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DOUBLE-DOUBLE MAN JACKIE CARMICHAEL WORKS OUT WITH CLIPPERS

With a week remaining before the 2013 NBA Draft, the Clippers wrapped up their sixth prospect workout Thursday morning at their Playa Vista training center.

The group consisted of E.J. Singler (Oregon), who is the younger brother of Pistons forward Kyle Singler, Carrick Felix (Arizona State), Alex Oriakhi (Missouri) and athletic power forward Jackie Carmichael (Illinois State).

“I thought it (the workout) went great,” Carmichael said. “We got up and down and got up a ton of shots.”

Carmichael is widely considered the highest rated prospect among the group, rated in the top 40 by Draft Express and No. 42 by ESPN Insider Chad Ford. He nearly averaged a double-double his final two seasons at Illinois State and at 6-foot-9, 241 pounds, already possesses an NBA physique.

The workout process has offered an opportunity for Carmichael, much like other big men the Clippers have brought in recently, to show he has a game outside of the post. He made several 15-17 foot jumpers on Thursday and said his effectiveness from the perimeter at times went unnoticed in college.

“That really wasn’t my role,” Carmichael said. “My role was to go down low and do the dirty work and get us easy baskets. I think the more I work out for teams, I think they’ll see that I have more of a perimeter game and I can shoot the ball really well. It’s just in college that wasn’t really my role.”

Carmichael does the little things, too. He compared himself to Nuggets forward and former NCAA rebounding champion Kenneth Faried, saying he envisions himself as “a guy who rebounds, plays with a high motor and brings a lot of energy.”

“I’m just going to work the hardest when I get on the floor,” he added.

That work paid off at Illinois State. A Manhattan, Kansas native, Carmichael dreamt of staying home and attending Kansas State, but it did not work out as planned. Instead he wound up in Normal, Illinois, where he improved his points per game averages in each of his four seasons and became a force in the paint as a senior, blocking 2.1 shots per game in addition to his 9.3 boards.

“Each year I worked on different things to get myself to be an elite basketball player,” Carmichael said. “I think every year I pushed through that and still think I have a long way to go as far as developing as a player and becoming a professional. But I think every year I made a lot of progress.

“I feel like I still have a lot of upside and a lot of learning to learn at this level and I feel like that is attractive to teams.”

Day 6 - June 20, 2013