Rakeem Christmas

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: 6-9
Weight: 226
Position: PF/C
College: Syracuse
Age: 23

PPG: 17.5
RPG: 9.1
APG: 1.5
BLK: 2.5
STL: 0.9

Senior Year: Christmas opened the season with 21 points, leading the team in scoring against KENNESAW STATE ... He also recorded nine rebounds in the game ... He led the team in scoring (15 points) and rebounding (16 boards) when the Orange defeated HAMPTON ... Against CALIFORNIA in the 2K Classic, Christmas totaled eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks for the Orange ... In the victory at Madison Square Garden against IOWA, he was 7-of-11 from the field and scored ... Christmas lead the team with 18 points in the home victory over LOYOLA, recorded 9 rebounds, and 6 blocks ... Against HOLY CROSS, he posted 25 points, going 8 for 10 at field goal range and 9 for 10 at the line. Christmas also recorded 8 rebounds and 3 blocks ... Christmas scored 15 points and recorded 6 rebounds and 2 blocks against MICHIGAN ... Christmas led the team with 15 points and 15 rebounds against ST. JOHN'S. He also had three blocks and three assists ... Christmas recorded 13 points with two blocks and three assists against LOUISIANA TECH ... Christmas scored 18 points and 5 rebounds against VILLANOVA ... He totaled 16 points and recorded 11 rebounds against COLGATE ... Christmas recorded 24 points with 10 rebounds against LONG BEACH STATE ... Christmas led the team with 19 points and 9 rebounds against CORNELL ... He also recorded 17 points with 9 rebounds against VIRGINIA TECH .. Led the team with 18 points at GEORGIA TECH ... Against FLORIDA STATE Christmas recorded his sixth-career double double and fifth of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds ... Was 13-for-21 from the field and 9-for-12 from the free throw line for a career-high 35 points against WAKE FOREST ... Posted 21 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh-career double double and sixth of the season against CLEMSON ... Led the Orange in scoring with 23 points against MIAMI ... Christmas recorded a double double with 22 points and 12 rebounds against NORTH CAROLINA ... Recorded 23 points and 6 blocks in loss at PITTSBURGH ... Against DUKE, Christmas recorded 6 rebounds, 5 blocks and 5 assists ... In the home victory against #12 LOUISVILLE, Christmas tallied 29 points, 4 blocks and 8 rebounds going 9-for-10 from the field and 11-for-13 from the free throw line ... He recorded 20 points and 12 rebounds against PITTSBURGH ... In the victory over NOTRE DAME, Christmas scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, reaching the 1,000-point milestone ... He ended his career with his 12th double-double of the season scoring 15 points and 12 rebounds at NC STATE ... Christmas started every game this season ... Ranks third for a Points Scored in a single game by a Syracuse Center .. Ranks 5th on the list for points scored in a season by a Syracuse Center ... Tied for 6thfor games played by a Syracuse Orange ... Ranks 8th for blocked shots by a Syracuse player ... USA Today Second Team All-American .. Voted Thrid Team All American by Sporting News ... Recognized twice as ACC Player of the week ... Voted ACC Most Improved Player, Co-Defensive Player of the Year, First Team and All Defensive Team ... Voted District II Player of the Year and All District II by the US Basketball Writers Association ... Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I Metro/Upstate NY Player of the Week ... Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association Most Improved Player, First Team and ACC All- Defensive Team ... Nominated for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award  ... One of 14 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy ... One of 15 finalist fot he Wooden Award ... One of 25 candidates on the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award.

Junior Year: Christmas started every game for the second straight season … He finished fourth in the ACC in blocked-shot average (1.94) … His free-throw percentage drastically improved from a .574 mark his sophomore year to .726 as a junior … He opened the season with 12 points in a victory against CORNELL ... He grabbed seven rebounds in 15 minutes of play in a home victory against COLGATE ...  Christmas tied his career high with 15 points against EASTERN MICHIGAN ... He recorded a block and three rebounds in the final two minutes to help SU defeat MIAMI in its ACC opener. He finished with a team-high seven rebounds ... Christmas was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line for 10 points against PITTSBURGH ... He recorded six blocks and pulled down 10 rebounds in the overtime matchup against DUKE ... He played a season-high 35 minutes in a road-game pairing against PITTSBURGH ... Christmas posted a career-high 12 rebounds and seven blocks, to go with 14 points, against NC STATE … He had 11 boards the next time out, versus BOSTON COLLEGE.

2013 Four Nation’s Cup: He was part of a 12-member squad of collegiate players who competed in the Four Nation’s Cup in Estonia … The group was coached by Guy Rancourt, the men’s basketball mentor at Lycoming … The “East Coast All-Stars” finished third in the event.

Sophomore Year: Christmas was in the starting lineup for all 40 games, a school record … Christmas started off the season with five blocked shots, a season-best, against SAN DIEGO STATE ...He was 5-for-6 from the field and finished with 10 points against PRINCETON ...Christmas hit 4-of-5 from the field and was 2-for-2 from the free throw line for 10 points against COLGATE ...He tied what was his career high with five offensive rebounds and recorded a carrer-best two steals against EASTERN MICHIGAN ...Christmas was 4-of-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line for 11 points against LONG BEACH STATE ...He posted 11 points and 4 blocks against MONMOUTH ... Christmas reached double figures in scoring for the third straight game with 10 points against CANISIUS ... Christmas came up with eight rebounds against DETROIT... Against CENTRAL CONNECTICUT, Christmas pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds and added four blocks... Christmas was 6-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free throw line for a career-high 15 points at PROVIDENCE... He tied his season high with 10 rebounds at VILLANOVA, which included what was a career-high eight on the defensive end ... Christmas was one of three players to reach double figures in scoring with 12 points against NOTRE DAME ... He scored nine points and tallied five rebounds against MONTANA in the first round of NCAA Tournament.

Freshman Year: He started 35-of-37 games during his rookie season ... Christmas scored five points and grabbed six rebounds against FORDHAM ... He tallied nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from the floor against ALBANY ... Christmas had nine points against COLGATE and grabbed eight rebounds ... He scored a season-best 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting against BUCKNELL ... Christmas accumulated eight points, five rebounds, and two blocks against PROVIDENCE in the Dome ... In 27 minutes of action versus CINCINNATI, Christmas scored four points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked three shots and added two assists ... He contributed six points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots against UNC-ASHEVILLE in his first NCAA Tournament appearance ... In a season-high 34 minutes versus Kansas State, Christmas tallied eight points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

2011 Nike Hoop Summit: Christmas was one of 10 players selected for the 2011 USA Junior National Select Team … The squad, coached by Montverde Academy’s Kevin Sutton, played against a World Select Team made up of international players 19-years old or younger … Team USA won the matchup played at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore., 92-80 … Christmas contributed two points, four rebounds, an assist, two blocks and a steal in 17 minutes of action.

Academy of the New Church (Pa.): He was rated 19th overall and second among centers in the 2011 ESPNU Top 100 … Scout.com had Christmas as the number-one rated center and 19th overall … Rivals.com listed him second among centers and 27th overall … Christmas transferred to the Academy of the New Church (Pa.) prior to his junior season … In 2009-10, the Lions were 13-9 and advanced to the PAISAA State Basketball semifinals … According to MaxPreps.com, he averaged 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game … In the Tip Off Classic at West Chester, Christmas had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks in a win against Archbishop Carroll … The Lions defeated Germantown Academy, 59-54, and Christmas had 20 points and 16 rebounds … In the Big Apple Classic, he contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds in a 85-70 win against Impact Academy (Nev.) … The Lions defeated Imhotep Charter in the Kobe Bryant Classic, 62-54, and Christmas contributed 21 points, 12 boards and four blocks … His fifth double-double of the campaign came in an 88-48 win at Shipley when he tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds … In the Friends Schools League Semifinals, Christmas had 22 points and seven rebounds but the Lions lost to Friends Central, 71-64 …Following his junior campaign, he attended the LeBron James Skills Academy … In August 2010 he participated in the Nike Global Challenge and in the fifth annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 … Academy of the New Church was 21-6 in 2010-11 … The Lions lost in the finals of the Friends School League Championship to Friends Central, 52-48 … The team lost in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Tournament Semifinals to Malvern Prep, 28-26 … Christmas averaged 11.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.9 blocks, according to espn.com … He was the Pennsylvania Class A Player of the Year … He had 15 points and 11 rebounds when the Lions defeated Solebury, 66-50 … In the next outing, a 76-58 win at Life Center Academy, he had eight points, 19 rebounds and five blocks … Christmas helped the Lions defeat St. Mark’s, 65-41, by tallying 17 points and 14 rebounds … He had a season-high 23 points and 15 rebounds in a 71-63 loss to South Kent School at the Kobe Bryant Classic … In the Primetime Shootout, the Lions defeated Hun, 69-53, as Christmas had 20 points … He posted three straight double-doubles: 12 points and 10 rebounds against Shipley School (W, 68-47), 12 points and 11 rebounds versus Phelps (W, 69-47), and 12 points and 20 boards against Abington Friends in the Friends School League Semifinals (W, 54-51) … A McDonald’s All-American, Christmas played with new SU teammate Michael Carter-Williams on the East Team in the 2011 McDonald’s game … The East defeated the West, 111-96 … He had two points and three rebounds … Christmas had 12 points and seven rebounds in the 2011 Jordan Brand Classic game.

North Catholic High School: He started his scholastic career at North Catholic High School where he was coached by David Long … In 2008-09, the Trojans reached the Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association Championship game.

Personal: Rakeem Maleek Christmas was born in December 1991 … He is the son of Ronald Christmas and Landra Jenny Hamid …He grew up in St. Croix … Christmas has earned a bachelor of science degree in communications and rhetorical study … He now embarks on a master’s degree from the School of Education Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation.

rakeem-christmas-2015-draft-prospect

Rakeem Christmas: 2015 Draft Prospect

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).

Rakeem Christmas

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

Rakeem Christmas: 2015 Draft Prospect

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