Select Prospect Measurement and Athletic Testing Analysis
-Colorado senior Derrick White measured 6'3 without shoes, with a 191-pound frame and solid 6'7.5 wingspan giving him good size for a combo guard, similar to the dimensions of Jrue Holiday (6'3 ¼, 6'7, 199 pounds) for example. White fared relatively well in the athletic testing posting average marks in the speed and agility testing, coming through with an impressive 34 inch no-step vertical leap, which would have been one of the top marks among guards at last year's NBA Combine.
-Arizona defensive whiz Kadeem Allen measured just 6'1 ½ without shoes, but has a terrific 6'9 wingspan that is on par with many bigger guards in the NBA such as Kris Dunn (6'3, 6'9 ½), George Hill (6'1 ¼, 6'9) or Jordan Clarkson (6'3 ¼, 6'8). Spending time at both guard spots last season, Allen's length was one of the reasons he was able to guard both positions so effectively a year ago. He's long enough to even guard many small forwards in the NBA, as he's longer than the likes of Jimmy Butler, Wesley Matthews, Rodney Hood and Evan Turner.
-Sterling Brown -Sterling Brown had an up and down performance at the PIT, but remains an intriguing prospect for NBA teams due to his 3'n'D potential and solid physical tools. His 225 pound frame, and 6'9 ½ wingspan are comparable marks to the likes of Solomon Hill, Jaylen Brown, Justise Winslow and T.J. Warren, and should allow him to play some power forward, similar to what those players do in the NBA.
-Jake Wiley was one of the lesser known prospects among PIT invitees this year having just one season under his belt at Eastern Washington, but was arguably one of the most impressive performers, averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds in 27 minutes per game. He's not very tall for a power forward, at just 6'6 ¼ without shoes, but his 7'0 wingspan is more than decent for a power forward. His size isn't a deal-breaker as his dimensions are very similar to those of Thaddeus Young (6'5 ¾ without shoes, 210 pounds, 6'11 ½ wingspan) who sees the majority of his minutes at power forward in the NBA, and the fact that he's such an explosive athlete certainly helps his cause as well. Wiley measured a 37.5-inch no-stop vertical jump, which would have tied him as the most explosive leaper at last year's NBA Combine, while his 3.17 ¾ court sprint time would have ranked him in the top five. Wiley's length, athleticism and tremendous motor, endeared him to scouts all week long, and he is bound to be a very popular figure on the NBA draft's private workout circuit this spring, especially if he can show that his 80% FT% can translate into some jump-shooting potential.
-Miami standout Davon Reed posted just average numbers in the athletic testing portion of the PIT, but his wingspan was measured at 7'0, a huge jump from the 6'4 ¼ he stood barefoot. He has similar length to the likes of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Moe Harkless, which gives him nice positional versatility to go along with his career 40% 3P% and positive assist to turnover ratio. Among the longest perimeter players in this group, the versatility Reed demonstrated from the combo forward spot all year with Miami shined through at the PIT.
-PIT MVP Damyean Dotson has very good measurements for a wing player at 6'4 ½ without shoes, with a 6'8 ½ wingspan. Unfortunately he hasn't done much work with his frame at the college level, as he weighed just 205 pounds, only one pound heavier than he did four years ago with USA Basketball. Strength-concerns aside, Dotson had an outstanding showing at Portsmouth, helping his team win the championship while averaging an impressive 15 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 29 minutes of action. He will likely earn himself an invite to the NBA Combine, where he can show that his ability to play all three backcourt positions, while making an impressive 44% of his 3-pointers as a senior (on 7.6 attempts per game), can come in handy.
-Iowa State's Deonte Burton is one of the more unique prospects physically in this draft class, standing 6'3 3/4 without shoes, with a gigantic 6'11 1/2 wingspan. Weighing 266 pounds, its difficult to find a player in our extensive database who measured over 250 pounds and under 6'6 in shoes, besides the likes of Charles Barkley and Antonio Gates. Burton has the length to play the power forward position, even if he's severely undersized for that spot, but he'll almost undoubtedly have to shed at least 15-20 pounds to try and improve his lateral quickness. Burton's impressive athleticism, combined with his budding perimeter shooting (he went 4/8 for 3 at the PIT in three games, after shooting 38% on 3.2 attempts per game as a senior) will at least give NBA teams room for pause in evaluating his prospects. Averaging 24 points and 6 assists per-40 at Portsmouth, he certainly showed some interesting things, and will likely be a popular player to invite for private workouts this spring.
-London Perrantes came into the PIT looking to show he can excel running a team in a different style of offense than what NBA scouts saw at Virginia, and did a very nice job. He led the tournament in assists, at 8.7 per game, made 43% of his 3-pointers, and played outstanding defense as usual. Perrantes isn't blessed with great size or length, at 6'0 ¾ without shoes, with a 6'3 wingspan, but he has a strong 200 pound frame and has superior overall measurements to those of Fred VanVleet (5'11 without shoes, 6'2 wingspan, 195 pounds) so his dimensions certainly aren't a deal-breaker. NBA teams expressed optimism about Perrantes' ability to carve out a niche, even if he will likely have to do it in a similar fashion to VanVleet.
-SMU big man Ben Moore was extremely productive here on the boards (12.7 rebounds per-40), as a playmaker (4.9 assists per-40), and on the defensive end (3 steals and 3 blocks per-40), despite measuring just 6'6 without shoes. His 6'10.5 wingspan does help make up for that to an extent, but is small very much on the smaller size for a big man lacking any shooting range. Moore's motor helped him get the job done at the college level and shined here in this setting as well, despite his size. Unfortunately he did not conduct the athletic testing.
-Malcolm Hill measured 6'5 without shoes with a solid 6'9 wingspan and a strong 234-pound frame, just a hair above the measurements he posted at the 2016 Nike Basketball Academy. Among the most versatile forwards in the college game last season, Hill was very quiet at the PIT and didn't stand out in the athletic testing portion of this event either.
-California's Jabari Bird scored efficiently at Portsmouth and measured exactly as expected at 6'5.5 in shoes with a 6'8 wingspan, matching the numbers he posted early in his collegiate and prep career. He posted one of the slowed reaction shuttle times among players in attendance here, but bounced back with a solid 31.5 inch no-step vertical leap. Bird hasn't developed his frame much at the college level, as he weighed just 197 pounds, down two pounds from the 199 he weighed at the Nike Skills Academy in 2014.
-Sidy Djitte was hampered by a knee injury, but quietly put together a nice showing in the action he did see here and throughout the season for Clemson, helping his team win the PIT Championship. At 6'10 in shoes with a 7'3 wingspan, a 9'1 standing reach and a sturdy 236-pound frame, Djitte has outstanding dimensions for the center position. His ability to crash the offensive glass, switch on pick and rolls, and also defend the post has piqued the interest of some NBA teams.
-Amidah Brimah registered the biggest standing reach here with a mark of 9'3.5 thanks in large part to his 7'6.5 wingspan as he stands 6'10.75 in shoes. A highly regarded prospect earlier on in his college career, Brimah performed well here, scoring a surprising 21 points per-40 (71% 2P%), and remains one of the more intriguing physical specimens among big men in the senior class. His standing reach and wingspan would have both been the second longest at last year's NBA Combine, and will make him someone NBA teams will want to look more closely at despite his poor senior season.
-It is interesting to compare the figures posted by Kentucky Derek Willis, considering we have three years of Kentucky Combine results in our database to compare them do, and potentially validate different results. We find that Kentucky's height and wingspan measurements are very similar to those of BAM's, while Willis seemed to have lost nine pounds in the past five months (which is normal and something that often happens during a player's season). Willis' standing reach measured three inches longer than it did in each of his three Kentucky combines, which invariably affected his vertical leap, that tested four inches shorter. His lane agility, shuttle time, and ¾ court sprint all tested dramatically different, some better, and some worse, which is somewhat confusing. It's possible that these tests were conducted using different protocols, which makes it difficult to compare between.
Athletic Testing Standouts
-Canyon Barry, who had just one dunk this season, posted a remarkable no-step vertical leap of 38 ½ inches, while also posting impressive speed and agility numbers, with an event best 3.11 second ¾ court sprint time.
Jacob Wiley at 37 ½ inches, was the only other player over 34 inches as that pair paced this group, followed by Derrick White, Jalen Moore and Charles Cooke.
-Dayton's Charles Cooke had the second best ¾ court sprint time at 3.16 seconds, tied with Georgia's J.J. Frazier. VCU's JeQuan Lewis and Jacob Wiley were just a hair behind at 3.17 seconds.
-Notre Dame's Steve Vasturia posted a database record reaction shuttle of 2.59 seconds, just edging out fellow PITer Rashawn Thomas, and 2017 NBA Rookie of the Year candidate Malcolm Brogdon for the best time in history. Kentucky's Derek Willis came in right behind that group, posting the fifth best mark of all time. Virginia's London Perrantes and Santa Clara's Jared Brownridge rounded out the top five.
-Dayton's Scoochie Smith posted easily the top lane agility time here with a 10.19 second mark that would rank towards the top of our database all-time. He was followed in the top five by Canyon Berry, Torian Graham, Troy Caupain and Bronson Koenig.
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