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Brown lights up Chicagoposted: Thursday, May 18, 2006 | Feedback

Michigan State guard Shannon Brown worked out for roughly 15 NBA teams in Chicago on Thursday and lit up the gym according to NBA sources inside the gym.

One NBA GM and two NBA scouts told Insider that Brown was "phenomenal."

"His athleticism is off the charts," one scout told Insider. "He has that rare combination of athleticism and power that's usually only reserved for power forwards like Amare Stoudemire. He was amazing."

The NBA people Insider spoke with said Brown, who worked out along with Arizona's Mustafa Shakur, Illinois' James Augustine and Wyoming's Justin Williams also shot the ball extremely well.

One scout said he was impressed with another physical feature of Brown. When he shook hands with Brown after the workout, he was stunned with how big his hands were.

"They were like catcher's mitts," the scout said. "I'm not sure I've ever seen bigger hands on a guard his size. That will help him tremendously in the league."

Scouts also said Brown impressed with his energy on both ends of the floor.

"Every drill he ran had a zip to it," the GM said. "As a team evaluating a player for the draft, that's exactly the type of effort you want to see from a kid. He laid it all out there. There's no question about what type of worker he is."

Everyone agreed that the workout should significantly help Brown's draft stock with one scout and GM saying that the late lottery is not out of the question. The other scout said he'd rank him in the mid first round.

Brown is still keeping his options open for returning to school by not hiring an agent, but word from Chicago is that Brown may enter officially soon based on the positive feedback he's hearing from teams.

Brown wasn't the only one who was impressive. Scouts like what they saw from Augustine. He's long, athletic and showed a nice mid-range jumper in the workout. While they all complained that he didn't spend enough time in the post against Williams, all of them walked away with a positive impression and said he'd definitely get a team workout from them.

There were three other workouts that went down in Chicago with less heralded prospects.

In the first, scouts had some positive words for Maryland's Nik Caner-Medley.

"He's a little more athletic than I thought," one scout said. "It looks like he's trimmed down a bit which has helped with his quickness. I think he's definitely a guy who could make a roster."

In the third session UConn's Denham Brown, Bradley's Marcellus Sommerville, Louisville's Taquan Dean and Iowa State's Will Blalock went at it.

Scouts said that surprisingly, it was Sommerville who stood out the most. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward was a power forward in college and is making the transition to the small forward in the pros. Scouts loved his body and defense in the workout.

Scouts also thought that Denham Brown had good size and showed his ability to score and Blaylock was explosive.

In the final workout UConn's Josh Boone and Robert Morris' Reggie George squared off. According to the three NBA people we spoke with, all were unimpressed. While Boone shot the ball OK, the workout was mostly a series of scripted jumpers. There was very little one-on-one action and one scout said that Boone "sleepwalked" through the workout.

Boone has been contemplating leaving UConn for good, however the lackluster feedback he got from scouts may make him reconsider. He may be better off returning to UConn for his senior season and showing scouts that he still has the desire to be a dominant player. No one questions his talent or athleticism, but his lack of drive and consistency have been troubling.


Jazz audition shooting guardsposted: Thursday, May 18, 2006 | Feedback

The Utah Jazz barely missed the playoffs this season. With a healthy Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer, combined with a more experienced Deron Williams running the point, the Jazz should be able take the next step into the playoffs next year.

It's no secret that the Jazz need to add a two-guard to the mix, and they did little to hide it in their first series of draft workouts on Tuesday.

Michigan State's Maurice Ager, Temple's Mardy Collins, Arizona's Hassan Adams and Cincinnati's James White were in Salt Lake City auditioning for the Jazz's open two spot.

A spy inside the gym breaks down how they did:

Ager: He showed that he had deep range on his jumper -- "he shoots it easy from NBA range." He also showed excellent speed in the open court and good athleticism. Most importantly, he showed great intensity, and the team thought he was a great kid.

However, that's where the praise ends. The source said Ager was a little stiff, struggled handling the ball, had short arms and wasn't as quick as they thought.

Collins: The spy thought that Collins, more than any of the other players in the gym, showed a great feel for the game -- "he understands angles and knows how to get to the basket." Collins measured even bigger and longer than the team thought.

The knock on Collins is no real surprise. He struggled shooting and isn't nearly the athlete that Ager, Adams and White are.

Adams: He showed his trademark athletic explosiveness and toughness in the workout. But the spy said that they were fairly disappointed with his overall feel for the game. Adams also struggled shooting the ball ... something he struggled with all year.

White: He might be one of the real sleepers in the draft. White has knockout athleticism and has developed a great feel for the game on the defensive end. He also improved his shot, which showed in his workout with Utah. Though he doesn't have the stroke of Ager, he knocked down more jumpers than he missed.

White's ability to slash to the basket and play defense could be an attractive fit for the Jazz -- in the second round.

Of course, this was just the first series of workouts to be conducted by the Jazz.

In late May, two of the best two guards in the draft, J.J. Redick and Randy Foye, will work out for the Jazz. The Jazz are hoping one of the two falls to them at No. 14.

Foye is a better fit because of his athleticism and his ability to slash to the basket.

However, the word is that he'll measure a bit shorter than 6-4 (his listed height at Villanova). I've been hearing he'll be a little under or a little over 6-3 in shoes.

That said, Minnesota and Golden State have a lot of interest in Foye and could grab him before the Jazz pick.

Redick is more likely to be there when the Jazz pick, though Orlando is showing significant interest in him.

The problem is that Redick isn't the ideal pick for the Jazz. The Jazz need a two-guard who can penetrate and defend. Redick's specialty is shooting. Still, we hear that owner Larry Miller is a big fan.

The other top two-guard in the draft, Brandon Roy, won't work out for the Jazz, we've been told, assuming the Jazz don't move up in the lottery. At the moment it appears that Roy is planning on limiting his workouts to the top five teams in the draft.

If Foye, Redick and Roy are off the board, the Jazz might decide between Ager, Collins, Michigan State's Shannon Brown or Rutgers' Quincy Douby. Both may actually have more upside than Ager or Collins.

Or they could choose to go big. With Greg Ostertag retiring, they need a defense-minded big man who can rebound and back up Mehmet Okur.

Two big guys have caught their eye -- Patrick O'Bryant and Hilton Armstrong. Both will be in Salt Lake City to work out this month.