Good afternoon/evening/night from the NBA Combine in Chicago, the Emerald City.
If you missed Day 1 of our observations and notes, well, shame on you. But you can catch up here.
Here are some tidbits from the second and final day of the combine.
Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette, Freshman
Ellenson, a Rice Lake, Wis. native (about a two hour drive to Minneapolis), is projected to be a top-10 pick. The Wolves have a top-10 pick and Ellenson would fit a position of need for the Wolves.
He’s not doing anything on the court for teams, but is taking meetings. He has indeed met with the Wolves.
“It was good,” Ellenson said on the meeting. “... I could see a good fit with that young group. Karl-Anthony Towns is obviously a talent and they’ve got young guards, obviously Andrew Wiggins. It depends how it all goes.”
At 6’11” 240 pounds, Ellenson is a big guy in the post, but he also hit 30 3-pointers in 33 games, so the potential for him to space the floor is there.
Wayne Selden, SG, Kansas, Junior
Selden is not participating in any on-court drills with teams after undergoing a minor surgery on his knee.
He did have some interesting things about former teammate Joel Embiid and his situation in Philadelphia, though.
“Joel is young,” Selden said.
It’s worth noting that Selden is a year younger than Joel.
“He never really had to face any adversity, so it was kind of tough on him at first,” Selden continued. “He’s doing all the things from my knowledge to get to the next level.”
Selden is projected as a mid second-round pick.
Caris LeVert, PG/SG, Michigan, Senior
LeVert is also not doing any on-court action with teams due to a foot fracture.
He said that’s been the main focus of his interviews.
“It’s been a lot about the medical,” LeVert said. “Probably the first half of every interview has been about the foot.”
With that foot causing him problems in college, it’s no secret why teams are concerned. He’s projected as a mid second-round pick.
Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah, Sophomore
Poeltl, a true seven footer, is projected as a top-10 pick after two very impressive seasons at Utah.
He said he’s talked with “13 or 14” teams so far, the Wolves being among those teams.
“I did meet with the Timberwolves,” Poeltl said. “It was my second day. It was, like I said, all the interviews are all about my background, how I got to basketball. That was the main deal with them, too. (Also) getting to know their new coach."
Like Ellenson, Poeltl fits a position need for the Wolves and is projected to go right around where the Wolves pick. Poeltl said that his main objective after college has been working on expanding his range.
Stephen Zimmerman, C, UNLV, Freshman
Zimmerman is an undersized big man who is hearing he needs to get bigger, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. He’s listed at 240 pounds, but it’s a very skinny 240 pounds for a seven footer.
Brice Johnson, PF, North Carolina, Senior
Johnson’s main obstacle, according to him is trying to convince teams that he’s not lazy. He thinks he’s done enough throughout the last season of college and he doesn’t think that is an appropriate label for him.
“Probably people saying I’m lazy and stuff, trying to get them to see that I’m not,” Johnson said. “I’m not lazy, I’m just a laid-back type of guy.”
He did show off some sense of humor when it came to his wardrobe on draft night.
“I’ll to talk to my stylist, AKA my girlfriend.”
Johnson said that he’s met with Phoenix, Charlotte, Los Angeles (Lakers), Houston, Denver, Minnesota, San Antonio, Golden State and Milwaukee so far. Johnson is being pegged as a mid to late first-round pick.
Diamond Stone, PF/C, Maryland, Freshman
Stone has been hitting the gym and hitting it hard. He said going off on your own after college has been very different.
“It’s actually really different because you’re all by yourself,” Stone said. “You gotta wake up on time… It’s hard work. I work out four times a day.”
Stone is also being pegged as a mid to late first-round pick.
Thon Maker, PF/C, Australia, HS/S
The mystery man. We’ll have a more in-depth feature on Maker soon, but the big takeaway is that he claims to have gained 27 “good pounds” over the last 15 months. He still looks a bit skinny, but at 7’1”, it’s a tough frame to fill.
That’s all for today. Tomorrow, we’ll have another prospect profile for you.