Workouts Continue With Three Hopefuls In Friday Morning
Charlotte's preparation for the 2007 NBA Draft continued Friday morning at the Presbyterian Hospital Training Center at Charlotte Bobcats Arena with Purdue's Carl Landry, UNCC's E.J. Drayton and Arizona's Ivan Radenovic all taking part in predraft workouts.
Drayton averaged 13.7 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds in his senior season at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. The 6-9, 208-pound forward utilized a medical red-shirt season in 2005-06 after experiencing problems with tendonitis in his left knee in the preseason and early season. He was a Conference USA Sixth Player nominee after averaging 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds.
Landry was named First Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and Second Team All-Big Ten by the media following the 2006-07 season. The 6-7, 245-pound forward led Purdue in scoring (18.9 points), rebounds (7.3), and blocks (32), while finishing second in steals (40) in his senior season. He scored in double figures in 33 of 34 games and shot .597 percent from the field, while leading the Boilermakers to a 22-12 record and a berth in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, where they won their first game over Arizona before falling to Florida in the round of 32. Landry appeared in only five games during the 2005-06 season due to a knee injury and earned a medical redshirt. He played his first two seasons at Vincennes University before transferring to Purdue.
Radenovic was an Honorable Mention All-PAC 10 selection and was named Arizona’s Co-Most Valuable Player by his teammates in 2006-07 after averaging 15.1 points and 7.6 rebounds. The 6-10, 240-pound forward helped lead Arizona to a 20-11 overall record and an appearance in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, where the Wildcats fell to Purdue in the opening round. He is a native of Belgrade, Serbia.
Bobcats Head Coach Sam Vincent, Drayton and Landry spoke to the media following Friday's workout:
(On the local product, E.J. Drayton)
(On the difficulty of drafting at 22)
(On the difference between Charlotte’s workouts and other teams’ workouts)
(On the possibility of consolidating the two picks into one)
(On what was tough about it)
(On working out for the hometown team)
(On if he received any advice from his college coach prior to the workout)
(On his position in the NBA)
(On how working out with Oden, Conley, Cook, and Teague helps him)
(On how the Big Ten style of play will prepare him for the NBA)
(On how his game translates to the NBA game)
June 15, 2007
HEAD COACH SAM VINCENT
(On today’s workout)
It was another good day. We’ve got some specific things that we’re looking for (in a player). We’re looking at their explosion, how they run, and how they shoot. All the guys that have come in have put in the effort and they’re all working hard. The main thing that we want to see is the energy level and the intensity that they bring to the workouts. I thought the kid (Carl) Landry did some really explosive things in the post. Those are some of the exceptional things that we liked in today’s workout, but, for the most part, we were excited with what we saw.
E.J. played well. We’re still trying to figure out exactly what position he would play at the pro level. He’s not really a two and he’s a little bit undersized as a three, so he’s a little bit of a tweener right now. But he came in and he worked hard, and I think that’s what he has to do to give people a chance to see him and try to show them that he can make an NBA team.
There’s going be a lot of speculation around that 22nd pick because there’s no way we can clearly understand who is going to be available. There may be a guy that we’re targeting to go earlier that all of a sudden is available. There are going to be some guys that we thought were going to be available late that all of a sudden aren’t there. So we’re really staying broad minded with that 22nd pick, and we’ll probably come up with about five to seven guys that we will rank one through seven that we like for that spot. With the eighth pick, that’s different. We feel pretty confident that that’s going to be one of the guys that we’ll get as our main target.
We’ve got a lot of conditioning drills that we incorporate. Their purpose is not just to see what kind of physical shape a player is in right now, but to see how they struggle, pull, and fight through the drills and what kind of character they are going to have in tough situations. Some of our drills are a little bit more demanding and we push them a little bit longer, but I think the end result is that we get to see the character of a guy who is going to stay with it, fight through it and continue to bring energy even tough he’s a little bit more tired.
That’s a Michael (Jordan), Bernie (Bickerstaff), and Rod (Higgins) question. Those decisions are made by the executives, and my focus is to coach what they bring in. So if they decide to package the two picks and we can get something real good, that’s great. If we decide to stick with eight and 22, then we’ll deal with what we get.
E.J. DRAYTON • 6-9 • 208 LBS. • FORWARD • UNC-CHARLOTTE • SENIOR
(On today’s workout)
It was tough, but everything went well and I really enjoyed it.
I think the beginning with the pushups and the box jumps, they try to tire you and wear you out first so they can see you work when you’re tired and see how well you do then. But overall it was pretty good.
It’s great, I’m a hometown kid and I followed the (Charlotte) Hornets growing up and now I follow the Bobcats, so it’s just a dream come true.
No, I haven’t talked to coach, but I wish him well and know he would want me to play hard and just do my best.
I’m definitely at the two/three position. When I came to (UNCC), I was playing the four/five but they gave me a chance to play all four positions, so I was guarding big men as well as the wings. I think I’m more of a two/three.
CARL LANDRY • 6-7 • 245 LBS. • FORWARD • PURDUE • SENIOR
(On today’s workout)
Going in, I heard from some of the other players I talked to that this one was going to be tough, but it was just a good workout. I work out in Indianapolis with Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Daequan Cook, and my (college) teammate David Teague, and it was about the same. It was a good workout and I got better today.
It helps alot. They’re young guys but they’re very talented and we go hard every day. We go at each other and we make each other better. We’re working with a guy named Ed Schilling; he used to be an assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets and he’s working with us in a barn far out in Indiana in the middle of nowhere. We just go hard at each other and try to make each other better so we can hopefully play in the NBA one day.
It’s almost exactly the same. (The Bobcats) have Alan Anderson that played at Michigan State and the Bobcats play exactly like the Big Ten, just at the next level. I had fun today; I haven’t met Michael Jordan yet, (laughter) but that’s not what I came down here for. I came down here to play and get better and get a look from one of the guys and hopefully I’ll have a chance to play for the Bobcats in the future.
I see myself coming in and just trying to do the best I can. Hopefully I can be an immediate impact rebounding the ball, running the floor, playing defense and just doing the little things that it takes to win ballgames – diving on the floor, taking charges, whatever it takes. That’s what kind of team the Bobcats are and that’s the kind of player I am. I’ll fit right in if they decide to pick me up, but if not, I’m going to keep working and try to fulfill my dream and get to the NBA.
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