Marcus Thornton

Wheat Hotchkiss

Six more prospects visited Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday, as the Pacers hosted their second pre-draft workout open to the media. Indiana owns the 11th and 43rd overall picks in the 2015 NBA Draft, which will take place on June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The player who drew the most attention from the local media was Notre Dame guard Pat Connaughton, an explosive athlete and two-sport star fighting to make the NBA. While Connaughton's name had the most local interest, Utah point guard Delon Wright and Texas forward Jonathan Holmes were the two players at Tuesday's workout most likely to hear their names called on Draft night. Both players are currently projected as either a late first or early second-round pick by most draft experts.

PHOTO GALLERY: Tuesday's Pre-Draft Workout »

Rounding out the prospects at Tuesday's workout were William & Mary point guard Marcus Thornton, Georgetown guard Jabril Trawick, and former Georgetown forward Greg Whittington.

Once again, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel led the workout, with help from all three of his assistant coaches. A large contingent from the Pacers front office observed the workout, including team president Larry Bird, general manager Kevin Pritchard, and Donnie Walsh.

I had the opportunity to speak with all six prospects during their visit to The Fieldhouse on Tuesday. You can watch those interviews in the video player above and read below for brief notes on each prospect.

As Pacers.com's Mark Montieth covered in greater detail, Connaughton's draft stock appears to be on the rise after an eye-opening performance at the NBA Draft Combine, where his 44-inch vertical leap nearly broke a combine record.

The 6-5 wing opened eyes with how well he tested at the combine and was a very productive player in all four years he spent in South Bend. A four-year starter, Connaughton's field goal and 3-point percentages improved every year, culminating with him shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc as a senior. He also rebounded very well for his position, averaging 7.4 boards per game.

The Arlington, Mass. native admitted to being a little starstruck being around Larry Bird after "growing up in the Boston area where he is literally 'The Legend.'" But Connaughton isn't one to suffer from stagefright. He carries himself with a definitive swagger and confidence, but also proved during his time with the Irish that he's willing to make personal sacrifices to help the team succeed. But now, Connaughton is eager to prove that he has all the tools to be successful in the NBA.

"I think we were able to find a niche at Notre Dame where we were as efficient as we could be, we had guys doing what they did best and they didn't really have to stray from doing that," Connaughton said. "I think when you come to these workouts you want to show you can do things that translate to the NBA game such as use pick-and-rolls (and other things) I didn't have to do as much in college, such as handle the ball, slash to the rim."

As he prepares for the NBA Draft, Connaughton faces a unique connundrum. A two-sport star at Notre Dame, he's a promising pitching prospect with a fastball that flirts with triple digits and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth round of last year's draft.

For now, Connaughton has elected to put baseball on hold. He made it clear on Tuesday that his preference would be to play in the NBA and he's pursuing that dream to the fullest. But if it doesn't work out, he's got a pretty good backup plan.

Holmes, a 6-9 forward out of Texas, has the potential to develop into a valuable NBA player.

He is a good athlete who moves very well for a player of his size. He has the ability to rebound and block shots and was even a serviceable 3-point shooter in college, shooting 33 percent from beyond the arc over his last two seasons in Austin.

The biggest question facing Holmes is what position he will play long-term. He spent time at both small and power forward in college and could potentially carve out a niche at either position at the next level. Holmes' athleticism should allow him to defend small forwards, but offensively he may be of more value at power forward with his ability to stretch the floor.

"That'll be up to the coaches and the management to figure that out, what they think I would be good at, but I feel like I can play both (positions)," Holmes said.

Holmes' biggest focus over the next few weeks is to continue fine-tuning his shot. Though he defended well at the combine, Holmes made just 2-of-8 3-point attempts in a pair of five-on-five games.

Pat Connaughton turned plenty of heads with how well he tested at the combine, but Thornton also helped himself tremendously in Chicago. The 6-2 guard's 43-inch vertical was second only to Connaughton. Thornton was also the fastest player at the combine, running the 3/4 court sprint in a blistering 3.02 seconds.

Thornton's strong showing at the combine backed up his extremely productive play on the court at William & Mary. He graduated as the Tribe's all-time leading scorer, having amassed 2,178 points during his four years on campus. He averaged over 18 points per game in each of his final three seasons, including a career-best 20 points per game as a senior, when he was named the CAA Player of the Year.

Still, since he compiled those stats playing for a mid-major program, some scouts may have had questions about how well Thornton's game could translate to the NBA. Any questions about his athleticism were certainly answered at the combine.

"I know a lot of people maybe haven't seen my athleticism show as much in games," Thornton said. "I definitely want to show I'm capable of it, so I was just glad I was able to test well and I had a great time at the combine."

Though he has a bit of an unorthodox jump shot, Thornton scorched the nets during his time in college. He shot just under 44 percent from 3-point range as a sophomore and then topped 40 percent in both his junior and senior years.

The biggest question about Thornton's game is whether he's capable of running the point on a full-time basis. Because he was asked to shoulder such a heavy load offensively, Thornton didn't have a high assist total (he averaged a career-best 2.9 per game as a senior), but did rack up his fair share of turnovers (3.1 per game as a sophomore, though he got that number down to 2.3 as a senior).

Those numbers may be a cause for concern, but Thornton is a proven winner. William & Mary won just six games during his freshman season, but he helped spearhead a monumental turnaround that culminated in the Tribe winning 20 games in both of his final two seasons on campus and capturing a regular season conference title in his senior year.

Trawick didn't stuff the stat sheets during his time at Georgetown, but he was a valuable four-year contributor to the program. Though he was the team's third-leading scorer on last year's team (averaging 9.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game), Trawick was the emotional leader of a Hoyas team that tied for second in the Big East.

Trawick possesses great size for a guard, measuring out at 6-4 and 218 pounds. In addition to his strong frame, Trawick showed marked improvement as a jump shooter in his final college season, improving his 3-point percentage from .312 as a junior to .407 as a senior.

Perhaps Trawick's best attribute is his toughness, something that was instilled in him at an early age.

"Growing up in Philly is tough," Trawick said. "I always played with the older dudes when I was younger, so you just get a certain grit and a certain toughness to you."

But behind all that toughness is a softer side. Trawick recently graduated from Georgetown with a degree in English and has a particular interest in the works of Shakespeare.

And yes, Pacers fans, he has a good relationship with Roy Hibbert. Trawick wore Hibbert's number 55 during his time in Georgetown and keeps regular contact with the Pacers center. The two even spoke on Labor Day, the day before Trawick worked out at The Fieldhouse.

"He just told me to go hard, be myself, whoever I go against try to outwork them so that's what I tried to do," Trawick said.

Trawick was reunited on Tuesday with Whittington, one of his former teammates at Georgetown. The two players were both part of coach John Thompson III's 2011 recruiting class.

Whittington, a 6-8 forward, played 20 minutes a game as a freshman before appearing ready for a breakout as a sophomore. In 13 games in the fall of 2012, he averaged 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest.

Unfortunately, that's when things started to unravel for Whittington. He was ruled academically ineligible for the spring semester and then tore his ACL that summer. A few months later, Whittington was dismissed from the program. He mulled transferring to Rutgers, but ultimately decided against it.

So Whittington entered Tuesday's workout as a great unknown, a player who hadn't seen significant game action in over two years. That experience gave him an added appreciation for the opportunity to work out for an NBA team.

"It means a lot," Whittington said. "It means that these two years I've been working hard and now my chance is right here, time to take it."

Of all the prospects at Tuesday's workout, Wright was the only one that Draft Express currently projects to be drafted in the first round. A 6-5 point guard with good size and an NBA pedigree, Wright has all the tools to succeed at the next level.

After two years at community college, Wright spent the last two seasons starring for the University of Utah. He was an All-American as a senior and won the Bob Cousy Award as the best point guard in the country after averaging 14.5 points and 5.1 assists per game while leading the Utes to the Sweet 16.

Wright's best attributes may come on the defensive end. He was an absolute menace from the point guard position, averaging 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game during his two seasons in Utah.

"Just using my length against point guards," Wright said when asked about his defensive prowess. "I'm considered a bigger guard for my position, so I just want to use my length, get deflections, just do all-around defensive things."

The biggest knock on Wright is his jump shot, though he showed considerable improvement in that regard over the past year. He struggled mightily from beyond the 3-point arc as a junior, making just 12-of-54 attempts (22 percent). He bumped that percentage up to .356 as a senior, but there are still questions as to whether he can consistently knock down shots at the next level.

As he prepares for a possible career in the NBA, Wright can lean heavily on his big brother, Dorell, who just finished his 11th NBA season. Dorell, who is six years older than Delon, turned pro out of high school, so Delon has gotten to watch his brother succeed at basketball's highest level from an early age.

"Seeing him since I was in the 7th grade playing in the NBA has been really influential, I just want to follow in his footsteps," Delon Wright said.

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Explosive Athletes Headline Tuesday's Workout

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Pre-Draft Workouts: May 26, 2015

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Height: 6-3
Weight: 177
Position: PG
College: William & Mary
Age: 22

PPG: 7.9
RPG: 1.8
APG: 0.8
BLK:0.1
STL: 0.6

Player BioCourtesy of William & Mary Athletics

Career Notes: W&M’s all-time leading scorer (2,178 points) … School record holder in 3-pointers made (325), games played (127), 3-pointers made per game (2.56), minutes played (4328) and minutes played per game (34.1) … In CAA history, is seventh all-time in scoring and fourth in 3-poiners made … Ranks third in W&M history in free throws made (435), fifth in field goals made (709), fifth in 3-point percentage (.402), ninth in scoring average (17.1), 11th in assists (308) and 12th in free throw percentage (.789) … Third conference player of the year in W&M history and first CAA POY … One of only two W&M players to be a three-time All-CAA selection and one of only two to be a two-time First Team All-CAA pick … First three-time first team NABC All-District pick in school history … One of only five players in W&M history with 1000 career points and 300 career assists … Scored in double figures in 110 of his 127 career games (86.6 percent) and 20 or more points on 45 occasions in his career … A two-time team captain and 3-point team MVP … Only player in W&M history with three seasons of 500 or more points … Announced that his No. 3 will be the sixth number retired at W&M next season.

Senior Season (2014-15): First CAA Player of the Year in W&M history in 2014-15 … Named Associated Press honorable mention All-American, becoming the sixth All-American in W&M history … Fans-vote College Court Report Mid-Major Player of the Year … First Team All-CAA for the second straight season … First Team NABC All-District 10 for the third straight season … Named the Richmond Times Dispatch and Virignia Sports Information Directors State Player of the Year … One of 16 national finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, presented by the presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame  … A finalist for the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year award … A Lou Henson Mid-Major All-American … Broke the oldest DI scoring record in the country held since 1950 with 23 points in a Feb. 25 win over Towson … Became the first W&M player to average 20 points per game in a season since 2004 … Ranked 17th nationally in scoring, 16th in 3-pointers made (3.1) and 34th in 3-point percentage (40.2) … His 659 points in 2014-15 were the second most in W&M history and the most since 1949 … Knocked down a school-record 102 3-pointers and became just the sixth player in CAA history to reach the century mark in 3-pointers made in a season … Closed out his career with 39 straight double-digit scoring games … Tallied 20 or more points in 14 games this season, including a career-high 37 at Richmond in December and a CAA Tournament record 37 in the semifinals against Hofstra in March … Named to the CAA All-Tournament team after averaging 24.7 points per game during the event … Ranked among the top five in the CAA in scoring, free throw percentage, 3-point percentage, 3-poiners made and minutes played … One of only two players to start all 33 games … One of only six players nationally to shoot 45 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line (meeting the NCAA minimum qualifications for national rankings) …  Scored a game-high 23 points in his final collegiate game at Tulsa … Named CAA Player of the Week on Dec. 1 after scoring 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting in leading W&M to a win over eventual Southern Conference Champion Wofford  … Dished out a career-high seven assists at Elon on Jan. 8 … Scored 27 points on 7-of-11 from 3-point range and added a career-high seven rebounds and five assists in a win over JMU on Jan. 10 … In his 37-point game against Richmond on Dec. 3, connected don 14-of-18 from the floor and 8-of-11 from 3-point range … The eight 3-pointers ranked as the second-most in W&M history … Along with scoring a CAA-Tournament record 37 points in the semifinal win over Hofstra on March 8, he dished out the game-winning assist, finding Daniel Dixon in the corner for a wide open 3-pointer with less than a second to play. Named Team MVP for the third straight season … Selected First Team VaSID All-State for the second straight season.

Junior Season (2013-14): Only the third W&M player to be selected to the All-CAA First Team … Only the second W&M player to named NABC All-District 10 First Team in back to back seasons …  Selected as the CAA Most Valuable Player by the Web site CollegeInsider.com … Became just the second First Team VaSID (Virginia Sports Information Directors) All-State pick in W&M history … Ranked fourth in the CAA and 58th nationally in scoring at 18.7 points per game … His 599 points on the season rank as the sixth-most in W&M history … Led the CAA and ranked 28th nationally in 3-pointer made at 93 on the year … Also ranked fourth in the league and 32nd nationally in 3-point percentage at 40.3 percent … Ranked seventh in the CAA in assists per game (2.8), steals per game (1.1) and minutes played (35.6), third in free throw percentage (77.9) and ninth in field goal percentage (43.5) … Twice named CAA Player of the Week … Scored a season-high 28 points in the Tribe’s win at Rutgers, knocking down 16-of-19 from the free throw line … His made and attempted free throw numbers at Rutgers were among the top 10 single-game performances in W&M history … Named CAA Player of the Week after scoring 26 points in a win over ODU and 25 points in a victory at Western Illinois … Garnered his second CAA Player of the Week honor and was named the ECAC Player of the Week after back to back 26-point efforts in wins over Drexel and College of Charleston … Averaged nearly 20 points per game in leading W&M to the CAA Championship game for the third time in seven years and was named to the CAA All-Tournament Team as a result … Scored 21 points in the Tribe’s semifinal win over Towson and followed it up with 22 in the title game against Delaware … Scored 20 or more points on 14 occasions in 2013-14 and produced double-digit scoring efforts in 29 of 32 contests … Dished out five or more assists on seven occasions, including a career-high tying six at Hampton (Nov. 8), vs. Goucher (Dec. 20) and at Western Illinois (Jan. 4) … His buzzer-beating 3-pointer in a 68-66 wins at Drexel on Jan. 25 was the No. 4 play on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 plays for the night … Scored his 1,000th career points with 18 against High Point on Nov. 20 …  Led W&M in scoring in all four games of the program’s international trip to the Dominican Republic and averaged a team-best 21.8 ppg, shooting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from 3-point range with 4.3 3-pointers per game … Scored a game-high 28 points against the Dominican Republic U17 National Team and followed it up with a 24-point outburst against the Senior National Team.

Sophomore Season (2012-13): Named Team MVP … Third W&M player to be named First-Team NABC All-District … Only the second W&M sophomore named Second-Team All-CAA selection … Named Second-Team VaSID All-State … Only Tribe player to start all 30 games, scoring the 11th-most points in school history (565) … Three-time CAA Player of the Week (11/12, 12/1, 2/18) … Scored in double figures in all 30 games … Led the CAA in 3-pointers made per game (3.1) and 3-pointer field goal percentage (.435) … Ranked second in the CAA in scoring (18.8), while ranking among the league leaders in assists (12th - 2.8), minutes played (2nd - 36.3), free throw percentage (3rd - .827) and field goal percentage (9th - .440) … Ended the year ranked 31st nationally in scoring, 10th in 3-pointers made per game, 16th in 3-point field goal percentage and 85th in free throw percentage … His 3-pointers made per game set a W&M school record … Scored 20-plus points in 14 games … Led all scorers with 25 points in the CAA Quarterfinals against James Madison (3/9) … Scored 20 of his career-high 32 points in the second half at Old Dominion (2/16) … Hit seven 3-pointers, the fourth-best single-game total in school history and was 11-of-12 from the free throw line at ODU … Tallied 25 points, including the final nine of the game, clinching the Tribe win over UNCW (2/13) … Scored 22 points at Delaware (1/30) and at James Madison (2/6) … Led the team with 16 points, including seven of W&M’s final 11 points, in a win over Towson (1/26) to go with a career-high six rebounds … Tallied 23 points, all after halftime, on 5-of-9 from 3-point range to go with a team-high five assists at Northeastern (1/23) … Knocked down a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left in the first OT to send it to a second against the Huskies … Tallied 24 points on six 3-pointers at Towson (1/9), while adding a career-high four steals … Knocked down two 3-pointers in the final 20 seconds of the first OT period to send the game to a second OT … Topped all scorers with 21 points at Purdue (12/29) and added a career-high six assists … Led W&M in scoring with 19 points at Radford, including the game-clinching free throws with 14.5 seconds remaining … Named CAA Player of the Week for the second time in 2012 after scoring a game-high 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range, in the CAA opening win over ODU (12/1) … Scored 17 of his game-high 22 in the second half and overtime at Richmond (11/28) … Led W&M with 17 points at Wake Forest (11/23) … Scored 21 points to go with a career-high five assists in the Tribe’s 83-61 win at High Point (11/17) … Named CAA co-Player of the Week on Nov. 12 after his performance 24-point performance against Hampton (11/9).

Freshman Season (2011-12): Started 14 of 32 games for W&M and ranked second on the team at 11.1 points per game, which ranked 23rd in the CAA ... Named to the CAA All-Rookie Team ... Twice named CAA Rookie of the Week (1/9 and 2/6) ... During league play, ranked 18th in scoring (11.9) and sixth in 3-point field goal percentage at 39.1 percent ... Led W&M with 13 points at Drexel (2/14) ... Scored 11 of his 14 points against Northeastern (2/11) in the opening half, including a 3-of-4 effort from 3-point range ... Pulled down a career-high six rebounds vs. Old Dominion (2/8) ... Tallied a career-high 28 points vs. VCU (2/1), scoring the most points for a W&M freshman since 2005 and the sixth-best total in school history ... Was incredibly efficient against the Rams, hitting on 10-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-6 from 3-point range ... Scored 18 points to lead W&M vs. Drexel (1/23) ... Topped the Tribe with 22 points and five rebounds at VCU (1/19) ... Hit 10-of-14 from the free throw line against the Rams ... Led W&M with 19 points and a team-best three assists vs. Delaware (1/7) ... Scored a game-high 23 points, including 15 in the first half, at Mason (1/2), hitting 4-of-6 from 3-point range ... Made first collegiate start at Miami (Ohio) (12/29) and scored 15 points on 6-of-10 form the floor and 2-of-3 from 3-point range ... Scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half at Miami ... Tallied 14 points on 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line vs. Wesley (12/15) ... Scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half in the victory at Liberty (11/20) ... Led W&M with 19 points and four assists off the bench against Liberty (11/14) in Williamsburg ... Keyed a 15-5 Tribe run to end the game with nine points as W&M closed a 13 point deficit to a single point in the final seconds and had a chance to tie at the buzzer against Liberty ... Scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half at Hampton (11/12) and led the Tribe with three assists.

Prep: One of the top scorers in the Washington, D.C. area ... Named Gatorade Maryland State Player of the Year as a senior, becoming the first Tribe signee to ever accomplish the feat ... Selected Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) and Gazette PG County Player of the Year ... Averaged 23.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game as a senior ...  Shot 49 percent from the field (137-of-282), 44 percent from 3-point range (121-of-276) and 84 percent (134-of-159) from the free throw line as a senior ... His senior scoring average, points scored (771) and 3-pointers made per all single-season school records, while his 134 free throws made ranked second ... Named to the 38th Annual Capital Classic All-Star Game and scored 15 points for the Capital All-Stars ... Played for Marty Keithline at Bishop McNamara ... A first-team All-WCAC, Washington Post All-Met and All-Prince George’s County ... Selected as the MVP of the 35th Great Florida Shootout in leading Bishop McNamara to the championship ... Selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the 51st annual Alhambra Catholic Invitational ... Named to the first team all-tournament as well as the event as he set tournament records for points scores in a tournament (78), points scored in a game (43) and most 3-pointers in a game (8) ... Scored a career-high and program record 43 points in his final game for Bishop McNamara in a victory over Bishop Walsh during the Alhambra Invitational ... Finished his career at Bishop McNamara averaging nearly 20 points per game and scoring 1,254 points, which ranks second in school history ... His career points per game average (19.9), 3-point field goal percent (43 percent) and 3-pointers made (161) are all McNamara school record ... A career 52 percent field goal shooter (280-of-549) and an 82 percent (211-of-258) free throw shooter ... As a junior named MVP of the Battle of the Beltway vs. Baltimore and in the DC Sports Fan Top Junior Game ... Averaged 17 points per game as a junior ... Earned honorable mention Washington Post All-Met as well as second-team all-area and All-WCAC as a junior ... Shot 42 percent from 3-point range in 2010 ... Named to a pair of all-tournament teams ... One of the most impressive scorers at the Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic, including a season-best 28 points in a win over Bishop Manogue of Nevada ... Led Bishop McNamara to the prestigious Rock Summer League title in 2010 for the first time since 1994 with 22 points in the championship game against DeMatha ... Named the PGSportsFan’s first annual ‘The Rock’ Finals MVP ... Selected as the Future’s All-Star MVP in the WCAC and Maryland high school junior all-star game ... Played AAU for D.C. Assault under the direction of Renard Phillips and Bruce Shingler ... Helped D.C. Assault finish third in the adidas 64 Tournament and second at the Desert Duel in 2010.

Personal: Volunteered as a tutor in high school in addition to donating his time on behalf of the Special Olympics as well as food and clothing drives for the needy ... His brother, Andre Brooks, played basketball at Bridgeport University ... The son of Wayne and Debra Thornton.

Marcus Thornton

Explosive Athletes Headline Tuesday's Workout

Pre-Draft Workouts: May 26, 2015

Marcus Thornton: 2015 Draft Prospect