Darius Bazley invited to NBA Combine

 
ESPN has him ranked as the 44th best prospect on their site. I just looked at a few 2 round mock drafts and didnt see his name anywhere (its hard to find 2 round mock drafts, most just do round 1). I can see someone taking a chance on him late in round 2 though. At worst, he signs on a team's summer league roster and hopes to earn a roster spot.
 
tribefan23 said:
ESPN has him ranked as the 44th best prospect on their site. I just looked at a few 2 round mock drafts and didnt see his name anywhere (its hard to find 2 round mock drafts, most just do round 1). I can see someone taking a chance on him late in round 2 though. At worst, he signs on a team's summer league roster and hopes to earn a roster spot.
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two-round mocks I found that aren't behind a paywall:

si.com: Clippers at #50.

walterfootball.com: Clippers at #48.

draftsite.com: Cavaliers at #40.

nbadraft.net: undrafted.

nbadraftroom.com: undrafted. (they have nba comparables for many draftees, including some like Bazley they have on the bubble: his is Robert Covington.)

fantasypros.com: Timberwolves at #43.

basketballsociety.com: Knicks at #54.

tankathon.com: Pacers at #50.


I'll let you decide which of these sites are credible. My impression from past drafts is that nbadraftroom has been pretty good, which is a bit of a mixed bag for Bazley--on the one hand they don't have him getting picked, on the other hand they think he might be Robert Covington, which wouldn't be a bad career path.

There probably isn't a player in this draft for whom performance at the combine matters more...partly just from the uncertainty surrounding someone nobody's seen play in a year, partly from the reading of his psyche clubs will get from whether it looks like he's been working hard.
 
3.6% body fat--2nd lowest percentage of the entire combine (O'Shea Brissett was 2.9%, the fourth-lowest in two decades of data).

At least he didn't spend his year off eating Big Macs. Or dorm-cafeteria lasagna.

Played ok in his scrimmage, too.
 
Carl Rick said:
No surprise on body fat, what about strength?
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They don't lift at the combine any more, but he was 20 pounds heavier than when we last saw him and he held up pretty well underneath against older and bigger players. He looks like he's been getting good training advice.

One thing that stood out was his ability to defend every position on the floor. He was one of the best on-ball defenders in the scrimmages and he was able to switch anywhere successfully. He got switched onto the other team's PG and was able to stay in front pretty easily, a couple possessions later he got switched onto the 5 in a pick and roll, denied the entry pass, got basket side when the shot went up, held his boxout and brought down a long rebound that looked like it was going way over his head. This against somebody two years older, taller and with probably 40 extra pounds. I didn't know he could do that; I don't think anyone else in the scrimmages could have done both. (To be clear, the scrimmages are mostly second-round prospects, nobody assured of going in the first 20-25 plays in them any more.)

I was impressed; he looked a lot better than I expected. He took some criticism in the press for "just blending in" but that's Bazley, has been since junior high. He's never been willing to simply take over in a game, but he's reaching a point in his career where that won't matter--nobody expects him to be a Durant and take over an NBA game. Blending in would be just fine.

I honestly think he might have played himself back into the late first round, and if he hasn't then somebody's getting a steal. That Robert Covington comparison doesn't seem so off to me.
 
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