Brice Johnson

Wheat Hotchkiss

On Friday morning, the Pacers held what is believed to be their final pre-draft workout before the 2016 NBA Draft next Thursday. Indiana welcomed six more prospects to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday for drills and interviews. The Pacers, who have the 20th and 50th overall picks in this year's draft, have officially held seven workouts with a total of 42 players over the last month.

For the local media, the obvious headliner in attendance on Friday was Park Tudor and Indiana University alum Yogi Ferrell, who Mark Montieth wrote about for this site. But aside from Ferrell and fellow point guard Kyle Collinsworth, the workout featured four big men, making it the most interior-focused collection of players from any of the seven workout sessions open to the media.

Those big men can be divided into two clear camps. On the one hand, you had a pair of four-year college stars in North Carolina forward Brice Johnson and Iowa State star Georges Niang. On the other hand, you had a pair of 19-year-old prospects with rawer skill sets but greater upside in Cheick Diallo, who played sparingly in one season at Kansas, and Ante Žižić, a 7-footer from Croatia.

In many ways, the collection of talent on the TCU Practice Court on Friday was perfect metaphor for one of the biggest questions scouts and general managers face every June: Do you put more value in a draft prospect's potential or in their proven track record?

On the whole, draft analysts tend to value potential over production. ESPN.com's Chad Ford ranks Žižić as the 21st-best prospect in this year's draft class and has Diallo 27th. Ford ranks Johnson 37th and Niang 67th. DraftExpress.com has similar rankings, with Žižić (23rd) and Diallo (25th) again ranking ahead of both Johnson (30th) and Niang (70th).

While draft analysts' rankings are a good gauge for a general range in which a player might be drafted, NBA teams' evaluations and player rankings can vary widely based on what each particular front office values most. The Pacers' recent draft history is mixed, for example, with Indiana using its last two lottery picks on early entrants (Paul George in 2010 and Myles Turner in 2015) but taking four-year college players with their last two picks in the latter half of the first round (Miles Plumlee in 2012 and Solomon Hill in 2013).

DRAFT CENTRAL: Stories and Videos on 42 Draft Prospects at Pacers.com/Draft »

Of the four big men at Friday's workout, Diallo quite possibly has the most potential, but he's also the greatest unknown. Diallo grew up playing soccer in Mali and only picked up basketball after a growth spurt in his early teenage years.

Shortly thereafter, Diallo traveled to the United States, his departure hastened by the outbreak of a civil war in his native land in early 2012. He enrolled at Our Savior New American School in Centereach, New York, where he took ESL classes and played basketball.

"When I came here in 2012, it was so hard for me," Diallo said. "...I wasn't speaking English, just French...Even basketball-wise, it was really, really tough because you've got to know how to speak English so you can communicate with your teammates."

As Diallo's English improved, so, too, did his play on the court. His athleticism and all-out effort earned him numerous accolades and a scholarship to Kansas. He was named MVP of the 2015 McDonald's All-American Game after an 18-point, 10-rebound performance. He also drew rave reviews for his play at the Nike Hoop Summit last April, where he teamed with players like Ben Simmons, Jamal Murray, and Skal Labisserie to lead the World team to a win over the USA Junior National Select Team.

But eligibility concerns stalled the start of Diallo's career. The NCAA conducted a lengthy investigation into his high school transcript and initially barred Diallo from all team activities before clearing him to practice with the team on Oct. 1. They ultimately suspended him for the first five games of the regular season.

All of that turmoil put a hamper on Diallo's development. He found himself buried behind talented upperclassmen like All-American Perry Ellis on the Jayhawks' depth chart and struggled to grasp all the nuances of head coach Bill Self's offensive schemes. As a result, he played sparingly, averaging just 3.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks in 7.5 minutes per game. He didn't even appear in a handful of contests, including two of three games in the Big 12 Tournament and three of four games in the NCAA Tournament.

Still, Diallo was efficient in his limited time on the floor. His field goal percentage was .569 and his averages on a per-40-minute basis were solid: 15 points, 13 rebounds, 4.5 blocks per game.

Diallo really helped himself at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago in early May. He measured out at 6-9 with an exceptional 7-4 1/2 wingspan and a 35-inch vertical. But he was most impressive in 5-on-5 scrimmages, where he held his own against more seasoned players. Diallo posted 18 points (on 7-of-10 shooting), four rebounds, and four blocks in his first scrimmage and nine points (on 4-of-8 shooting), 10 boards, and two blocks in his second.

"I didn't get a lot of opportunity to play in college the way I wanted to play," Diallo said. "So in the Combine, I just came (to) show everybody what I can do best. That's why in the Combine I was going 120 percent."

Diallo's calling card is his effort, which he attributes to his days playing as a defender on the soccer fields in Mali, where he developed good footwork and the ability to, in his words, "run all day." His relentless hustle, combined with his length, should allow him to make an impact at the next level as a shot-blocker and rebounder, but his offensive game is still very raw.

Nonetheless, Diallo is confident that he can grow into a valuable contender at both ends. He said his biggest focus during the pre-draft process has been on improving his jump shot and he did knock down a high percentage of mid-range shots during shooting drills at the end of Friday's workout. Media members weren't allowed to watch early portions of the workout, but Diallo said he thought it was his best workout to-date just because of how well he competed in the trenches against bigger players like Johnson and Žižić.

Friday's workout was the first for Žižic, a 19-year-old Croatian center coming off a stellar European campaign.

While many younger players don't see a lot of playing time in the European professional ranks, Žižic saw plenty of minutes for Cibona Zagreb in the Adriatic League. The 7-footer averaged 13.4 points and 8 rebounds while shooting 63.9 percent from the field in 21 games last season.

"I'm an energy guy, I'm always 100 percent," Žižic said. "I try to catch every rebound and finish with strong dunks."

Žižic had the unique opportunity to spend the past season playing alongside his brother, Andrija, who has enjoyed a long professional career in Europe and with the Croatian national team (where he played alongside former Pacers forward Damjan Rudež). Andrija is 17 years older than Ante and in the last stages of his career, so he signed on with Cibona to backup and mentor his little brother.

"He's my biggest support and I'm thankful because we spent the last season together," Ante Žižic said."(It was a) big experience for me."

Like Diallo, Žižic figures to first make an impact with his effort and energy, but needs to expand his offensive repertoire to earn consistent playing time in the NBA. He said he's working on both his post-up game and his mid-range jumper as he prepares for next week's draft.

Given his status in Europe, Žižic is a potential "draft-and-stash" candidate, meaning that a team could take him with a first-round pick and maintain his draft rights but let him return to Cibona for another season. But if a team wants him to come to the NBA right away, they could do so simply by buying out his contract overseas.

While Diallo and Žižic might not be able to make a significant impact in the NBA next season, Johnson and Niang could contribute right away. Both forwards enjoyed decorated college careers and were among the best players in the country as seniors, earning AP All-American honors (Johnson was on the first team, while Niang was a second-team selection).

Johnson steadily grew into a bigger role in his four years at North Carolina. The 6-11 power forward increased his scoring and rebounding averages in each of his four years on campus and finished his senior season averaging 17.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

He said on Friday that he was initially overwhelmed physically as a 187-pound freshman, but put on over 30 pounds of muscle during his time in Chapel Hill that allowed him to emerge as a go-to player in the post for the Tar Heels. Johnson had several monster games as a senior, including a 39-point, 23-rebound performance at Florida State and a pair of games against Duke in which he averaged 24.5 points and 20 boards.

Most impressively, Johnson's offensive efficiency got better even as he took on a larger workload. His field goal percentage rose from .511 as a freshman to .566 as a sophomore and junior to .614 as a senior. Johnson made a living using his speed and athleticism to score seemingly at will in transition and runs to the rim, but he also has an effective post-up game.

The most glaring weakness on Johnson's résumé is an outside shot. He didn't attempt a single 3-pointer in his four years in college, something that puts him at a disadvantage as he transitions to a league that increasingly
values big men who can stretch the floor. That said, Johnson has solid mechanics on his mid-range jumper and shot over 78 percent from the free throw line as a senior, so he could develop more range over time.

"I have a great touch," Johnson said. "I'm able to shoot the jumper, that just wasn't my role in college. We had guards that were able to go out there and be able to shoot the ball. My job was to play in the post and be able to shoot mid-range jumpers here and there."

Niang, meanwhile, played a major role in each of his four seasons at Iowa State. His numbers as a senior were outstanding, as he averaged 20.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while shooting extremely efficiently across the board (54.6 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from 3-point range, and 80.7 percent from the free throw line).

"I couldn't have done anything without my teammates," Niang said. "They do a great job of making me look good, putting me in the right spots. All the credit goes to them. They did a lot for me in my four years at Iowa State."

Niang mostly manned the power forward position in college, but he is a little undersized for that spot at the next level. He measured out at slightly under 6-9 at the Combine with a 6-10 wingspan (over half a foot shorter than Diallo's).

Niang's size has some scouts thinking he might be a better fit as a small forward in the NBA. He certainly has the offensive playmaking ability to succeed at that spot, but there are questions about his quickness defending perimeter players.

As a result, Niang finds himself receiving the dreaded "tweener label" from many draft analysts, which is a big reason why he ranks comparatively low in their draft class rankings. But the 23-year-old Massachusetts native insists that not having a natural positional fit is actually a positive in today's NBA.

"That tweener label is great," Niang said. "That means I can guard and play multiple positions. I think that's the unique part of me is that I have a high basketball IQ, I'm versatile, I'm unique, I can guard multiple positions. I think going forward I can be a luxury to the coach where he can put me on multiple spots on the floor."

Collinsworth Hoping Game Translates to Next Level

The final prospect at Friday's workout, Kyle Collinsworth, has one thing no one else to visit Bankers Life Fieldhouse during the pre-draft process can claim: an NCAA career record. Collinsworth registered 12 triple-doubles in his time at BYU, more than any other player in Division 1 history.

As a senior, the 6-6 point guard averaged 15.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. His size was a big plus for him at the college level, allowing him to collect plenty of rebounds and then push the break himself, seeing over the defense to find open teammates.

Those are all attributes that make Collinsworth an attractive prospect to NBA teams, but he has one glaring weakness: his jump shot. Collinsworth never shot more than 37 3-pointers in a season and never made more than nine, shooting under 29 percent from beyond the arc in three of his four years in Provo.

As a point guard, Collinsworth knows that he needs to overhaul his shot to have a chance of sticking in an NBA that places such a premium on outside shooting.

"It's a challenge," he said. "It's a little deeper (line). But I think for me it's more of a mindset right now (to just) shoot it. I didn't shoot a lot and then you get used to not shooting a lot. So (I'm) just changing my mindset, tweaking a few little things, and getting a lot of shots up."

Another factor working against Collinsworth is his age. He actually began his college career in 2010, acting as a role player on the BYU team that featured 2011 national player of the Year Jimmer Fredette. Collinsworth then spent two years in Russia on a Mormon mission before returning to Utah for his final three collegiate seasons.

Though he'll turn 25 before the start of his first professional season, Collinsworth feels his maturity would make him a welcome fit in any locker room.

"When things go bad, I know how to handle it well," he said. "I've been away from home, away from everybody, (part of) different cultures."

Note: Watch one-on-one video interviews with all six prospects at Friday's pre-draft workout in the video player below.

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Should the Pacers Go For Potential Star or Proven Commodity?

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Height: 6-11
Weight: 201
Position: PF
College: North Carolina
Age: 21

PPG: 17.0
RPG: 10.4
APG: 1.5
BLK: 1.5
STL: 1.1

Player BioCourtesy of North Carolina Athletics

AS A SENIOR(2015-16): Carolina’s first consensus first-team All-America since 2009...Led Carolina to a 33-7 record, the ACC regular-season and Tournament championships, the NCAA East Region title, the Final Four and a second-place finish in the NCAA Tournament...First-team All-America by the Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Scout and John R. Wooden...Unanimous first-team All-ACC selection by both the media and coaches...Voted by the coaches to the ACC’s All-Defensive team...The eighth Tar Heel to earn first-team All-ACC Tournament, All-NCAA Regional and All-Final Four honors in the same season...KenPom’s national player of the year...Led UNC with 678 points (17.0 ppg), 416 rebounds (10.4), field goal percentage (.614) and blocks (59)...Averages were even better in ACC play with 17.2 ppg and 11.6 rpg...First Tar Heel ever with 600 points, 400 rebounds, 50 blocks, 40 steals and a FG percentage of .600 in a season...Grabbed 416 rebounds, breaking Tyler Hansbrough’s single-season UNC record...Set UNC record with 23 double-doubles, breaking Billy Cunningham’s record set in 1964...Second ACC player since 1974 to grab 400 rebounds in a season and finished with the 10th-most by an ACC player in history...One of four Tar Heels to ever shoot 60 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the free throw in a season; one of three ACC players to accomplish that in the last 20 years...First Tar Heel to average a double-double and shoot 60 percent from the floor since 1975...Led the ACC in field goal percentage and double-doubles, was second in rebounding and seventh in scoring...Only ACC player who qualified that shot better than 60 percent from the floor (.614) • First Tar Heel since 2005 to have two 20-rebound games in a season (23 at FSU, 21 at Duke)...UNC ranked No. 1 in the ACC in scoring and scoring margin, rebounding and rebounding margin and field goal percentage defense and tied for third in field goal percentage...Scored in double figures a team-high 37 times, second-most in UNC history...Six 25-point games and eight 20/10 games...Tied Brad Daugherty’s school record with 16 consecutive field goals...Led UNC in scoring a team-high 19 times...39 points, 23 rebounds, 14 field goals at Florida State and field goal percentage of .917 vs. UCLA were ACC single-game bests this year...Won ACC Player of the Week honors four times...Three awards came during ACC play...National Player of the Week twice...Shot 64.1 percent from the floor and 83.0 percent from the free throw line in nine post-season games (ACC and NCAA) • Earned All-Final Four honors • First Tar Heel to ever compile three consecutive 20/10 games in the NCAA Tournament (Providence, Indiana and Notre Dame)...Earned East Regional MVP honors after scoring 25 points with 12 rebounds in the regional final...Set the UNC record for an NCAA Tournament game with eight blocks in first round...Averaged 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds and shot 72.0 percent from the floor and 87.5 percent from the line in ACC Tournament...Had 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists in championship game vs. Virginia...Led UNC with 18 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the win at Duke...Led both teams with 16 points and 15 rebounds in 96-71 win over 10th-ranked Miami in a battle of first-place ACC teams...Led both teams with 29 points and 19 rebounds at home vs. Duke...Career-high eight assists (six in the second half when UNC shot 64.3 percent from the floor) and 16 points in the win at Syracuse...Scored 39 points and grabbed 23 rebounds at Florida State...One of five Tar Heels to ever have at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in the same game and the first in 40 years.

AS A JUNIOR (2014-15): Third-team All-ACC selection by the coaches and media and earned first-team All-ACC Tournament honors...Led UNC in field goal percentage (.566), made field goals (207) and rebounding (7.8) and was second in scoring (12.9) and blocks (42)...Was fourth in the ACC in FG% and seventh in rebounding...Had the third-most points in the ACC among players without a three-point field goal (Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Syracuse’s Rakeem Christmas)...Led UNC in scoring in the ACC Tournament at 18.0 ppg and shot 58.8% from the floor and was 12 of 14 from the free throw line (.857)...Led UNC in scoring (13.6), rebounding (8.4) and FG% (.609) in UNC’s nine ACC road games...Led Carolina in ACC play in rebounding (8.5), field goal percentage (.583) and field goals made (102) and was second in scoring (13.3, just 0.2 behind Paige)...Grabbed 10 or more rebounds nine times in the last 23 games (had done it three times in his first 85 games as a Tar Heel)...Scored 16 or more points in 12 of the last 20 games with 16, 17 three times, 18 twice, 19 twice, 20 twice and 22 twice...Led UNC in scoring 12 times, one off the team high...Scored in double figures 27 times, including 18 of UNC’s 22 ACC games (UNC went 13-5 vs. ACC opponents when he scored 10+, 1-3 when he did not)...Made 35 of his last 45 from the free throw line (.778)...Made seven or more field goals in six of the first 22 games and 11 of the last 16 games.

AS A SOPHOMORE (2013-14): Led UNC in field goal percentage and blocks, was second in rebounding and fourth in scoring...Finished third in media voting for the ACC's top sixth man Converted 23 of 31 field goal attempts in his last four games Went 62 for 94 from the floor in the last 13 games (.660) Scored in double figures 19 times (10 times in ACC play including the ACC Tournament), including 10 of the last 14 games Blocked at least two shots in 13 games, including a career-high five against Pitt on 2/15/14.

AS A FRESHMAN (2012-13): Played in all 36 games...One of four players to appear in all 36 games...Averaged 5.4 points...Was the fourth leading rebounder on the team with 3.2 per game...Scored in double figures nine times, but not in the last 21 games...Converted a team-high 51.1 percent from the floor...Was second on the team with 19 blocked shots ...Averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 boards in ACC regular season play...Played effectively in win over Virginia with six points and four rebounds and a steal in 11 minutes...Grabbed six rebounds in OT win over Virginia Tech...Scored in double figures in one ACC game (10 against Miami at home)...Made 6 of 8 shots for 12 points and added three offensive rebounds and three steals in win over UNLV...Led UNC with eight first-half points against UNLV as the Tar Heels built a nine-point lead at the break...Scored in double figures for the first time in three games with 10 points and seven rebounds agianst McNeese State...Limited to 15 minutes against East Carolina because of illness...Had 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists against East Tennessee State...Scored eight of his 10 points in the first half at Indiana...Season-high 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the floor in his first start against Chaminade...Added two blocks and two steals against the Silver Swords...Scored eight of his 10 points at Long Beach in the first half, helping UNC erase a six-point deficit and take a 33-32 lead at the half...Also had a season-high eight rebounds at Long Beach...Netted 12 points in 12 minutes against Florida Atlantic.

HIGH SCHOOL: Won Gatorade South Carolina Boys Basketball Player of the Year honors as a junior and senior...Parade All-America...Averaged 25.4 points, 14.3 rebounds, 8.3 blocks and three assists per game as a senior...Led Edisto to a 15-5 record and the second round of the Class 2-A Tournament...Averaged 23 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in 2011...Played for his dad at Edisto High School in Cordova, S.C....Played in the Jordan Brand Classic...Two-time state champion in the high jump...Also played one year as a wide receiver...Member of the National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

PERSONAL: Born Jonathan Brice Johnson on June 27, 1994, in Orangeburg, S.C....Son of Herman and Renee Johnson...Majoring in exercise and sport science in the sport administration program.

Brice Johnson

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