to pursue their NBA dreams.
Hagins averaged 11.6 points and 10.7 rebounds as a senior power forward at Delaware this year, while Daniels averaged 12.2 points and 3.4 3-pointers as a senior off-guard at Virginia Commonwealth.
NBA teams have brought in both of them for workouts in recent weeks.
NBA senior scouting director Ryan Blake said if Hagins and Daniels are not drafted, he expects them to be signed by NBA teams as undrafted free agents for their summer league squads.
The NBA will hold its summer leagues, which feature draft picks and undrafted players, next month in Las VVegas and Orlando, Fla. A good summer league performance can land an undrafted player an invitation to an NBA training camp in the fall.
“They’re going to be in a summer league, no doubt,” Blake said of Hagins and Daniels.
Only 60 players will be taken in the two-round draft. Hagins and Daniels are not included in the mock drafts on ESPN.com, CBSSports.com or draftexpress.com.
“I’m hoping to get drafted second round, but I’m not getting my hopes up,” Hagins said. “If I don’t get drafted, it’s not the end of the world.”
Blake said the 6-foot-9, 235-pound Hagins, who ranked seventh nationally in rebounding this year, does have a shot to be drafted in the second round.
“When you have someone this size that is able to do the dirty work — set screens, rebound, be physical — that’s important,” Blake said. “He has the ability to develop his offensive game.”
USA Today rates Hagins the No. 77 overall prospect in the draft and the No. 16 power forward.
“I’m kind of small when it comes to the NBA, so the weight room’s going to be a big key for me,” Hagins said. “I’m not the tallest guy on the court anymore.”
Hagins stood out in front of NBA scouts two months ago at the Portsmouth Invitational, a showcase for players who aren’t considered locks to be drafted. He ranked fifth among the 64 players there in scoring (16.7 ppg in three games) and third in rebounding (9.7 rpg) and blocks (2 bpg). He made the 11-man all-tournament team.
Hagins figures his play at Portsmouth is what prompted so many NBA teams to bring him to their cities for workouts since late May. He said he has worked out for Phoenix, Chicago, Washington, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Portland, Minnesota, Dallas, Orlando, Utah, Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers. He said Philadelphia and Minnesota brought him back for a second workout.
“This is something I’ve been working all my life for,” he said. “I just try to show them that I can score a little bit, show them how hard I play. I’m a lot quicker than a lot of the bigs, so I use that to my advantage.”
The workouts give players the chance to perform in various drills and to join other prospects in three-on-three and one-on-one games. Hagins got to test himself against Duke’s Mason Plumlee and Syracuse’s James Southerland, among others. Hagins met San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Spurs star Tim Duncan, Chicago Bulls standout Derrick Rose and Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, among others, at the workouts.
Daniels was brought in for workouts by Indiana, Boston, Houston, San Antonio and Utah. Indiana brought him back for a second workout.
Hagins and Daniels were on the same three-on-three team at the Houston workout. Daniels met NBA legend Larry Bird, an Indiana Pacers executive, at one of his workouts. He met then-Celtics coach Doc Rivers at his Boston workout.
“It’s an exciting time,” Daniels said. “A lot of people don’t get the chance to even work out for an NBA team.”
The 6-4, 200-pound Daniels ranked seventh nationally in 3-pointers per game this year. He won the collegiate 3-point contest in Atlanta two months ago.
“He has to prove more defensively. He has to prove more in fundamentals on his offense, including ball-handling,” Blake said. “I don’t see him getting drafted, but I would not be shocked if he went second round.”
Daniels said that at his workouts, teams wanted to see that he could consistently score from the NBA’s 3-point range, which is 3 to 4 feet farther than the college distance.
“In college, I used to shoot 3 or 4 feet behind the line, so I haven’t had a problem with shooting the NBA 3,” he said.
He also tried to show teams he is more than just a shooter.
“I can put it on the floor, rebound, play defense,” he said.
Neither Hagins nor Daniels was among the 60 players who were invited to the NBA combine in Chicago last month. But both got to play in front of scouts and executives from NBA teams at a combine the Brooklyn Nets held last month.
If Hagins and Daniels do not make an NBA roster, they still hope to play professionally, either overseas or in the NBA Development League.
But it is quite likely that the former William Fleming teammates will still get the opportunity to pursue their NBA dreams.
Hagins averaged 11.6 points and 10.7 rebounds as a senior power forward at Delaware this year, while Daniels averaged 12.2 points and 3.4 3-pointers as a senior off-guard at Virginia Commonwealth.
NBA teams have brought in both of them for workouts in recent weeks.
NBA senior scouting director Ryan Blake said if Hagins and Daniels are not drafted, he expects them to be signed by NBA teams as undrafted free agents for their summer league squads.
The NBA will hold its summer leagues, which feature draft picks and undrafted players, next month in Las VVegas and Orlando, Fla. A good summer league performance can land an undrafted player an invitation to an NBA training camp in the fall.
“They’re going to be in a summer league, no doubt,” Blake said of Hagins and Daniels.
Only 60 players will be taken in the two-round draft. Hagins and Daniels are not included in the mock drafts on ESPN.com, CBSSports.com or draftexpress.com.
“I’m hoping to get drafted second round, but I’m not getting my hopes up,” Hagins said. “If I don’t get drafted, it’s not the end of the world.”
Blake said the 6-foot-9, 235-pound Hagins, who ranked seventh nationally in rebounding this year, does have a shot to be drafted in the second round.
“When you have someone this size that is able to do the dirty work — set screens, rebound, be physical — that’s important,” Blake said. “He has the ability to develop his offensive game.”
USA Today rates Hagins the No. 77 overall prospect in the draft and the No. 16 power forward.
“I’m kind of small when it comes to the NBA, so the weight room’s going to be a big key for me,” Hagins said. “I’m not the tallest guy on the court anymore.”
Hagins stood out in front of NBA scouts two months ago at the Portsmouth Invitational, a showcase for players who aren’t considered locks to be drafted. He ranked fifth among the 64 players there in scoring (16.7 ppg in three games) and third in rebounding (9.7 rpg) and blocks (2 bpg). He made the 11-man all-tournament team.
Hagins figures his play at Portsmouth is what prompted so many NBA teams to bring him to their cities for workouts since late May. He said he has worked out for Phoenix, Chicago, Washington, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Portland, Minnesota, Dallas, Orlando, Utah, Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers. He said Philadelphia and Minnesota brought him back for a second workout.
“This is something I’ve been working all my life for,” he said. “I just try to show them that I can score a little bit, show them how hard I play. I’m a lot quicker than a lot of the bigs, so I use that to my advantage.”
The workouts give players the chance to perform in various drills and to join other prospects in three-on-three and one-on-one games. Hagins got to test himself against Duke’s Mason Plumlee and Syracuse’s James Southerland, among others. Hagins met San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Spurs star Tim Duncan, Chicago Bulls standout Derrick Rose and Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, among others, at the workouts.
Daniels was brought in for workouts by Indiana, Boston, Houston, San Antonio and Utah. Indiana brought him back for a second workout.
Hagins and Daniels were on the same three-on-three team at the Houston workout. Daniels met NBA legend Larry Bird, an Indiana Pacers executive, at one of his workouts. He met then-Celtics coach Doc Rivers at his Boston workout.
“It’s an exciting time,” Daniels said. “A lot of people don’t get the chance to even work out for an NBA team.”
The 6-4, 200-pound Daniels ranked seventh nationally in 3-pointers per game this year. He won the collegiate 3-point contest in Atlanta two months ago.
“He has to prove more defensively. He has to prove more in fundamentals on his offense, including ball-handling,” Blake said. “I don’t see him getting drafted, but I would not be shocked if he went second round.”
Daniels said that at his workouts, teams wanted to see that he could consistently score from the NBA’s 3-point range, which is 3 to 4 feet farther than the college distance.
“In college, I used to shoot 3 or 4 feet behind the line, so I haven’t had a problem with shooting the NBA 3,” he said.
He also tried to show teams he is more than just a shooter.
“I can put it on the floor, rebound, play defense,” he said.
Neither Hagins nor Daniels was among the 60 players who were invited to the NBA combine in Chicago last month. But both got to play in front of scouts and executives from NBA teams at a combine the Brooklyn Nets held last month.
If Hagins and Daniels do not make an NBA roster, they still hope to play professionally, either overseas or in the NBA Development League.
Monday, August 12, 2013
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5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
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