Pre-Draft Camp – Day Two
ORLANDO, Fla. – Day 2 offered up three games which may have created more questions than delivered answers about players and their draft night chances.
In the day’s first game, Team Four beat Team One 94-78 behind 6 players in double figures. J.P. Batista led the way with 16 points and 10 boards, while Renaldo Balkman chipped in with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Gerry McNamara didn’t score much (3 points) but continued to dish it out with 5 assists. Team One was paced by Allen Ray with 15 points and Jordan Farmar with 14.
In the first game of the nightcap Team Five managed to prevail over Team Two 80-74. Kenny Adeleke dropped 17 points along with 9 boards and 2 blocks, while Team Two was paced by Eric Hicks who poured in 21 and Denham Brown’s 13.
The day’s final game saw the first overtime contest as Team Six squeaked out a 103-100 victory over Team Three. Morris Almond had 24 points and Taj Gray added 21, while Bobby Brown netted 8 assists versus 1 turnover to pace the winners. Rashad Anderson contributed 24 points, Mustafa Shakur delivered 7 assists and Justin Williams had 8 blocks for Team Three.
Player Observations
- Gerry McNamara is quietly emerging as the camp’s best point guard. He’s played two games and has exhibited consistent play in dishing the ball and defending the perimeter.
- Jordan Farmar may have garnered a promise for the first round, but there’s a huge difference between being the 24th pick in this draft and the 8th pick in next year’s draft. Farmar has a great upside to his game, but really needs another year of college to become more consistent.
- There is no player in this camp with more drive and energy than Kenny Adeleke. The power forward prospect is delivering the same forceful results that was displayed in Portsmouth, and if one candidate from this camp is emerging as a player who could slip into the first round, it could be Adeleke. The guy just has a terrific motor and it seems to never have an “off” switch.
- The gutsy award goes to J. P. Batista, who volunteered to play two games yesterday as Michael Southall was unable to go. Batista began the day with an impressive 16-point, 10-rebound effort, but appeared tired playing in the very next game.
Camp Changes Not Good
Overall the camp play has left the impression that the talent level has once again dropped off from the previous year. Back only a few years ago, it was common to see the expected lottery selection not play, but come in the last day for their physicals. Over time, the platform has shifted and now those not electing to play has extending into the second round as more and more players who believe that they are first round picks opt out of playing.
The consequences are fairly evident. First, some simple math. Over 35 of the highest-rated candidates are not here playing. There are only 30 picks in round one. Bubble players who need to move off the fence and place themselves squarely into the first round mix are not playing, giving off the aura that this camp is either Portsmouth 2 or nothing more than a second round-second chance camp. The fact that 24 of the Orlando camp participants are veterans of the Portsmouth, Virginia camp held in early April gives merit to that argument.
What’s occurred here is agents exerting more and more influence over the process. An agent will risk not moving their client up into a more lucrative draft position by missing out on camp play. They’d rather rely on workouts to control the image and perception of their players.
The workouts themselves have become a farce. Typically a player will workout for about an hour – alone – and show dunks, ball handling, long and short shot-making abilities and then proceed to walk up to every NBA man in the gym and introduce himself. Teams cringe at these events, but cannot avoid being at them.
The simple fact is that the league must take control of the events away from the agents. The competition committee needs to eliminate individual workouts and then prohibit players from working out for teams unless they are rated as a top 15 pick by the league or have played in the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp. The NBA has created an environment that allowed agents/players to take control of the draft evaluation process. It’s high time they began to take back what is theirs.
On tap today is a tripleheader of non-stop games beginning at 10:30 as the league looks to finish up quickly today as many execs head overseas to Treviso, Italy for the Euro Camp that has become a staple of the pre-draft itinerary.
