2005 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament
PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The college season ended barely a week ago, but that means no rest for 64 seniors who recently played their last college game. They would finish the week competing in the 53rd annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which is now the only NBA pre-draft event other than the Chicago Pre-Draft camp held in June. In an age where numerous underclassmen declare for the draft every year, the PIT is an anomaly of sorts as it includes only college seniors.
The tournament isn’t loaded with future lottery picks by a long shot. Instead, numerous players enter being unlikely to even be drafted and hope to change that, or at least start the process of changing it. The goal is to earn more workouts with NBA teams and then get to Chicago. Most of the players are either non-stars on some of the better teams, as well as mid-major stars that don’t get seen much during the season, so with some it gives them a chance to get more necessary exposure.
Not surprisingly, no player had his stock skyrocket from the performance. Ultimately, this camp could have a few participants drafted simply because this year’s draft is considered to be weak by numerous scouts. From this point on, teams will be working players out individually perhaps as early as the end of this month, but more likely at some point next month. That will precede the Chicago Pre-Draft camp.
Here is a look at some notable players at the tournament in several categories.
All-Tournament Team
Chuck Hayes, Kentucky (MVP)
Jared Homan, Iowa State
Jason Maxiell, Cincinnati
Jeremiah Massey, Kansas State
Ivan McFarlin, Oklahoma State
Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont
Andre Owens, Houston
Quemont Greer, DePaul
David Lucas, Oregon State
Mindaugas Katelynas, UT-Chattanooga
David Logan, Indianapolis
Omar Thomas, UTEP
Injured
Alan Anderson (6’6″ SG, Michigan State) Did not attend due to a knee injury.
Deng Gai (6’9″ PF, Fairfield) After two non-descript games, Gai sat out his team’s final game with a sprained ankle.
Paul Marigney (6’3″ SG, St. Mary’s) After playing well, he sprained his ankle on Friday. It should heal in plenty of time for him to work out for NBA teams.
Helped Stock
Mike Bell (6’9″ SF, Florida Atlantic) Potentially a sleeper who could emerge, he’s very athletic and has a good frame. He’s clearly not the most disciplined player based on some of the shots he took, including settling for three-pointers, but this gave him some good exposure after being hidden away in the Atlantic Sun Conference. He was very aggressive and active, clearly playing with a purpose.
Pat Carroll (6’5″ SG. St. Joseph’s) He has a reputation as a great shooter, and he shot the ball well, but did several other good things as well. He scored on a few forays to the basket and made good decisions with the ball. He probably didn’t help himself out in terms of being drafted, as teams usually don’t draft a shooting specialist, but has probably helped himself earn a summer league invite.
Taylor Coppenrath (6’9″ PF, Vermont) While he played just like he always does, the difference was that many more scouts saw him doing it and more than holding his own. He showed his usual array of post scoring moves and good rebounding. His play here helps him start towards trying to move into the first round; as of now, he should project as at least a second round pick.
Chuck Hayes (6’6″ PF, Kentucky) The MVP of the tournament, Hayes was excellent overall. With this, he should at least earn an invite to Chicago. He’s a tough player and never stops competing, but there’s still one problem: he’s a 6’6″ power forward with just a few shades of a small forward game, and he doesn’t own the glass. Getting drafted in what should be a group loaded with power forwards will be exceedingly difficult.
Jared Homan (6’10” PF, Iowa State) Not spectacular, he simply has good size and is solid. He battled inside and showed a good face-up game at times to go with his post scoring and rebounding.
Rob Little (6’9″ PF, Stanford) The Hampton native came home and is much better conditioned than before he headed out west. He has improved steadily, and had a good showing here, especially running the floor. Getting drafted is going to be difficult since there figures to be a glut of power forward candidates.
Jason Maxiell (6’7″ PF, Cincinnati) A classic tweener, he should at least get an invite to Chicago. On Saturday, he made a number of dunks that got the crowd going, and he also hit some mid-range shots early. He’s still clearly an undersized power forward, but also athletic and a warrior, so he has a chance.
Juan Mendez (6’8″ PF, Niagara) He only got to play two games, but made the most by scoring 22 points in each and also grabbing 19 rebounds. He should be in Chicago and has a chance to get drafted, although the aforementioned glut of power forwards won’t help him.
Jawad Williams (6’9″ SF, North Carolina) Williams was aggressive and played well, and was out of the shadows of the Tar Heels’ big three stars. It’s a mystery why he didn’t make the All-Tournament team; he had 20 points and 10 rebounds on Friday and a quietly good game on Saturday (17 points on 7-14 shooting). The downside is that he missed all nine of this three-point shots, mainly scoring on drives and short jumpers.
Hurt Stock
Carlos Dixon (6’7″ SG-SF, Virginia Tech) Dixon didn’t do much more than shoot the ball, and he didn’t even do that well on Saturday after a good start. He has good size for the shooting guard spot, though his in-between game leaves something to be desired. He’s a long shot to even get to Chicago, let alone get drafted.
Mindaugas Katelynas (6’9″ SF-PF, UT-Chattanooga) He had a chance to show what he can do, and while he had some impressive moments, he was just all right overall. He’s a little more athletic than he might look, but he struggled to get good shots aside from breakaways and some putbacks; on Saturday, he was just 3-15 from the field.
Jay Straight (5’10” PG, Wyoming) He’s not the 5’11” that he’s listed at, but that’s only one issue. A rather non-descript showing at best is the prime reason he’s not in good shape, and this year’s draft figures to have plenty of point guards.
T.J. Thompson (5’10” PG, George Washington) He played shooting guard for his college team for a reason: he’s a scorer and doesn’t have a distributor mentality. Although he had a good game distributing on Saturday, overall he looked to score a lot more and did not shoot the ball well. That, along with his size, probably took away any remote chance he had of getting to Chicago.
NBA Stock Unaffected
Tim Begley (6’5″ SG, Pennsylvania) Begley didn’t enter as a likely draftee, and that isn’t changing from his play here. He might get an invite to a summer league since he can shoot it and does a few other things, but getting drafted is out of the question.
Odartey Blankson (6’7″ SF, UNLV) He’s a very good athlete and a capable scorer, as he showed on Saturday in what was clearly his best game (21 points on 8-13 shooting, 10 rebounds). He could be in Chicago, and has a chance to go in the second round, which is about where he was last year when he declared.
David Logan (6’1″ PG, Indianapolis) At times, he impressed with his scoring ability, especially since he was shooting well from long range, making some nice drives to the hoop and hitting tough shots. But he didn’t show a distributor mentality, and his size is that of a point guard. Look for him to go overseas and enjoy some success there, as he can clearly score the ball and that counts for plenty.
Ed McCants (6’3″ SG, UW-Milwaukee) He came in known as a gunner, and he wasn’t really different here. McCants is undersized for the shooting guard spot, so he’ll have a tough time getting drafted since he shoots it well but isn’t a lights-out shooter.
Ivan McFarlin (6’8″ PF, Oklahoma State) He didn’t do anything new here, though his 34-point game on Saturday might raise eyebrows to those who simply look at the box score. He’s still just a solid, efficient post scorer who can run the floor and rebound, and none of it spectacularly – he just does it well. It may get him to Chicago for another chance.
Aaron Miles (6’1″ PG, Kansas) You know what you’re getting here: a solid distributor who isn’t a big scoring threat. Miles didn’t show anything new here, though he played reasonably well. He’s not overly quick, but makes good decisions with the ball and makes teams better.
T.J. Sorrentine (5’11” PG, Vermont) Sorrentine wasn’t an NBA prospect before and still isn’t now, but his good showing in front of more people from overseas probably helped give him some more options.
