Today was the final day of the NBA's official pre-draft camp in Orlando. Neither of Wisconsin's standout seniors, Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor, were in attendance. While Taylor was uninvited, Tucker may have caught some fans off guard by turning down his invitation to the camp.
But don't take their absences for inactivity. Both players have been hitting the gym to hone their skills in the meantime.
The general consensus was that Tucker could not have improved his stock much by attending the camp and possibly exposing weaknesses to a wide audience. After a hot start in his final season, Tucker was being mentioned as a player of the year candidate in addition to seeing his draft stock rise into the lottery area. However, despite an overall stellar senior campaign, Tucker cooled considerably heading into the off-season. Tucker worked out with a few other top prospects in Chicago this week, but his shooting still is not impressive, according to the player evaluation on DraftExpress.com. In it's latest mock draft, Draft Express lists Tucker falling into the second round.
Due to trades, several quality teams will be drafting near the top of the second round. This would seem to be an ideal situation for a mature player like Tucker, who might be able to find a niche contributing off the bench with his athleticism and hustle right away. The potential for more playing time would come with a lesser team, but often those type of teams are in such disarray that players get lost in a shuffle of mismanagement and a losing environment.
Conversely, Taylor is not on the NBA's draft radar, to the surprise of few. However, a very complimentary paragraph about Taylor appears on a different DraftExpress report. Taylor had been working out with a few Purdue and Ohio State players, including Greg Oden and Carl Landry, at the Champions Academy in Zionsville, Ind. Landry (who also shattered a backboard), termed the workout "a Big Ten reunion."
But don't take their absences for inactivity. Both players have been hitting the gym to hone their skills in the meantime.
The general consensus was that Tucker could not have improved his stock much by attending the camp and possibly exposing weaknesses to a wide audience. After a hot start in his final season, Tucker was being mentioned as a player of the year candidate in addition to seeing his draft stock rise into the lottery area. However, despite an overall stellar senior campaign, Tucker cooled considerably heading into the off-season. Tucker worked out with a few other top prospects in Chicago this week, but his shooting still is not impressive, according to the player evaluation on DraftExpress.com. In it's latest mock draft, Draft Express lists Tucker falling into the second round.
Due to trades, several quality teams will be drafting near the top of the second round. This would seem to be an ideal situation for a mature player like Tucker, who might be able to find a niche contributing off the bench with his athleticism and hustle right away. The potential for more playing time would come with a lesser team, but often those type of teams are in such disarray that players get lost in a shuffle of mismanagement and a losing environment.
Conversely, Taylor is not on the NBA's draft radar, to the surprise of few. However, a very complimentary paragraph about Taylor appears on a different DraftExpress report. Taylor had been working out with a few Purdue and Ohio State players, including Greg Oden and Carl Landry, at the Champions Academy in Zionsville, Ind. Landry (who also shattered a backboard), termed the workout "a Big Ten reunion."
This is the first year in which draft hopefuls were not allowed to work out privately for NBA clubs prior to the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp. Starting June 5, players can begin those individual workouts for teams.
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