LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky center Nick Richards added his name Tuesday to the list of local players going, going, gone to the 2020 NBA Draft.
But there is little chance the Draft combine begins as scheduled May 21 in Chicago. The Draft is booked for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25. Hold all tickets.
Richards, three of his UK teammates, Jordan Nwora of Louisville and U of L recruit Jay Scrubb are all moving forward — as they should.
Here is the question:
Without assurances the combine or team workouts will proceed, what should players do to prepare for their career moment?
I asked Kevin Pritchard, the director of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers, during a teleconference the team scheduled for him to address questions created by the novel coronavirus.
Important note: Pritchard made certain to say that he cannot speak about any underclassmen. This was his suggestion for how players who might be drafted can prepare:
Their ability to interview will be key. That is a quality Rick Pitino always stressed at Louisville, a primary reason Pitino directed to learn how to deal with the media after wins or defeats. Learn how to sell yourself.
“I know agents do a great job of pooling their players and getting them prepared for our workouts,” Pritchard said. “Sometimes, our workouts are no joke. They are tough. You have to come in and be in great shape.
“But a big part of our workouts is getting players on our (facility) and communicating with them.
“We already know, talent-wise, what we like or what we’re looking for. What we want — and what we feel like is important — is the communication and the interview that happens.
“They’re going to get interviewed by every team. They are going to have to go through an interview process.
“So getting prepared for that is probably more important or as important as anything going forward, because we’ve watched the film. We’ve run the analytics. Now what does the person bring personality-wise?
“We’ve watched that (factor) probably as much as anybody in the NBA. Some players are right for us. Sometimes they’re not. And that’s OK.
“I’m looking forward to working on the plan to get to know these kids. But we don’t know what that plan is right now, to be honest with you.”
Typically, the Pacers schedule three-on-three workouts with players from the draft pool. They bring five-to-eight groups to Indianapolis every spring. It’s part of the circuit that is critical for players who are determined to improve their draft status.
Pritchard said the team has not scheduled any workouts for 2020.
“We’ll be doing Zoom interviews with the seniors,” Prichard said.
He said that his hope was that the team would have face-to-face interviews with draft prospects after the national health climate improved.
“All the scouts right now have their zones (of the country),” he said. “But their duties are to get some (personality) background. So they’re calling and getting background and talking to coaches. We’re filling up our data base probably more than ever.
“I can’t imagine there won’t be a draft and free agency more reviewed than this one, because that’s the one thing that we can control.
“We can watch film. We can ask people about players, and then we can make our evaluations. There is the same saying that we have:
“‘Eyes, ears and numbers.' Eyes — watch film. Ears — talk, hear about players. Do the background. And numbers — look at stats.
“I think our analytics department is as busy as they’ve ever been, because they’re working on new projects. We’re working on new ways of looking at players, new ways of evaluating players.
“We’re not sitting idly.”
In other news, Pritchard had few specifics. He praised the leadership of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. He said that he expected the next update from Silver on when the season might resume and how the playoffs would be structured in early-May.
“We’re preparing like there is going to be a regular season and playoffs,” Pritchard said.
The most impressive thing Pritchard said was that the team decided against testing its players for the virus, which is unlike what several NBA teams have done. In a time when testing kits have been difficult to obtain, the Pacers chose not to use kits so they would be available for the general population.
“Let’s beat this,” Pritchard said. “Let’s beat this virus.
"If we do what we’re supposed to do, we can be pillars of our community, and hopefully Indianapolis and Indiana can get to this faster than anybody, and we can come back to the other side much better.”
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