Snyder, Humphries draft's top athletes
By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider
Who really has a 40-inch vertical? Who's the strongest player in the draft? Who's the quickest? After months of conjecture, things finally were measured at the Chicago pre-draft camp last weekend.
The NBA keeps the list confidential, but sources within the league leaked the results of the NBA combine to Insider late Thursday night. Some numbers were very surprising.
Washington sophomore Nate Robinson tested as the best athlete at the camp, recording an amazing 43.5-inch vertical, bench pressing a 185-pound bar 13 times and recording a 10.75 time in the lane-agility test. Robinson, however, withdrew from the draft Thursday.
Nevada's Kirk Snyder (2nd), Minnesota's Kris Humphries (4th), UConn's Emeka Okafor (8th) and St. Joseph's Jameer Nelson (10th) were the only potential lottery picks to finish in the top 10 overall.
Oklahoma State's Tony Allen (3rd), Mississippi State's Tim Bowers (5th), Missouri's Rickey Paulding (6th), Seton Hall's Andre Barrett (7th) and Manhattan's Luis Flores (9th) filled out the top 10.
Okafor and Humphries tied for the camp record in bench press this year with 22 reps each. Robinson and Bowers both recorded the highest vertical jumps at 43.5 inches. Duke's Chris Duhon had the fastest lane-agility time at 10.45 seconds.
Here's an exclusive look at how the top prospects in the draft fared on the three most important measurements: bench press (reps of 185 pounds), maximum vertical jump (in inches), and lane-agility (in seconds).
Pre-Draft Camp Combine ResultsNameBench Press 185lbsMax. Vertical JumpLane Agility TestJosh Childress 11 reps 36" 11.95 sec. Luol Deng 5 reps 31.5" 11.46 sec. Ben Gordon 12 reps 37.5" 11.28 sec Devin Harris 5 reps 37" 11.03 sec Dwight Howard 7 reps 35.5" 11.21 sec. Kris Humphries 22 reps 36" 11.33 sec.
Andre Iguodala 4 reps 34.5" 11.17 sec. Luke Jackson 13 reps 36" 11.1 sec. Al Jefferson 3 reps 30" 13.08 sec. Shaun Livingston 0 reps 30" 10.72 sec.
Jameer Nelson 15 reps 33.5" 10.95 sec. Emeka Okafor 22 reps 34" 12.32 sec.
Peter John Ramos 2 reps 26.5" 12.61 sec. J.R. Smith 5 reps 35.5" 10.93 sec.
Josh Smith 12 reps 39.5" 11.43 sec. Kirk Snyder 19 reps 35" 10.79 sec.
Several other top prospects including Andris Biedrins, Pavel Podkolzine, Sergey Monya, Rafael Araujo, Robert Swift, Dorell Wright, Viktor Khryapa, Anderson Varejao and Sebastian Telfair were not tested.
What does all of this mean? Here are some observations:
Snyder and Humphries helped their stock with outstanding results. Both players showed strength, quickness and leaping ability few believed they had. Snyder already looks like a lock to go somewhere in the late lottery. These results could push Humphries there as well. Gordon's and Nelson's results were also very impressive overall, though scouts already had them pegged as good athletes.
Deng and Jefferson took the biggest hits. Both showed an eye-popping lack of strength, jumping ability and quickness for guys their size. In his workouts, Deng appeared to be a better athlete than advertised. However, the results in Chicago could begin raising red flags again. Jefferson, at 265 pounds, couldn't bench press as much as 170-pound Devin Harris? Please. While Jefferson has proved to be an explosive jumper, he obviously doesn't get much lift.
The tale of the tape between Okafor and Howard was a draw. Okafor obviously was much stronger. The vertical jump essentially was a draw, with Howard showing a slight edge. Howard was much quicker in the lane-agility test.
The reports of J.R. Smith's 44-inch vertical were greatly exaggerated. Even Luke Jackson recorded a higher vertical in the Chicago testing. A 35.5-inch vertical isn't bad, but it's not off the charts, either.
Speaking of Jackson, he measured out to be as good an athlete as advertised. His 11.1 second lane-agility speed was topped only by a handful of point and shooting guards.
Josh Smith had the highest vertical of any lottery prospect at a whopping 39.5 inches. That's pretty amazing for a 6-foot-8 kid. He also showed above-average strength on the bench press.
Iguodala's performance on the bench press and vertical jumps were disappointing. He looks stronger and more athletic than he showed here. He did, however, record a very fast lane-agility time.
Livingston was the only guy who couldn't lift 185 pounds. It isn't surprising. He's still very thin, and his long arms make it difficult for him to get leverage in the bench press. His vertical jump also was a very pedestrian 30 inches. However, his lane-agility score was faster than any of the top prospects. Considering the position he plays and his height advantage, the lateral quickness measurement is much more important than his bench press.
Childress measured out stronger than we expected, but what's up with that nasty lane-agility score? Ugh.
By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider
Who really has a 40-inch vertical? Who's the strongest player in the draft? Who's the quickest? After months of conjecture, things finally were measured at the Chicago pre-draft camp last weekend.
The NBA keeps the list confidential, but sources within the league leaked the results of the NBA combine to Insider late Thursday night. Some numbers were very surprising.
Washington sophomore Nate Robinson tested as the best athlete at the camp, recording an amazing 43.5-inch vertical, bench pressing a 185-pound bar 13 times and recording a 10.75 time in the lane-agility test. Robinson, however, withdrew from the draft Thursday.
Nevada's Kirk Snyder (2nd), Minnesota's Kris Humphries (4th), UConn's Emeka Okafor (8th) and St. Joseph's Jameer Nelson (10th) were the only potential lottery picks to finish in the top 10 overall.
Oklahoma State's Tony Allen (3rd), Mississippi State's Tim Bowers (5th), Missouri's Rickey Paulding (6th), Seton Hall's Andre Barrett (7th) and Manhattan's Luis Flores (9th) filled out the top 10.
Okafor and Humphries tied for the camp record in bench press this year with 22 reps each. Robinson and Bowers both recorded the highest vertical jumps at 43.5 inches. Duke's Chris Duhon had the fastest lane-agility time at 10.45 seconds.
Here's an exclusive look at how the top prospects in the draft fared on the three most important measurements: bench press (reps of 185 pounds), maximum vertical jump (in inches), and lane-agility (in seconds).
Pre-Draft Camp Combine ResultsNameBench Press 185lbsMax. Vertical JumpLane Agility TestJosh Childress 11 reps 36" 11.95 sec. Luol Deng 5 reps 31.5" 11.46 sec. Ben Gordon 12 reps 37.5" 11.28 sec Devin Harris 5 reps 37" 11.03 sec Dwight Howard 7 reps 35.5" 11.21 sec. Kris Humphries 22 reps 36" 11.33 sec.
Andre Iguodala 4 reps 34.5" 11.17 sec. Luke Jackson 13 reps 36" 11.1 sec. Al Jefferson 3 reps 30" 13.08 sec. Shaun Livingston 0 reps 30" 10.72 sec.
Jameer Nelson 15 reps 33.5" 10.95 sec. Emeka Okafor 22 reps 34" 12.32 sec.
Peter John Ramos 2 reps 26.5" 12.61 sec. J.R. Smith 5 reps 35.5" 10.93 sec.
Josh Smith 12 reps 39.5" 11.43 sec. Kirk Snyder 19 reps 35" 10.79 sec.
Several other top prospects including Andris Biedrins, Pavel Podkolzine, Sergey Monya, Rafael Araujo, Robert Swift, Dorell Wright, Viktor Khryapa, Anderson Varejao and Sebastian Telfair were not tested.
What does all of this mean? Here are some observations:
Snyder and Humphries helped their stock with outstanding results. Both players showed strength, quickness and leaping ability few believed they had. Snyder already looks like a lock to go somewhere in the late lottery. These results could push Humphries there as well. Gordon's and Nelson's results were also very impressive overall, though scouts already had them pegged as good athletes.
Deng and Jefferson took the biggest hits. Both showed an eye-popping lack of strength, jumping ability and quickness for guys their size. In his workouts, Deng appeared to be a better athlete than advertised. However, the results in Chicago could begin raising red flags again. Jefferson, at 265 pounds, couldn't bench press as much as 170-pound Devin Harris? Please. While Jefferson has proved to be an explosive jumper, he obviously doesn't get much lift.
The tale of the tape between Okafor and Howard was a draw. Okafor obviously was much stronger. The vertical jump essentially was a draw, with Howard showing a slight edge. Howard was much quicker in the lane-agility test.
The reports of J.R. Smith's 44-inch vertical were greatly exaggerated. Even Luke Jackson recorded a higher vertical in the Chicago testing. A 35.5-inch vertical isn't bad, but it's not off the charts, either.
Speaking of Jackson, he measured out to be as good an athlete as advertised. His 11.1 second lane-agility speed was topped only by a handful of point and shooting guards.
Josh Smith had the highest vertical of any lottery prospect at a whopping 39.5 inches. That's pretty amazing for a 6-foot-8 kid. He also showed above-average strength on the bench press.
Iguodala's performance on the bench press and vertical jumps were disappointing. He looks stronger and more athletic than he showed here. He did, however, record a very fast lane-agility time.
Livingston was the only guy who couldn't lift 185 pounds. It isn't surprising. He's still very thin, and his long arms make it difficult for him to get leverage in the bench press. His vertical jump also was a very pedestrian 30 inches. However, his lane-agility score was faster than any of the top prospects. Considering the position he plays and his height advantage, the lateral quickness measurement is much more important than his bench press.
Childress measured out stronger than we expected, but what's up with that nasty lane-agility score? Ugh.
