By Aran Smith
NBADraft.net
5/30/07

Day 2, Evening – The night games as seen on ESPNU lacked a great deal of intrigue. But it was the first glimpse for many of these guys in real game action at the camp.

Game 2 Team 2 80 – Team 1 76

Team 2 was led by the International inside duo of Antanas Kavaliauskas and Ali Traore who outperformed the bigmen for Team 1 including Herbert Hill and James Hughes. Kavaliauskas finished with a team high 14 points (6-8) and 6 boards, and has shown his no nonsense approach to the game. Traore finished with 13 on (6-8) converting on a number of dunks.

Point guard Taurean Green was excellent shooting 4-5 from the field finishing with 11 points and 3 assists. He still hasn’t shown a great ability to run a team, with suspect vision but had a solid performance leading his squad to victory.

Stephane Lasme impressed scouts with the game’s most emphatic dunk off the break. He’s a specimen with limited skills, but his ability to block shots and explosiveness makes him an intriguing prospect. He finished with 6 blocks and 4 points on 2-3 shooting.

Mohamed Abukar had a game high 16 on 5-9 shooting, however some scouts were wondering if he had really done enough in Portsmouth to be invited to the camp. Abukar can do one thing well and that’s shoot, but question marks linger about his future position and level of intensity.

Mustafa Shakur did just enough to get his team beat once again finishing with 12 points on 3-6 shooting, 2 assists and 2 turnovers. Shakur never seems to be competing as hard as his opponents and his draft chances appear to be slipping like sand through an hourglass.

Herbert Hill came in as a projected early second rounder and has failed to impress thus far. His touch around the basket has been off and his energy level has been average at best. He finished with 8 points on 3-9 shooting.

Sun Yue rebounded after a rough first night with a solid day and play in the night cap. He has shown a solid ability to anticipate steals and make passes despite lacking touches. He has made the most of his chances opportunities with 7 points on 3-5 shooting.

Other point totals include: JR Reynolds 8 points on 1-5 shooting, Mario Boggan 7 points on 3-7 shooting, Major Wingate 4 points on 1-6 shooting, Jared Jordan 6 points on 3-4 shooting with 5 assists, Sammy Mejia 6 points on 3-6 shooting, Trey Johnson 4 points on 1-5 shooting, Rashad Jones-Jennings 0 points on 0-5 shooting, Chris Richard 7 points on 3-5 shooting, Russell Carter 8 points on 4-9 shooting, Zabian Dowdell 8 points on 3-9 shooting with 6 assists, James Hughes 3 points on 0-8 shooting.

Game 3 Team 4 78 – Team 3 67

In the night cap, Aaron Brooks helped lead his team to victory with 10 points 6 rebounds and 5 assists. He looked comfortable running the show and was able to get a number of teammates involved.

Also impressive for the victors was Brandon Heath who finished with a game high 17 points on 6-9 shooting. Overall he hasn’t been impressive as his point guard skills remain the biggest question mark, he finished with no assists.

Reyshawn Terry was able to use his explosive athleticism to the tune of 13 points on 5-7 shooting. He converted on a number of drives to the basket and looked sharp.

Kyle Visser has been solid though unspectacular. His 7 points on 3-7 shooting and 5 boards were sub par but he showed some flashes, especially in the shooting drills in the day before.

Marko Lekic is another member of the having no business being here club. He’s big and plays hard but lacks any semblance of NBA athleticism or talent level. He did finish with 11 points on 5-9 shooting and a team high 7 boards, but a lot of those points came on put backs and garbage buckets.

Jared Dudley did not have a big statistical game with 7 points on 2-3 shooting, but it should be noted that he has definitely made improvements to his body. He is looking a lot thinner and moving more quickly because of it, which is a big plus.

Caleb Green led Team 3 in scoring with 14 points on 4-6 shooting. Scouts mentioned really liking his basketball IQ and court sense comparing him to Ryan Gomes and feel he has a shot to get into the second round somewhere.

Ron Lewis had 12 points on 4-9 shooting outplaying his teammate Daequan Cook this time around. Cook finished with 6 points on 3-10 shooting coming back to earth after a tremendous performance in the morning scrimmage.

Dominic James appears to be the player that made the biggest mistake playing here. His stock is plummeting and it could have a lingering effect on next year as well, should he return to Marquette. James decided to enter the draft when it appeared coach Tom Crean might be leaving for greener pastures. After it became apparent that wasn’t happening, James decided to continue to "explore his draft options". Big mistake. James first game in the camp he went scoreless on 0-3 shooting with 0 assists. Even worse than the terrible game, his inability to run a team has been exposed. While he’s a bigger talent, the situation draws memories Jason Gardner who entered the draft far too early and never was able to recapture his draft stock.

Other point totals include: Brad Newley 5 points on 1-5 shooting, Rashaun Freeman 0 points on 0-3 shooting, Jamaal Tatum 2 points on 1-3 shooting, Anthony Tolliver 4 points on 1-5 shooting, Dustin Salisbery 2 points on 1-4 shooting, Cartier Martin 8 points on 2-8 shooting, Ekene Ibekwe 1 point on 0-1 shooting, Craig Bradshaw 6 points on 2-6 shooting, Joseph Jones 6 points on 2-4 shooting, Blake Schilb 8 points on 4-9 shooting, Dashaun Wood 6 points on 3-7 shooting.

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Day 2, Morning – Day two began at 9 AM with station drills and then a 10 minute (running clock) team scrimmage from each of the six teams in front of the NBA personnel filled bleachers. This was a good opportunity for scouts to see each of the players in game action, although technically these were still just practice games.

Some notes from the practices and scrimmages:

Daequan Cook was easily the most impressive player this morning. He was matched up against his Buckeye teammate Ron Lewis in the team scrimmage. Cook exploded for 10 points in the 10 minute session. The first two possessions of the game Cook made a statement knocking down a jumpshot, and following that with a steal and breakaway dunk. His energy and focus has been tremendous and he’s certainly been the buzz of the camp so far. If he continues to play this well, it’s fairly certain he will lock up a spot in the first round somewhere.

Fresno State small forward Quinton Hosley is out of action today with an injured shoulder. He was seen on the sideline in flip flops with an ice bag on his shoulder. He’s listed as day to day, so his return is uncertain.

Zabian Dowdell ran some point guard and looked solid. He shows a quick release and has a good court sense. His arms, and upper body look well developed and he has displayed good energy so far.

James Hughes has put some weight on since the end of the season. He looks pretty agile running the floor for a guy his size. His problem is sustaining position around the basket and absorbing contact and maintaining his balance. He loses a lot of lift when he is bumped and is a bit mechanical. He showed some decent shooting hitting a few of the three balls he attempted. Why the bigmen are all shooting from 3 point is curious, but it does give some indication on which guys have some range, and which guy’s shots completely come unraveled.

Jermareo Davidson looked very comfortable taking shots from behind the arc. He might be the top shooting bigman in camp. He also looks as if he has gained some weight since the season ended. It is still amazing that he was able to keep things together and remain focused despite the off-season tragedy that he endured. He appears to be a lock to get drafted somewhere in the second round, but getting in the first round still looks like a real longshot.

Ivan Radenovic impressed with his round the world warm up shooting drill. His release is extremely funky, however it is the exact same mechanics every time, and he was knocking down close to 80% without anyone guarding him. He’s an interesting player, but probably too slow and mechanical for the NBA.

Trey Johnson looked good in the team scrimmage showing the crafty scoring ability that made him among the leading scorers in the nation. Johnson has a solid frame and really attacks his defender and creates shots for himself well. On the negative side, he’s probably closer to 6-3 than 6-5.

Chinese wing player Sun Yue looked a little overwhelmed the first night of drills but appears to have shaken the nerves and looked solid in the team scrimmage. He was very active causing a number of steals and scored a few times around the basket. He still needs to work on his body language as he almost seems ashamed after he makes a great play: On one occasion dropping his head after a (practice) dunk.

In the team scrimmage, Taurean Green was mostly out of control making a number of bad decisions with the ball resulting in turnovers. He hasn’t looked comfortable yet. In the 3-2, 2-1 drill he forgot to go back on defense resulting in a breakaway.

Small school guy Avis Wyatt has been working in with the bigmen on drills and in man to man contests he routinely gets overpowered. Wyatt’s biggest problem is fitting a position. He’s at his best facing the basket and shooting mid range jumpers or creating off the dribble. But at 6-10, it is reasonable to question whether he can guard small forwards. His body doesn’t appear that it will be able to hold much more weight. Wyatt has been decent so far, but the position confusion may ultimately keep him from being drafted.

Game 1: Team 6 106 – Team 5 82

Team 6 was led by the outstanding point guard play of Ramon Sessions who finished with a game high 7 assists and 1 turnover. The team was able to build a double digit led in the first half which they sustained throughout the second half before blowing the game wide open in the final minutes.

Sessions had 5 boards and 7 assists and could have had more if not for a few missed open shots and lay ins. He finishing with 10 pts on 4-10 shooting, showing the ability to run a team and be a vocal leader as well as score when needed. At one point he went by Bobby Brown and then pump faked Aaron Gray into the air then finished with a nifty shot off the glass.

Brown shot 3-8 with 11 points but was not able to get teammates involved as well finishing with just 2 assists. Sean Singletary didn’t fare much better for team 5 shooting 3-10 for 6 pts with 4 assists and 4 turnovers.

For the victors, Demetris Nichols came out on fire scoring 10 points in the first 5 minutes with two 3 pointers and a dunk. His effective 7-9 shooting (4-5 from 3) and 18 overall points definitely make him one of the top performers on day one.

Ryvon Covile finished with a team high 19 points. He shot 8-11 from the field with 6 boards. He’s extremely effective in the half court with a great set of mits. He had one absolute highlight play where he snatched a pass from Sessions out of midair, gathered the ball and dunked over two defenders, all in one motion.

Coleman Collins was Johnny on the spot for Team 5 with a number of easy putbacks and uncontested lay ups. He showed his ability to run the floor with one breakaway dunk with defenders in hot pursuit.Collins outplayed Darryl Watkins who he matched up against for most of the game outscoring him with a game high 22 (8-14 fg) to 6 (3-5 fg).

Aaron Gray was solid though unspectacular with 15 points and a game high 9 boards. He attempted a few dunks where he was just a bit too far from the rim and either got his shot stuffed or had the ball go off the rim. Gray got to the line bunch converting 7-10.

Lithuanian Renaldas Seibutis looked good scoring 9 points on 4-6 shooting. He has shown a real court savvy and willingness to compete. He is very quick and makes good decisions. He still hasn’t flashed a great deal of athleticism yet.

Coby Karl was solid with 11 points and 6 assists. His back to back 3s eliminated the only real push Team 5 made, as they had closed the gap to 6 early in the second half. Playing alongside Jeremy Hunt, who frankly has no business being here isn’t helping Karl either. Hunt finished with 2 points on 1-7 shooting.

James Mays had a solid 13 point (6-9) and 9 rebound performance. He had one follow up dunk where he had a clear runway to the basket and sky’d for a monster put back. His long arms and leaping ability make him one of the better bigmen physical specimens here. Regardless, his skill level in the post still has a lot of question marks, most of his scoring came off of garbage baskets. And his body strength is not at a level where he can compete on the next level inside.

Other point totals included: DJ Strawberry 5 points on 2-5 shooting, Justin Doellman 5 points on 2-7 shooting, Curtis Sumpter 2 points on 0-6 shooting, Carl Landry 5 points on 2-4 shooting with 8 boards, Dominic McGuire 4 points on 2-4 shooting, Avis Wyatt 8 points on 4-5 shooting, Marcelus Kemp 11 points on 5-10 shooting, Jermareo Davidson 8 points on 4-5 shooting.

2007 NBA Predraft Camp Rosters

Team 1Team 2Team 3
33 Mohamed Abukar53 Mario Boggan54 Craig Bradshaw
20 Russell Carter08 Taurean Green21 Daequan Cook
07 Zabian Dowdell10 Jared Jordan60 Caleb Green
76 Herbert Hill78 Antanas Kavaliauskas61 Ekene Ibekwe
36 Quinton Hosley65 Stephane Lasme29 Dominic James
77 James Hughes27 Sammy Mejia62 Joseph Jones
23 Trey Johnson12 JR Reynolds26 Ron Lewis
63 Rashad Jones-Jennings41 Sun Yue37 Cartier Martin
67 Ivan Radenovic81 Ali Traore31 Blake Schilb
80 Chris Richard84 Major Wingate17 Dashaun Wood
14 Mustafa Shakur  
Team 4Team 5Team 6
03 Aaron Brooks04 Bobby Brown74 Ryvon Covile
35 Jared Dudley55 Coleman Collins56 Jermareo Davidson
59 Rashaun Freeman58 Justin Doellman22 Jeremy Hunt
09 Brandon Heath75 Aaron Gray24 Coby Karl
79 Marko Lekic64 Carl Landry25 Marcelus Kemp
28 Brad Newley38 Dominic McGuire66 James Mays
30 Dustin Salisbery32 Renaldas Seibutis39 Demetris Nichols
16 Jamaal Tatum15 Sean Singletary13 Ramon Sessions
42 Reyshawn Terry52 DJ Strawberry83 Darryl Watkins
68 Anthony Tolliver40 Curtis Sumpter44 Avis Wyatt
82 Kyle Visser  
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