The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2019 THE WOLVERINE 7 BY ANDREW HUSSEY T hree Wolverines — forward Ignas Brazdeikis, and wings Jordan Poole and Charles Matthews — are all vying to hear their names called at the NBA Draft. Each competed at the NBA Combine in Chicago, look- ing to impress scouts from the league. At the combine, Brazdeikis shot 80 percent in the spot- up shooting drills from four of five spots around the three-point arc. That was good enough to help him fin- ish seventh overall and third among forwards in spot- shooting drills. The Athletic's Sam Vecenie has Brazdeikis going in the second round to the Sacramento Kings with the No. 47 overall pick in his May 14 mock draft. "Brazdeikis is in a very interesting situation," Vecenie wrote. "Even after shooting 39 percent from three last sea- son, NBA teams still question his jumper a bit because of his previous rep in high school as an improving shooter, but not a high-level one. They also wonder how his ath- leticism translates on offense, as he's an advantage scorer who gets by with change of pace. "Defensively, he was also a fairly big problem for Michi- gan. But on some level, Brazdeikis is just a tough dude that no one ever wants to play against. There's a real chance an NBA organization falls in love with him in the pre-draft process and takes him a bit higher than this. But based on skill level, it's tough for me to get there right now." ESPN's Jonathan Givony has Brazdeikis going in the second round with the No. 40 overall pick in his May 14 mock draft, while Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Woo pre- dicted him coming off the board at No. 50 in the second round in his May 14 mock draft. "My intent from the beginning was to stay in the draft and be as high as I can," Brazdeikis told reporters at the NBA Combine. "I think I'm pushing towards that, and I will get there." While Poole sat out the scrimmages at the NBA com- bine, he impressed scouts with his shooting prowess. He was the No. 1 shooter from the right corner, shooting 100 percent from that area, along with tying for fourth from the left break, tying for fifth from the right break and tying for eighth from the top of the key. The only spot where Poole struggled was from the left corner, where he only made 60 percent of his shots at the combine. Poole ranked No. 1 overall among all participants, shooting 76 percent across the 10 different shooting spots Inside Michigan ATHLETICS U-M Players Get Ready For NBA Draft Forward Ignas Brazdeikis had a strong shooting performance at the NBA Combine in Chicago, ranking third among forwards in spot-shooting drills. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN