BYU forward, Utah center could be drafted into NBA

Expert says UNLV’s Adams likely won’t be selected

Sam Morris

Utah center Luke Nevill leaps over Wyoming forward Tyson Johnson to reach a rebound during their semifinal game at the Mountain West Conference Basketball Championships Friday. Utah won 68-55 and will face San Diego State Saturday for an automatic trip to the NCAA Tournament. Nevill finished with a game high 23 points and 15 rebounds.

By Rob Miech (contact)

Friday, June 19, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

The Mountain West Conference basketball players who are available for next week’s NBA draft might not want to listen to what pro scouts and executives think about them.

You’re not going to like what you’re going to hear, said one official who rates prospects for a living.

None of our NBA sources wanted their names associated with this story, and their comments and opinions will be combined into a consensus overview of each player.

At best, according to the experts, one or two players from the Mountain West have even an outside hope of hearing their names called next Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

A look at the candidates:

Lee Cummard (6-7, 185) BYU

The lanky shooter appears most frequently on potential draft boards. Chad Ford of ESPN ranks him as the 51st prospect in the draft. That’s San Antonio’s pick. Collegehoops.net has Cummard going last in the two-round draft, as the 60th pick, to Miami.

Doesn’t get drafted, says our sources. A decent shooter, to be sure. But when he goes up against players who are more physical than him, he “really” gets exposed.

Luke Nevill (7-2, 265) Utah

Ford rates Nevill as the 79th-best prospect in the draft. With only 60 slots, that means Nevill will wage a free-agent battle for someone in the NBA Summer League here next month.

No doubt he made strides from his junior to senior campaigns, says our experts. But his stiffness is a major question, as are his lack of lift and physicality. He doesn’t react well and his blocks per minute, for someone his size, raise eyebrows.

Cummard and Nevill are the only two MWC prospects on ESPN’s draft-watch list.

Wink Adams (6-0, 195) UNLV

Doesn’t have a prayer. No chance. Yes, the professional evaluators can be cruel. He isn’t a point guard, they say. He’s a 6-foot “two,” or shooting, guard, and that means he must be exceptional at what he does. That’s not the case.

Adams shot 42.2 percent overall, and 35.7 percent from 3-point range, as a junior. Last season, those figures were 37.5 percent and 26.9 percent, respectively. For whatever reason, a scout said, he had a horrible year. “He was a mediocre shooter to begin with,” he said, “and this past season he was bad.”

Did Adams bulk up too much? No idea, said one official. Don’t know his body well enough, but the assumption might be a good one. “I think he felt a lot of pressure to do well,” said an insider, “got off to a bad start and started thinking too much, not reacting. And I thought he was slower.”

Tony Danridge (6-5, 215) New Mexico

Another top-tier MWC player who doesn’t appear on the radar of NBA teams. He did win the collegiate slam-dunk competition two months ago. He has a chance to go to the D-League and develop into an NBA player.

Once he got healthy in the middle of last season, he was the best player in the Mountain West. In college, he’s a wing who could flourish inside and outside. In the pros, he’s not a “two” or a “three,” experts say.

Brandon Ewing (6-2, 190) Wyoming

The pros shudder when they hear Ewing’s name. A high-volume shooter, they say, who gets a disproportionate number of points at the free-throw line. They don’t even consider him an all-MWC player.

He isn’t a point guard and he’s allergic to defense. Even a bad team, one source said, has a leading scorer. He isn’t a great athlete and he doesn’t pass. Ewing’s reputation precedes him.

Others

In a collegehoops.net mock draft, Las Vegas native and former San Diego State swingman Lorrenzo Wade appears at No. 55, which would put him in Portland. To make it in the NBA, a scout said, “you have to be really (expletive) good or have one skill that’s so exceptional it can get you onto the floor.” Wade is good all-around, but not good enough. And he doesn’t possess that one exceptional skill to stand out. Kyle Spain, also from SDSU, is a catch-and-shoot guy who might have a chance, via the D-League like Danridge, to eventually catch on with an NBA squad. Shaun Green, from Utah, worked out for the Jazz on Monday but is a big long shot to get drafted. René Rougeau, who went from walk-on to scholarship starter at UNLV, was not mentioned by any of the insiders. The D-League or overseas appear to be the only options for players from the Mountain West next season.

Discussion: 7 comments so far…

By Rebel_Fan

6/19/09 at 3:01 a.m.

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Too bad for wink, he shouldn't have bulked up for the senior season.
By BasirWaahid

6/19/09 at 7:34 a.m.

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Love the honesty in everyone's evaluation. Last year's UNLV team, the only person I thought that had a fighting chance made the roster down in Miami. This year's team or conference, no way. I see several players will get invites, but there's no way I'd give any of these players from the MWC a contract. They'll be playing overseas.
By Grayback4Life

6/19/09 at 1:59 p.m.

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Thanks for the insight Rob...definitely not the scenario many thought would play out; myself included. But, it is what it is.
By whats_in_the_box

6/19/09 at 5:34 p.m.

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Nevill will make the cut. I could see Danridge forcing his way in through the D-League. The rest of them, forgetaboutit.
By RunninRebels

6/20/09 at 10:54 a.m.

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Neville has a shot, unless Joe Darger is guarding him!!!
By rebeltom

6/20/09 at 11:14 a.m.

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Lets not forget Lou Amundson. He wasn't drafted. And now he gets good minutes off the bench for the Phoenix Suns.
By drollo

6/20/09 at 4:32 p.m.

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I could see Rougeau on some NBA team's second unit, given his athleticism and versatility as a defender....