Cameron Payne had been speaking with reporters for a few minutes when Larry Bird walked by. Bird, the Pacers President of Basketball Operations, reached a hand over the small media scrum to bop Payne on his right shoulder and said, “Hey, good luck.”
In the middle of listening to a question posed by a reporter, Payne, a 20-year-old early entry into the NBA Draft, understandably then lost his train of thought.
“Hold on, can you repeat that?” he said to the reporter with a grin.
Pacers President of Basketball Operations, Larry Bird, watches the prospects workout alongside GM Kevin Pritchard in the stands.
A special moment for anyone, especially a young player who’s trying hard to make it into the big leagues.
“It’s definitely inspiring to be in the gym with a Hall of Famer,” he said, “and right now he’s not criticizing you; he’s not going in on you at all. He’s there encouraging. Honestly, it’s a blessing to be here and a blessing to see him in the stands. It’s just things you dream so I love it.”
After two seasons at Murray State, Payne decided to forego his college career after the feedback he and his college coaches had received pointed to him being drafted in the first round.
Payne asked his college coach, Steve Prohm, “If I was your son, what would you tell him to do?”
His coach’s response: “You’re definitely a first rounder so if you were my son, I’d tell you to go.”
[Several Pacers still in town, working out at The Fieldhouse]
As the leader of a squad that went 29-6 this season, the mid-major player averaged 20.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor. He’s left-handed, crafty with the ball, and looks to get his teammates involved.
Payne says he plays similarly to San Antonio’s Tony Parker and Memphis’ Mike Conley. All three of them play with great quickness and moxie, have have a sweet floater in the lane.
Payne didn’t think the NBA would truly be an option for him until the second half of this past season. That’s when his Murray State team rattled of 25 straight wins and would be NCAA Tournament bound if not for a one-point loss, 88-87, to Belmont in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.
“My freshman year I did pretty good, we just didn’t win many games like we did this year,” Payne, 2014 OVC Player of the Year said. “To me, when you win, you get noticed.”
Now, Payne expects to drafted at the rear of the lottery or mid-teens. The Pacers’ draft position will be decided Tuesday night at the NBA Draft Lottery, but they’ll very likely be selecting 11th. DraftExpress projects him to go 21st in their latest mock draft — and unlike most prospects, Payne admits that he’s paying attention to them.
“Honestly I do,” he said, “just because I wasn’t on them. I definitely do. This is only going to happen to you one time so you got to take full advantage of everything.”
The Pacers will need to add at least one point guard this summer. C.J. Watson is as good as gone after the team didn’t like how he missed 44 games to injury over the last two years, and Donald Sloan, the third point, is a free agent.
As for Payne, he has now gone home to Memphis, where he’ll spend time with his family — especially his brother and newborn niece — as the busy pre-draft workout schedule begins after Memorial Day weekend. The Pacers were able to get this group of six early after they all participated in the NBA Draft Combine last week in Chicago.
While the month is more than a month away — June 25th — Payne is one of the players that has shown team officials what he can do as just a 20-year-old. He’s looking to become the first OVC player drafted in the first round since Kenneth Faried (Morehead State) was taken at No. 22 by the Denver Nuggets in 2011.
Monday’s workout group huddles up to conclude the workout.
Payne was one of six players the Pacers brought in for their first pre-draft workout on Monday, along with Rakeem Christmas, Jerian Grant, Olivier Hanlan, Richaun Holmes, and Joseph Young. The Pacers are not scheduled to hold another one until next week.
After meeting the coaches and staff members, Pacers head man Frank Vogel and his three assistants put the guys through drills and a game of 3-on-3. They shot free throws, spoke with the media, and then showered. Just before 2 p.m., they all headed to lunch in a low-key nearby establishment.
Joining the prospects at lunch was Ryan Carr (Director of Scouting), Kevin Mackey (Scout), Vance Catlin (NBA scout), Jason Buckner (scouting administrator), and Carl Nicks (Manager of Player Relations).
Young stood out to me off of the court, as he was sharply dressed to look the part. It is a job interview after all. A very important one.
UPDATED LIST: Pacers 2015 pre-draft workout attendees
[…] [来源 :VigilantSports] […]