martin
Posts: 67880
Alba Posts: 108
Joined: 7/24/2001
Member: #2 USA
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1 p.m., Hoops Gym Every year one major workout takes place at Hoops, and this year roughly 200 NBA scouts and GMs have crammed into the gym for a good look at Ebi and Villanueva.
Ebi, a skinny, 6-foot-9 forward, went first. It really isn't the best stage for his skills. Ebi was ranked as one of the top three players in the country based on his great defense, shot-blocking (the best in the nation), hustle and ability to score inside and out. Thursday's affair was basically a series of shooting drills, low post exercises and a few examples of running the floor.
Things didn't go all that well for the youngster from Texas. Ebi wasn't shooting the ball particularly well. His shot form looks OK, but nothing was going in on a consistent basis. He had a few nice runs, but it wasn't anything to write home about. Ebi is often compared to Jonathan Bender, because of his slight frame and ability to multi-task on the floor. But it's pretty clear Ebi doesn't have the type of dead-eye range Bender showed as a prospect.
Ebi's best attribute in workouts is his length. His arms are long, and he's able to move quickly to get to the basket. He's pretty impressive taking the ball outside the 3-point line, taking one dribble and driving to the basket. Several scouts that know him well say Ebi is a hard worker, plays with a lot of desire and is constantly working on his game to make it better.
The downside is that he's still very, very raw offensively, needs to add a lot of strength to his frame and he needs to find a position. None of those knocks will stop someone from drafting him ... possibly as high as the middle of the first round.
"If he stayed in college another two years," one scout told Insider, "he'd be a high lottery pick. I wish he'd go back to school, because I think he's so raw, he's better of getting playing time. He'll get stronger quicker if he goes straight to the NBA, but he won't really be able to develop his game instincts. With that said, if I was sitting in the late teens and early 20s and had a couple years to develop him, I'd take him in a heartbeat. He has the desire to get better and will keep working on his game until he earns playing time."
Villanueva's workout, on the other hand, was a disaster. The minute Ebi ended his workout and Villanueva stepped on the floor, roughly half the NBA people in the gym got up and walked out.
If that isn't a message to Villanueva to go back to school, I don't know what is.
Ironically, Villanueva actually looked much more polished than Ebi. He shot the ball well, showed nice athleticism on several drills, and, at 6-foot-11, he has some skills that are intriguing.
But two related things poisoned the well. Villanueva worked at less than half speed. I'm not sure he even broke a sweat. His play, on a few occasions, bordered on lackadaisical. Midway through the workout, there were less than 50 people left in the gym.
What's the problem?
"Bad attitude," one NBA GM said.
"Terrible attitude," another NBA coach said.
An international scout was furious that he even wasted his time. "Why come to a job interview and goof around?" he said. "I don't understand it. Neither of these kids put on a real workout today. If you want to see someone really work for their bread, come with me ..."
With that, and with Villanueva's workout still not officially over, we were out the door and on the way to see Senegal's Malick Badiane.
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