Several players exhibited some NBA potential in the first two games.
As I wrote about earlier in the week, I’m in Portsmouth, VA, for the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, an NBA Draft scouting event for senior college basketball players. Every NBA team sends scouts front office personnel as an early opportunity to find potentially undervalued prospects.
After two games on Wednesday, a few guys stood out to me as players I think it would be worthwhile for the Wizards to evaluate more closely. Several of the noteworthy names were Big East players.
Joel Soriano, a 6’11 center from St. John’s, was the most physically imposing player in action and displayed surprisingly good mobility and touch. He attempted one three-pointer, which he made, but it looked fluid and repeatedly. Otherwise, he powered his way to 28 points (11-16 shooting) and 12 rebounds.
Stats aren’t always that important in a setting like this as they don’t paint the full picture and games can turn into sloppy, pick-up game style affairs. Typically, it’s more meaningful to focus on whether a guy looks like he can hang physically on an NBA court, do they have touch or a projectable jumpshot, and so on.
But this was one of those instances where it backed up the eye test that Soriano was making the most of his opportunity. I talked to several people in the draft community who previously hadn’t given Soriano much thought but were going to reevaluate based on what they saw. An Exhibit 10 or two-way contract seems in play for him.
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
One of Soriano’s teammates in this event and former Big East Rival, Tyler Burton, also had a good initial showing. Burton is a 6’7 wing who transferred to Villanova this past season after playing the rest of his career at Richmond. Burton and Villanova both underachieved, causing him to fall off most draft boards.
However, Burton demonstrated his ability to have an impact on a game in multiple ways. He had 13 points (6-9 shooting) and missed all 3 of his three-point attempts but they were all good looks that just barely missed. He also added 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.
Most importantly, his team was noticeably better when he was on the court. He guarded multiple positions and collapsed the defense on the other end with his herky-jerky style of play that makes him harder to guard. Like Soriano, an Exhibit 10 or two-way contract seems in play for Burton.
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
From the opposing team, 6’8 Cleveland State wing Tristan Enaruna was the standout player of this game. He was a match-up problem on offense, scoring 25 points (9-14 shooting), and showed good switchability for his size on defense.
Enaruna was a highly-touted prospect out of high school despite being relatively new to the game still and started his career at Kansas. He underwhelmed in two seasons there before largely struggling again in one season at Iowa State.
He closed his career with two strong season at Cleveland State but I don’t think it was simply a case of him just dominated inferior competition. He looks like someone who has finally grown into his game and developed the necessary confidence to capitalize on his skills.
Allen Flanigan, a 6’6 wing out of Ole Miss, shot poorly but looked the part athletically and filled out the box score. Similarly, 6’8 Villanova forward Eric Dixon missed the majority of his shots but showed good mobility for his size and his team was much better with him on the floor.
Isaiah Crawford, a 6’6 wing out of Louisiana Tech, was a popular name among draft evaluators. In fact, he’s probably the player here most likely to get drafted. He projects as a 3-and-D player in a league that can never seem to have enough guys who fit that archetype. He had a decent showing that likely didn’t do much to change opinions of him one way or the other.
Stay tuned for more updates!