Olivier Hanlan

Wheat Hotchkiss

The Pacers hosted six prospects at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Monday for the first pre-draft workout open to the media. Head coach Frank Vogel and assistants Nate McMillan, Dan Burke, and Popeye Jones led the players through the workout, which featured agility drills and closed with some three-on-three work.

The Pacers still don't know where they're picking in the draft, which will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25. The exact draft order will be determined tomorrow night at the NBA Draft Lottery. Indiana is currently slotted to have the 11th pick in the first round with a 2.9-percent chance of jumping into the top three. The Blue & Gold will also have either the 42nd or 43rd overall selection in the second round.

PHOTO GALLERY: Monday's Pre-Draft Workout »

Monday's workout featured four talented scoring guards and a pair of athletic big men, all ranked among the top 55 prospects in the latest mock draft from Draft Express. Murray State's Cameron Payne and Notre Dame's Jerian Grant, both point guards, are currently projected to go in the first round of the draft. Draft Express projects the other four players, guards Olivier Hanlon (Boston College) and Joseph Young (Oregon) and forwards Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse) and Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green), to be picked in the second round.

I had the chance to interview all six prospects for Pacers.com (you can watch the interviews in the player above). Below are a few notes on each player.

Christmas had a breakout performance at last weekend's NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. He measured out at nearly 6-foot-10 in shoes with a frighteningly long 7-foot-5 wingspan. But Christmas really turned heads with his play on the court.

Christmas dominated in five-on-five games on Thursday, scoring 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and collecting six rebounds in 29 minutes of action. The next day, he tallied another 19 points and six boards in 26 minutes. Those two performances have sent his stock soaring.

"I was just out there having fun and playing my game," Christmas said. "I mean, it was a great experience. Not a lot of people get to go out there and play. So, I just went out there and everything was falling for me."

Christmas was a late bloomer at Syracuse. Though he played a significant role for the Orange as an energetic shot-blocker and rebounder in his first three years on campus, Christmas took on a much heavier scoring load as a senior. His scoring average rocketed from 5.8 points per game as a junior to 17.5 in his final year collegiate season.

An explosive athlete, Christmas has always had the raw talent to succeed at the next level. The consummate teammate, he was content to play a supporting role on loaded Syracuse teams that featured several players currently in the NBA (Michael Carter-Williams, Dion Waiters, Tyler Ennis, and Jerami Grant). But over the past year (and especially the past week), Christmas has shown that he's also comfortable in the spotlight.

It's been a whirlwind week for Grant. He traveled to Chicago last week for the combine, then headed back to South Bend yesterday to attend his Notre Dame graduation before heading back down to Indianapolis.

In Chicago, Grant measured out at a little over 6-foot-4 in shoes, good size for a pure point guard. Grant uses that size well on the offensive. He's an excellent passer and rarely turns the ball over. Over his career at Notre Dame, he showed great improvement at finishing around the basket (he shot 57-percent from inside the 3-point arc as a senior).

The biggest knock on Grant is his outside shot. He shot a pedestrian 31.6-percent from 3-point range last season, and is well aware that he needs to demonstrate an improved stroke at the next level, saying that's an area where he hopes to display "more consistency" over the next month.

"I think knocking down shots at a high clip is something that I’m definitely going to need to use in this league," Grant said.

Still, Grant's polished point guard skills have him currently projected as a mid-first round pick (ESPN.com's Chad Ford currently ranks Grant as the 17th-best prospect in the draft).

As he goes through this process, Grant can lean on several people in his inner circle who know what he's going through. Grant's father, Harvey, played 11 years in the NBA. His uncle, Horace, was in the league for 17 seasons. Jerian's younger brother, Jerami, just finished his rookie year with the Philadelphia 76ers. And at DeMatha Catholic High School just outside of D.C., Jerian Grant was high school teammates with former Indiana University All-American and current Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo, who he texts with "almost every day."

"He's just talking me through it, wishing me luck, telling me what to expect, and to really just go out there and compete and play as hard as you can and you know, that'll stand out," Grant said.

Jerian Grant faced a lot of great players over his career at Notre Dame, but he said the toughest player for him to guard was Olivier Hanlan. Hanlan, a 22-year-old Canadian combo guard, proved himself as an elite scorer in his three seasons at Boston College.

He averaged over 15 points and 34 minutes per game in all three years with the Eagles, boasting career-best averages of 19.5 points and 4.2 assists as a junior before electing to turn pro. Hanlan played primarily at the shooting guard position in his first two years at BC, but moved back to point guard (his natural position) as a junior after a coaching change.

"It was great having the ball a lot more and different reads, playing a lot off the ball screen, a lot of ball screen looks and making plays for my teammates," Hanlan said. "I really improved a lot when it came to that aspect of the game."

Hanlan can more than hold his own on the court, but he apparently made a lasting impression off the court on several teams at last week's combine. Just look at this tweet from venerated NBA scribe Adrian Wojnarowski:

"I was just being myself to be honest," Hanlan said of the interview process. "I had some great conversations with many different teams. Everybody's kind of stressed out at first, you're not used to meeting with NBA teams but I enjoyed it, I had good times, a lot of laughs."

Holmes was the most anonymous player at Monday's workout, largely a reflection of playing in the MAC as opposed to a high-major conference. But he's been making a significant impression on scouts over the past month.

The 6-foot-9 forward has attended both the draft combine and the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (a pre-draft camp for the top college seniors in the country) in recent weeks. At both events, Holmes showcased an elite athleticism that should allow him to be at minimum a strong rebounding and shot-blocking specialist at the professional level.

If he wants to stick in the NBA, Holmes might want to demonstrate an added dimension to his game. One area where he has shown promise is with his shooting stroke. He took a little over one 3-pointer per game as a senior at Bowling Green and connected on 42 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Holmes is actively working to continue developing his shot to adapt to the longer NBA 3-point line.

"I definitely think that’s something I can do," Holmes said. "I have the capability to do that and I'm working on it as we speak to become that pick-and-pop guy spacing the floor."

Holmes had a mini-reunion of sorts on Monday with Pacers forward Shayne Whittington, who just finished his rookie year with Indiana. Holmes and Whittington had several memorable battles in the post when Whittington was at Western Michigan, another MAC school.

Whittington was at Bankers Life Fieldhouse during Monday's workout and took some time to catch up with his old college rival.

"Shayne is an incredible player," Holmes said. "Back at Western Michigan, I always enjoyed competing against him. So I'm glad he's doing well."

Payne is sky-rocketing up mock draft boards, jumping up to 11th (coincidentally where the Pacers are currently projected to pick) on Chad Ford's latest prospect rankings.

Pacers.com's Mark Montieth chronicled Payne's journey from receiving little attention coming out of high school to emerging as a media darling.

Whether he's a good fit for the Pacers on the court remains to be seen, but I can promise that no one in the local media will complain if Payne ends up in Indiana. The play-making point guard was a great quote with an outgoing personality, staying late for several one-on-one interviews.

"It's great to finally be noticed, but it just builds my confidence and makes me go harder," Payne said about all the attention he's receiving, before tacking on another sentence with a mix of sincerity and humor. "So I really appreciate everyone looking at me and starting to realize Cameron Payne is actually a good player."

Payne was also excited to get to interact with Pacers assistant Popeye Jones, who starred at Murray State from 1989-92. The two former Racers immediately bonded.

"He definitely was down here helping me on the defensive end and coaching me up," Payne said. "Murray State, we stay strong, so I really appreciate him being here and helping me out."

Young might have been the most gifted scorer at Monday's workout. The 6-foot-2 combo guard averaged 18 points per game or better in each of his final three collegiate seasons, and shot better than 41 percent from 3-point range as both a sophomore and a junior.

The biggest question mark surrounding Young is what position he can play at the next level. He played almost exclusively at shooting guard in college, both at Houston (where he spent two seasons before transferring) and Oregon. But Young is a little too small to play at the 2 at the next level, so he's hoping to show NBA teams that he's able to make the transition over to point guard.

"I’m versatile and a scorer," Young said. "(But also) I can distribute and be a good leader."

There's no better evidence of Young's leadership than what he did early in his senior year at Oregon. The Ducks got off to an up-and-down start, dropping three of their first eight games. So Young took it upon himself to organize early morning meetings with the freshmen on the Duck's roster.

For two straight weeks, Young met the freshmen every morning at 8:00 a.m. for what he called "Joe's Chalk Talk," where they went over plays and discussed what they needed to do to get better.

Those "Chalk Talks" paid off. The Ducks reached the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round, where they held their own against top-seeded Wisconsin (Young scored 30 points in the loss to the Badgers). Young was named Pac-12 Player of the Year.

But despite the accolades he's received, Young feels like he's still being underestimated by scouts who might dismiss him as too small or not a true point guard.

"I've been overlooked all my life and I just continue to work," Young said. "All it does is it fuels me as a person and it helps my character."

scoring-guards-athletic-bigs-on-display-at-mondays-workout

Scoring Guards, Athletic Bigs On Display at Monday's Workout

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Height: 6-4
Weight: 188
Position: PG/SG
College: Boston College
Age: 22

PPG: 19.5
RPG: 4.2
APG: 4.2
BLK: 0.0
STL: 1.3

Player BioCourtesy of Boston College Athletics

NOTES
Became the fifth Boston College player to earn First Team All-ACC accolades and the first since Reggie Jackson in 2011 … ranks 12th all-time at Boston College in scoring (1,725) and ninth in 3-pointers made (176) ... became the third player in Boston College history and the 29th player in ACC history to reach 1,000 points as a sophomore … Troy Bell and Craig Smith were the other Eagles to accomplish that feat.

AS A JUNIOR
One of five players to appear in all 32 games and made 31 starts … averaged 19.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game; averaged 21.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in ACC action … All-ACC First Team selection by both the media and coaches … earned honorable mention All-America accolades from the Associated Press … led the ACC in scoring and minutes played (37.62) … ranked seventh in 3-point percentage (.353), eighth in field goal percentage (.454), eighth in 3-pointers made (2.03) and 10th in assists (4.22) … during conference play, he led the ACC in scoring (21.9) and 3-point percentage (.436), and ranked third in 3-pointers made (2.83), fifth in free throw percentage (.810), sixth in field goal percentage (.483), and 10th in assists (4.00) … led the ACC in 30-point games (4) and was second in 20-point games (12) … ranked 11th in the country in minutes and 22nd in scoring … led all players in major conferences in scoring average during conference play … scored in double figures in all but one game … dominated the month of February (eight games) by averaging 27.5 points, shooting .539 from the field, .460 from beyond the arc and .886 from the foul line … had four 30-point games in that stretch … scored a season-high 39 points at Pittsburgh (2/24), going 10-for-20 from the floor and hitting all 14 of his free throws … it was the most points scored in the ACC that season … recorded 32 points in consecutive games against Miami (2/16) and at Florida State (2/18) … also had eight rebounds against the Hurricanes … tallied 30 points and five assists vs. North Carolina (2/7) … scored 28 points and went 6-for-9 from 3-point land at Notre Dame (2/4) … recorded 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the ACC Championship against Georgia Tech (3/10) … hit a game-winning pull up jumper with 12 seconds left … notched 25 points and seven boards at Georgia Tech (1/25) … registered 24 points and eight rebounds vs. NC State (2/28) … had 24 points and eight rebounds against Providence (12/5) … scored 22 points at Duke (1/3) and 23 against West Virginia (11/21) in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off … also had 20 points and six assists the previous day against New Mexico (11/20) … had a career-high nine assists in games against Louisville (1/28) and Marist (12/1) … recorded 15 points and eight assists against USC (12/21) … notched 17 points and eight assists against Harvard (1/14) … posted 18 points and six assists against Pittsburgh (1/6).

AS A SOPHOMORE
One of three players to appear in all 31 games and made 31 starts ... averaged 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game; averaged 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists in ACC action ... All-ACC Third Team selection by both the media and coaches ... led the Eagles in points, free throw percentage (.811), steals (25) and minutes (36.2) ... ranked second in assists (93) ... ranked third in the ACC in points, fourth in minutes, sixth in free throw percentage and seventh in field goal percentage (.447) ... in ACC games, he was second in scoring, fourth in field goal percentage (.460), sixth in minutes (36.4) and seventh in free throw percentage (818) ... ranked second in the ACC in free throw attempts per game (7.2) and fourth in 20-point games (12) ... scored in double figures in all but two games ... scored a season-high 38 points against Florida Atlantic (11/17), going 11-for-19 from the floor and 12-for-14 from the foul line; it was the third-most points scored in the ACC this season ... recorded 29 points and five assists at NC State (3/9) ... scored 28 points at Auburn (12/22) ... recorded 27 points and five boards against Clemson (1/4) ... tallied 26 points, five rebounds and a career-high eight assists against Maryland (12/12) ... went 15-for-16 from the free throw line against the Terps which was the most free throws made in the ACC this year ... scored 25 points against Duke (2/8) and Pittsburgh (2/26) ... had 19 points, five rebounds and four assists vs. Connecticut (11/21) ... scored 23 points in the season-opener at Providence (11/8) and 21 points at Georgia Tech (2/13) ... scored 20 points in games against Washington (11/22), Syracuse (2/19) and Florida State (3/4) ... registered 18 points, six assists and four rebounds against Toledo (11/14) ... scored 19 points in games against Massachusetts (11/10) and Georgia Tech (1/21).

AS A FRESHMAN
One of two players to start all 33 games ... averaged 15.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game; averaged 15.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in ACC action ... named ACC Freshman of the Year by both the coaches and the media ... became the first BC player since Troy Bell in 2000 to earn conference freshman of the year honors ... the only unanimous choice for both ACC all-freshman teams ... earned All-ACC honorable mention recognition from the ACSMA ... the only freshman to rank in the top six in points, rebounds and assists among the rookie class ... named ACC Rookie of the Week a league-best four times ... an All-ACC Tournament second team selection ... ranked fifth in the ACC in scoring and sixth in minutes (34.2) ... ranked sixth in conference play in scoring, eighth in steals (1.2), and 10th in field goal percentage (.463), free throw percentage (.750) and minutes (34.3) ... led BC in scoring and steals (38), and was second in assists (75) ... scored in double figures in all but five games ... set the ACC freshman single game scoring record with 41 points against Georgia Tech (3/14) in the first round of the ACC Tournament ... went 14-for-18 from the field, 8-for-10 from beyond the arc and 5-for-6 from the foul line in the game ... also had three steals and five rebounds ... the previous freshman scoring record was 40 points by Harrison Barnes and Tyler Hansbrough ... hit his last 12 shots from the field ... his eight 3-pointers tied Mark Price's ACC Tournament record ... had 26 points and seven rebounds vs. Maryland (2/19) ... recorded 24 points, five boards and three assists at Clemson (3/5) ... notched 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals against North Carolina (1/29) ... had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists at Penn State (11/28) ... recorded first collegiate double-double with 17 points and 12 boards vs. Providence (12/22) ... scored 20 points against Duke (2/10) ... had 19 points in games at Florida State (2/16), against Bryant (11/25) and against Auburn (11/21) ... tallied 18 points at Maryland (1/22) and Wake Forest (1/12) ... also had seven rebounds against the Terrapins ... scored 17 points against Miami (1/16) and at Virginia Tech (1/9) ... also recorded eight rebounds, five steals and four assists against the Hokies.

HIGH SCHOOL
Transferred to New Hampton School (from Canada) for his Junior and Senior year ... Earned 1st team all-NEPSAC AAA team honors as a Senior ... averaged 17 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds a game leading his 15th ranked team in the country to a 26-9 record in the NEPSAC AAA League ... Part of the Canadian U19 National team that competed in Latvia for the 2011 FIBA World Championships ... Also Part of the Canadian U17 National team that finished 3rd in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Germany, led team in scoring in bronze medal game with 15 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds vs. Lithuania ... Tournament MVP of Canadian National Championship in 2010, Scoring 30 in the finals ... Played under Dave Smart in the Ottawa Guardsmen AAU Club since age 15 ... Also played in the Albany City Rocks AAU program.

PERSONAL
Enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences ... Olivier is the third youngest of Daniele and Henry's four children; has an older brother, Dominique and two sisters, Tatiana and Chloé.

olivier-hanlan-2015-draft-prospect

Olivier Hanlan: 2015 Draft Prospect

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The Indiana Pacers will host six prospects for the 2015 NBA Draft at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Monday for pre-draft workouts.

The six players scheduled to participate in workouts are Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green), Cameron Payne (Murray State), Joseph Young (Oregon). Players are subject to change.

The 2015 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday, June 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Pacers own two picks in this year's draft, one pick in both the first and second rounds (exact pick order will be determined at the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday, May 19).

Olivier Hanlan

Scoring Guards, Athletic Bigs On Display at Monday's Workout

Olivier Hanlan: 2015 Draft Prospect

Pacers to Host Six Prospects for Pre-Draft Workouts on Monday