Could Springer Have What the Pacers Are Looking For?
At his introductory press conference on Wednesday, incoming Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told the media that one of his primary goals for next season was to reestablish Indiana's defensive identity after the team struggled to stop opponents for much of last season. On Thursday, the Pacers took a look at a player that could potentially help Carlisle achieve that goal. Tennessee guard Jaden Springer, a likely first-round pick in the upcoming 2021 NBA Draft, headlined Thursday's pre-draft workout at the Ascension St. Vincent Center. Although he is one of the youngest prospects in this year's draft class (he won't turn 19 until Sept. 25), Springer already has the body and skillset to effectively hound NBA guards. He measured at 6-4 and 202 pounds with a nearly 6-8 wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine last week. He also recorded a 41.5-inch vertical, tied for the sixth-highest measurement of all the prospects in Chicago. In his one season at Tennessee, Springer was a key cog in one of the nation's best defenses. Rick Barnes' Volunteers ranked fifth out of 357 Division I teams in adjusted defensive efficiency in 2020-21, according to kenpom.com. "We've got a great coaching staff," Springer said on Thursday. "They're really defensive-minded. So just them instilling that into us every single day, I feel like that's definitely going to translate to the next level." On a veteran-laden team, Barnes brought Springer, a 2020 McDonald's All-American, and fellow five-star freshman Keon Johnson off the bench initially. But both players earned their way into the starting lineup by early into SEC play. Springer wound up starting 15 of 25 games and led the Vols in scoring at 12.5 points per game, while also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.2 steals. Springer took on more of a dominant role offensively as the season progressed. He topped 20 points five times in a seven-game span in February, highlighted by a 23-point, five-rebound performance in a win at Kentucky on Feb. 6 and a 30-point, four-rebound, three-steal outing four days later in a victory over Georgia. On the offensive end, Springer has the tools to be an effective combo guard at the next level. He shot the ball well as a freshman, converting 43.5 percent of his 3-point attempts on a limited sample size while also shooting 81 percent from the free throw line. He also effectively used his size and strength to get into the lane and either score at the rim or find open teammates. On both ends of the floor, Springer has many attributes that could be appealing to the Pacers, who have the 13th overall pick in the draft, which will take place on July 29. Springer also sees Indiana as a potential good fit. "I know the Pacers, they've got a great program, a bunch of great guards," he said Thursday. "I feel like they just need one more piece. I feel like I could be the guy to come in, lock up on defense, get stops, and then I feel like that could translate to easy buckets on the other end." Both Oklahoma's Austin Reaves (left) and Georgia Tech's Moses Wright (right) grew from lightly regarded recruits to stars with legitimate NBA prospects after decorated college careers. (Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)  Wright, Reaves Following Similar Trajectories  Neither Austin Reaves or Moses Wright projected to be NBA players coming out of high school. Reaves, a 6-5 shooting guard from the small town of Newark, Ark., didn't receive any offers from any power conference programs. He committed to the best school that offered him, Wichita State, and played a supporting role for two seasons with the Shockers before transferring to Oklahoma. But with the Sooners, Reaves blossomed. He averaged 14.7 points in his first season in Norman (up significantly from the 8.1 he averaged his sophomore season at Wichita State). Then as a senior, Reaves ranked second in the Big 12 in scoring at 18.3 points per game, trailing only likely number-one pick Cade Cunningham, while also tallying 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per contest. Reaves had appeared poised for a big postseason in 2020. He went off for a career-high 41 points, including the game-winning shot in the final seconds, in Oklahoma's final regular season game at TCU. But then the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly ended the college basketball season, forcing the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments to both be canceled. This year, Reaves got the chance to play in the tournament, and he put on a show. He tallied 23 points and six assists to lead the Sooners to a first-round win over Missouri and then dropped 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting against an undefeated Gonzaga juggernaut in the second round, closing out his college career on a high note. "It was awesome," Reaves said of the experience in Indianapolis. "As a kid, you watch the NCAA Tournament. It was probably my favorite tournament. Just to have the opportunity to play in it and be successful was a blessing. Last year, it was a sad time...but this year we got back and had a little success." After becoming one of the top offensive threats in the Big 12, Reaves is now a bona fide NBA prospect. He was invited to the combine last week and has been living out of hotel rooms as he travels from city to city auditioning for NBA teams. "If you would have told tenth-grade me or ninth-grade me that I would be in this situation, I would have believed it but anybody else probably would have thought you was crazy," Reaves said. "So (I'm) really just (grateful) for the opportunity to prove everybody wrong and to put a light on kids like me, kids that are from a small town in the middle of nowhere, to show them that there is an opportunity to go out and be successful." Wright, meanwhile, didn't play varsity basketball until his senior year of high school. A self-described "zero-star recruit," he was eventually able to land an offer from Georgia Tech and head coach Josh Pastner. Wright started 10 games as a freshman, but averaged just 3.6 points and 3.4 rebounds. Perhaps no player in all of college basketball improved more over the past four years, however. The 6-9, 225-pound forward dominated the competition as a senior, averaging 17.4 points on 53.2 percent shooting, 8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks. Wright was named ACC Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season, making him just the second player in school history to receive the honor (Dennis Scott was the first in 1989-90). Wright also helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the ACC Tournament title. A Raleigh, N.C. native, Wright played in the same Garner Road AAU program as current Pacer T.J. Warren and counts former Pacer David West as a mentor. He's hoping to follow in both of their footsteps by playing in the NBA. While Wright carried Georgia Tech's offense last season, he knows that his role in the NBA will likely be different. He said on Thursday that he wanted to stand out in workouts in other ways. "Just the energy that I'm bringing, just showing them that it's going to be consistent and I don't have to score the ball to be productive," Wright said. "I can impact the game in other ways." Kentucky guard B.J. Boston Jr. was a heralded recruit coming out of high school. (Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)  Boston Hoping to Remind NBA Teams of Potential  Entering his freshman season at Kentucky, B.J. Boston Jr. was projected by many outlets to be a lottery pick. ESPN ranked him as the seventh overall prospect in the 2020 recruiting class (Springer was ranked 17th). But Boston's draft stock dipped after a disappointing college season. He averaged 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 25 games, shooting just 35.5 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range. The 6-7 forward's final two college games highlight his inconsistency He scored a season-high 21 points while going 6-for-10 from 3-point range in the regular season finale against South Carolina. But in the SEC Tournament against Mississippi State, Boston went scoreless, attempting just four shots in 23 minutes. COVID-19 restrictions could have been contributing factor to Boston's struggles. The past season was unlike any other in college basketball history, with constant testing and social distancing, limited or no fans in arenas, and an abbreviated schedule. "It was a hard year, I'm not going to lie," Boston admitted on Thursday. As he goes through the pre-draft process, Boston hopes to show scouts that he still possesses the attributes worthy of his recruiting ranking. He said he believes he is a strong two-way player and with great combination of size and ball-handling abilities. Though his freshman season didn't go as planned, Boston has no regrets about his time at Kentucky. Under John Calipari, the Wildcats have been essentially an NBA factory and Boston believes that his year in Lexington helped prepare him for the next level. "Definitely going to Kentucky it helped me just mentally," Boston said. "I feel like I'm mentally ahead of my peers. It helped me just stay really disciplined with myself and stay really consistent in the gym." Texas' Matt Coleman III (left) and Shawnee State's E.J. Onu (right) enter the draft after four-year careers. (Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)  Coleman, Onu Bring Experience, Maturity  The final two prospects at Thursday's workout were Texas point guard Matt Coleman III and Shawnee State center E.J. Onu, both of whom had accomplished college careers. Coleman was a four-year starter at Texas, where he averaged 13.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game as a senior. The 6-2 guard was a good shooter in college, shooting 39.5 and 37.7 percent from 3-point range in his final two seasons in Austin and a capable defender despite his smaller statue ("I don't back down from nothing or nobody," he said Thursday). While most prospects list off a number of All-Stars when asked which current players they study and try to emulate, Coleman gave a more pragmatic answer on Thursday that showed he understands his potential role in the NBA. "I'm a big Chris Paul fan, but I look to more guys like Cameron Payne, Monte Morris," he said. "Backup point guards that are able to just come into the game, make open shots, take care of the ball, and make the right play." With his mature outlook, Coleman would certainly be a welcome addition to any NBA locker room. Most fans have probably never heard of Onu, who spent four years playing at the NAIA level, but he is a very legitimate NBA prospect. He was invited to the G League Elite Camp, where he measured at 6-11 and 232 pounds with an absurd wingspan of over 7-8. To put that into perspective, Neemias Queta had the longest wingspan at the combine at 7-4. Onu put those long arms to work at Shawnee State, blocking an absurd 529 shots over four seasons. He averaged 5.9 blocks per game as a junior and 4.5 as a senior. Even the NBA represents a colossal jump in overall talent level, Onu is confident he can still protect the rim at a high level. "I know played against shorter guys (at the) NAIA level, but I think just my length itself can even alter a lot of shots," he said. Onu also averaged 16.9 points on 57.3 percent shooting and 8.1 rebounds as a senior. He helped lead Shawnee State to a 31-2 record, capped off by winning the national championship in March. On Thursday, Onu had a chance to audition for NBA scouts and match up with the ACC Player of the Year. "It's amazing," he said. "I just love being here. I'm grateful to be here. This is definitely an experience. These guys are more skilled, they're a lot better, but (holding my own with them) just shows what kind of player I am.