Draft Workouts

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The Pacers hosted pre-draft workouts at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday and Friday. Check out interviews with the NBA Draft prospects below.

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Pacers Hold Pre-Draft Workouts

Wheat Hotchkiss

On Friday morning, the Pacers hosted their second pre-draft workout open to the media in preparation for the NBA Draft on June 26. Friday’s workout featured six perimeter players: Davion Berry (Weber State), DeAndre Daniels (Connecticut), Will Sheehey (Indiana), Russ Smith (Louisville), Xavier Thames (San Diego State), and Kendall Williams (New Mexico).

Of chief interest locally were Smith and Sheehey.

Smith, an explosive scorer who helped Louisville to the 2013 national title, was arguably the top prospect at Friday’s workout. ESPN’s Chad Ford ranks Smith as the 42nd-best prospect in this year’s draft class, while DraftExpress.com has him at 48th. The Pacers own the 57th overall selection, but could conceivably move up in the second round for a small price (such as a future second-rounder) if they really wanted a certain player.

Over the past two seasons, Smith established himself as one of the most prolific scoring guards in the college game. He averaged 18.7 points per game as a junior and 18.2 as a senior. Last year, he shot nearly 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range, excellent numbers given the high volume of shots he attempted and a sign of improved shot selection and decision-making.

Smith has a quick first step and plays with relentless energy, not unlike Pacers guard Lance Stephenson, a fellow New York City product. Stephenson made a brief appearance to check out part of Friday’s workout, but left before the media was allowed in.

The biggest question mark on Smith is his size. He measured just under 6 feet without shoes at the NBA Draft Combine and isn’t a true point guard – he played mostly off-the-ball at Louisville, though he handled the ball more as a senior following the graduation of point guard Peyton Siva, who just finished his rookie year with the Detroit Pistons.

Smith views himself as a “change of pace” combo guard at the next level that “can do a little bit of everything.” He said Friday that he’s relished the pre-draft process because it’s allowed him to show teams what he’s capable of in person.

“(Seeing me in person) they know that I’m an athlete, I can jump, and I can compete,” Smith said. “And they just see it up close. You watch it from a TV and you hear a lot of people say things, you kind get a perception about something without really knowing.”

The last month has been a whirlwind for Smith, who rattled off ten teams he had worked out with before coming to Indiana. When asked where he considered home base for the time being, the former Cardinals star joked, “I don’t even have an address, bro.”

Smith said he thought he helped his stock with a strong performance at a two-day league-wide workout in L.A. in May. He noted that he has yet to back out of any workout and is hungry to prove himself worthy to any team willing to give him a shot.

“I want to do whatever I can win and I’ve always been that way,” Smith said. “And my production at school has shown that I am able to win under any circumstance.”

Smith has a good chance of being drafted, as do a few of the other guys taking part in Friday’s workout (specifically Daniels, and potentially Thames and Williams).

Will Sheehey, who just wrapped a successful four-year career at Indiana University, knows that the odds are stacked against him hearing his name called on draft night. But nonetheless, Sheehey remains determined to continue playing basketball professionally, whether that opportunity comes in the NBA, the Developmental League, or overseas.

At 6-foot-7, Sheehey has solid size to play on the wing at the next level. He averaged 11.4 points per game as a senior and is a good athlete capable of playing above the rim. He has a decent outside shot, shooting 34 percent from 3-point range in his four years in Bloomington.

Since finishing up his college career, Sheehey has been working out in New York City, where his agent is based and his father lives. He said he’s had five or six workouts so far with NBA teams and hopes to have roughly five more in the next two weeks leading up to the draft.

The marks against Sheehey are that he doesn’t do anything at an elite level and isn’t much of a playmaker or rebounder at his position. Still, he believes he can carve out a niche for himself in the pros.

“I’m going to bring the same consistency every day,” Sheehey said. “I’m just going to come in – I’m a guy that’s going to practice hard every single day, I’m going to be the guy that’s in the best shape of anybody on the team, and I’m going to make shots.”

Sheehey said Friday’s workout was particularly competitive and noted a respect for the Pacers’ “hard-nosed, blue collar” style. He is proud of his time with the Hoosiers and remains in contact with many of his former teammates, but he’s also ready to move on.

“I loved every second that I played at IU,” Sheehey said. “Obviously it shaped me as a person and as a player as well. But right now, I’m going to try to focus on playing professionally.”

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Russ Smith, Will Sheehey Visit Pacers for Pre-Draft Workout

The Pacers hosted their first pre-draft workouts open to the media on Thursday afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, inviting six players to work out in front of the Pacers’ coaching staff, executives, and scouts.

The six players in attendance: guards Keith Appling (Michigan State), Andre Dawkins (Duke), Jake Odum (Indiana State), and Scottie Wilbekin (Florida); as well as forwards James Michael McAdoo (North Carolina) and Ronald Roberts (St. Joseph’s). In the brief portion of the workout open to the media, head coach Frank Vogel directed players in some competitive 3-on-3 work before the prospects did some light shooting work.

SEE ALSO: Trio of Guards Following Similar Path, Chasing Same Dream »

The Pacers own the 57th overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, to be held June 26 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (Indiana traded its first round pick to Phoenix last summer in the deal for Luis Scola).

Each of the prospects participating in Thursday’s workout likely projects as a mid-second round pick or later. Still, there is good value to be found in the latter portions of the draft. Manu Ginobili actually went 57th overall in the 1999 NBA Draft, and has arguably had the best career of anyone in his draft class (Richard Hamilton and Shawn Marion would be two possible exceptions).

Closer to home, the Pacers drafted Lance Stephenson 40th overall in 2010. In his third and fourth years in the league, Stephenson emerged as a key cog in the starting lineup for a team that reached the conference finals both of the past two seasons.

Indiana State's Odum Auditions for Bird, Pacers

The player at Thursday’s workouts with the most local interest was Odum, who was a two-time First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection at Indiana State. Odum was a four-year starter for the Sycamores, averaging 13.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game as a senior.

At Thursday’s workout, the 6-foot-4 point guard got to work out in front of the most decorated Indiana State alum, Pacers President Larry Bird.

“He’s idolized in Terre Haute,” Odum said. “You can’t go anywhere without somebody talking about Larry Bird. So for him to be in the gym just watching me play, it’s an honor and a great opportunity.“

Odum, the all-time assists leader at Terre Haute South Vigo High School, told reporters that he hadn’t met Bird prior to Thursday’s workout, but he got a chance to speak with him briefly before the workout and planned to visit with the Hall of Famer again afterwards.

Even though he was auditioning for his hometown team and playing in front of a legend like Bird, Odum insisted he didn’t have any butterflies on Thursday.

“You can’t really be nervous,” Odum said. “I’ve been playing this game for a long time. It really doesn’t matter who comes in the gym. It’s just me and myself out here being able to work and show these guys that I can play.”

Eight players have been drafted out of Indiana State in the history of the program, but Odum is hoping to become the first since 7-foot-6 John Hollinden was picked in the ninth round in 1981. Only Bird in 1979 and Carl Nicks in 1980 have been selected in the first two rounds (the draft has been limited to two rounds since 1989).

As for what he hopes to prove, Odum said that his goal is to show that he is “improving in all parts of his game.” Odum’s assists remained steady throughout his four years in Terre Haute, but his turnovers declined significantly his senior year. The two main questions regarding the former Sycamores star seem to be his shooting (he only made 31.4 percent of his 3-point attempts as a senior) and his athleticism.

Odum said Thursday’s workout was his eighth with an NBA team and he hopes to have two or three more over the next two weeks. He has no big plans for draft night and no expectations of getting selected, but he remains committed to carving out a career at the next level.

“Obviously I’m hoping to get drafted,” Odum said Thursday. “But either way it won’t slow down my work ethic.”

While Odum drew the biggest local interest at Thursday’s workout, probably the top prospect in attendance was McAdoo.

McAdoo projects to go in the middle-to-late second round. ESPN.com’s Chad Ford ranks the 6-foot-9 power forward as the 53rd best prospect in this year’s draft class, while DraftExpress.com ranks McAdoo 59th.

Co-MVP of the 2011 McDonald’s All-American Game, McAdoo was a coveted recruit coming out of high school. At North Carolina, McAdoo showed promise as a freshman and blossomed when given a bigger role as a sophomore, but elected not to enter the draft either year. But after a junior year in which his numbers more or less remained the same (his scoring and rebounding dipped slightly, though he did cut his turnovers down significantly from 2.7 to 1.4 per game), McAdoo decided it was time to make the leap to the next level.

McAdoo said that there “wasn’t really one single reason” behind his decision to go pro, but he just felt that it was the right timing. He’s hoping to “find his niche” at the next level through the workout process.

“Just my work ethic, I come in here every day and just try to get better as a player,” McAdoo said.

As a prospect, he has a reputation as a player who can do a lot of things well, but doesn’t have one elite skillset. He is a talented scorer with good moves around the basket and a defender capable of guarding a traditional power forward or a more perimeter-oriented player. McAdoo’s biggest weakness is likely his lack of a consistent outside shot (he was 0-for-9 from 3-point range in college).

The former Tar Heel was impressed with the Pacers’ workout, noting that it was the first team workout he’d had where the entire coaching staff present. And like Odum, McAdoo admitted it was extra special to work out in front of Bird.

“I’ve seen so many of his games and highlights and he’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest,” McAdoo said. “So it’s just a blessing to come in here and work out for his organization.”

McAdoo, a second-team All-ACC selection as junior, knows a thing or two about basketball royalty. McAdoo’s father is the second cousin of Bob McAdoo, the 1975 NBA MVP, who is currently an assistant coach with the Miami Heat. McAdoo’s father also played basketball, first at Old Dominion and then overseas in Europe.

James Michael McAdoo hasn’t talked to “uncle Bob” during the pre-draft process, as the elder McAdoo has been plenty busy with the NBA Finals, but James Michael said he hopes to continue to carry on the family tradition at the next level.

On Thursday, McAdoo primarily matched up with the other big man at the workout, Ronald Roberts. The two players have faced off against each other at multiple workouts over the past month.

Physically, Roberts is almost a carbon copy of McAdoo, which made for a compelling battle in 3-on-3 workouts. Roberts possesses exceptional athleticism and threw down a powerful two-handed dunk shortly after media entered Thursday’s workout. McAdoo later got his revenge, using a crafty move to sweep around Roberts for a layup.

Roberts was the second-leading scorer on a St. Joseph’s team that took eventual national champion Connecticut to overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. His athleticism has caught the eye of a lot of scouts, but his shooting needs work even in the mid-range, something Roberts himself admitted.

Roberts comes out of the Atlantic-10, a strong conference that placed six teams in the NCAA Tournament, but has had just eight players drafted in the past nine years (and only three in the first round). Still, Roberts is hopeful that his athleticism will be what sets him apart come June 26.

“It’s what I do best – getting above the rim and dunking as hard as I (can),” Roberts said. “I just like to show my athleticism and I think it stands out more than a lot of the guys in the draft.”

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