We hand out awards for everything in the NBA. MVP, best executive, teammate of the year, All-Summer League teams. We are not short on awards. But those participating in the NBA Draft Combine get nothing … well, besides potentially getting drafted and signing for contracts that position them to have generational wealth. But let’s hand out some awards anyway to 10 of the best performers this week:
The House Money Award: Cameron Carr, Baylor junior wing
Carr went 21st to the Pistons in my firstpost-lottery mock draft. He didn’t need to scrimmage. No one really expected him to. But he did it anyway, and after this week in Chicago there’s a far higher probability he ends up in the lottery.
Carr measured in at 6-foot-5 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, and tested with a 43-inch max vertical and the fastest pro lane agility time. Then on Wednesday, he proceeded to drop 30 points on 6-of-12 from 3 while flying to the rim for three dunks — two self-created on the break and an alley-oop. It was worth the gamble. If he flopped, it could have hurt his stock. But he was the best player on the floor and now has Mavericks fans asking if he should be the ninth pick.
After two years at Tennessee, Carr transferred to Baylor, where he sharpened his on-ball scoring, shot 37% from beyond the arc, and had 47 dunks — third most in the country among guards, per CBB Analytics. In some ways, what Carr did in Chicago was more of the same. But it’s encouraging for teams to see him perform at such a high level against his peers after he shot 65% against Quad 3 and 4 teams versus only 43% against Quad 1 and 2 teams. That 22% field goal percentage differential was the ninth-largest in the country, per CBB Analytics.
A big week in Chicago reinforced that he could be much more than just a 3-and-D role player.
Best Audition of the Week: Tarris Reed, UConn senior center
Reed measured in with a 7-foot-4 wingspan on Monday, then put the rest of his game on tape in the scrimmages. Wednesday brought 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists in 19 minutes with Reed plowing through opponents inside and switching capably on defense. Thursday was even better with 17 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks, plus the same impressive mobility.
Playing defense in space is precisely what NBA teams wanted to see from Reed. The whole league knows he can be an effective drop defender. But the best all-around defenders can comfortably switch a screen onto a smaller player and survive, or chase out to a shooting big beyond the arc.
Reed did all that over the two scrimmages, building on his big year at UConn to look every bit like a late-first-rounder.
Sixth Man of the Week: Ryan Conwell, Louisville senior guard
Conwell was one of college basketball’s most dynamic shooters. He made 41% of 3s off the catch, with many of those shots coming off screens with a defender all over him. And he hit a ton of tough shots off the dribble too. So it was good to see Conwell translate that to the Draft Combine shooting drills — he made 28 of his 30 shots off the dribble, which placed him first, and 19 of his 25 shots in the 3-point star, which tied for first.
He came off the bench in both scrimmage games and posted five assists on Wednesday before showing off his scoring on Thursday with 21 points on five made 3s, leaning all the way into his identity as a microwave shooter.
Conwell is only 6-2, but he measured in with a 6-7 wingspan, which is really the best news from this week. That length comes with a wide frame that carries 215 pounds, so he plays with a physicality you don’t see from most guards. Teams hunting for instant offense off the bench will look at the shooting, the strength, and the track record of a guy who got better at every program he touched, and see a late-first or early second-round bet worth making.
Quote of the Week: Cameron Boozer, Duke freshman big
"If a team wants to hang a banner in the rafters, I’m definitely the guy."
Boozersaid that to Andscape. That is one hell of a quote. And you know what, it could be true considering he checked in at 6-8 barefoot with a 7-2 wingspan on a 253-pound frame. That's prototype size for a power forward with enough length and bulk to play small-ball center in a pinch. Skeptics worried about his ability to defend in space. Well, Boozer ended up with a lane agility score better than both Darryn Peterson and Caleb Wilson, and tied AJ Dybantsa. He doesn’t look fast, but his movements are so efficient that he moves quicker than his peers.
It’s just a single data point, but it’s one of many instances in which Boozer continues to prove doubters wrong. To underestimate his ability to translate it to the court could be a mistake.
Resurrection of the Week: Baba Miller, Cincinnati senior forward
It’s been a long and winding road for Miller. Once considered a Draft Twitter darling after his freshman year, Miller bounced from Florida State to Florida Atlantic then to Cincinnati. College ended on a sour note when he had four points on 0-for-6 from the floor with seven turnovers in a must-win Big 12 tournament overtime loss.
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But if you were out, you might be back in after Miller shined this week. He measured in at 6-11, then had two strong scrimmage performances with 20 points, 6 boards, and 2 steals on Day 1 before 13 points, 9 boards, and 3 assists on Day 2. He had zero turnovers in total while flashing the same handling, shooting, and defensive versatility that has long wowed draft enthusiasts.
The Who-He-Play-For Award: Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee State senior wing
What a journey for the native of Worcester, Massachusetts. Nkrumah started at a Division III school, Worcester State, before spending two years at Tennessee State, where he rounded out his game as a versatile shooter, reliable passer and disruptive defender.
Nkrumah didn’t get an invite to the Portsmouth Invitational but got a last-minute opportunity to attend the G League Combine, where he shined then earned a spot at the Draft Combine. In Chicago, he measured at 6-5 with a 6-10 wingspan before logging 20 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists over two scrimmages while flying around on defense.
Nkrumah could very well be on a two-way deal somewhere in the NBA this fall.
The See You In 2027 Award: Matt Able, NC State freshman wing
Able played 34 games off the bench and averaged only 8.8 points on 36% from 3. So what’s he doing in the NBA Draft Combine?
Scouts widely view him as a player who, in one year, could be a lottery pick. He’s only 6-4, but he’s fluid with the ball in his hands and a talented shot-maker. And that skill was put on display by scoring 15 points on Day 1 and 17 points on Day 2. He can shoot off movement, absorb contact in the paint, and play hard on defense.
If he doesn’t stay in the draft, he’s transferring to North Carolina next season to play for ex-NBA head coach Michael Malone. We’ll see what he decides, but his production seems more likely to be a tease for next year.
The Wait, Can He Shoot? Award: Morez Johnson, Michigan sophomore forward
Johnson checked in at 6-9, 251 pounds, with a 7-4 wingspan and an 8-11 standing reach. No one needed the measurements to know Morez is a freak-of-nature athlete. But seeing the numbers on the page does confirm that our eyes weren’t deceiving us, and adds to the pile of evidence that Johnson could become a rare five-position defender.
But the biggest trend to monitor is Johnson’s shooting. He didn’t take a single 3-pointer and made only 62% of his free throws as an Illinois freshman. Then at Michigan, he made 78% of free throws and 34% of his 3s on a single attempt per game. And then at the Combine, he shot 17 for 25 in the 3-point star drill.
If Johnson continues excelling from beyond the arc in predraft workouts, he could become a lottery lock.
The International Riser: Luigi Suigo, Mega center
Suigo measured in at 7-3 and 289 pounds with a 7-6 wingspan. These numbers are incredible considering he’s not just a plodding throwback center. Suigo has some mobility in space, flashes shooting talent, and has a great feel for passing. There are bigs ranked ahead of him in this year’s class, in part due to a lack of immediate exposure to Suigo playing overseas for Mega — the basketball big man factory that produced Nikola Jokić, Ivica Zubac and Goga Bitadze.
There is a strong probability that Suigo pulls his name from the draft to attend BYU or Villanova, since he said he’d probably have to go top 20 to stay in the draft. That’s because in one year he could easily be a top-10 pick.
The Fred VanVleet Award: Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee senior guard
Gillespie measured in at a hair under 6-feet at 5-11 3/4, which comes as no real shock to NBA teams. But then he dropped 28 points in the first scrimmage, totally outplaying the other small guard vying to be drafted: Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner.
Tennessee’s offensive rating was 122.5 with Gillespie on the floor this season to only 93.6 with him off, the second-largest impact tied to any player in the country, according to CBB Analytics. The Draft Combine environment allowed him to show off those same qualities with his 3-point shooting, ability to break down a defense, and his knack for limiting turnovers.
Every year there’s a senior guard who goes in the second round — or even goes undrafted like VanVleet once did — and outperforms his slot. Gillespie has all the markers to be that guy this cycle.
