At 6'11'', 235 lbs, and the ability to play either forward position, potential-lottery pick Perry Jones III from Baylor stands out as one of the most intriguing prospects among this year's NBA Draft crop. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated takes a closer look at Jones' draft stock, acknowledging that it can significantly change depending on the impression he makes in his upcoming workouts and interviews. Amick adds that Jones and his representatives aim to put an emphasis on his small forward skills during workouts in order to better market himself to talent evaluators. In an interview, Jones elaborated about his newfound confidence, his current training at UC Santa Barbara, and the belief that he was not properly utilized at Baylor.
Here are some more tidbits from Amick's article, including a brief rundown of this year's top small forward prospects, Miles Plumlee's workout in Minnesota, and a guard prospect from Vanderbilt to keep an eye out for...
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist tops the small forward rankings, followed by Harrison Barnes. Other names in the small forward race include Baylor's Quincy Miller, Iowa State's Royce White, Moe Harkless out of St. John's, and Vanderbilt's Jeff Taylor.
- Miles Plumlee recently participated in a group workout held by the Timberwolves and wowed scouts with his impressive play as well as his jumping abilities, registering a 41-inch vertical leap "with steps" and 34-inches "without steps." Amick also mentions that former Baylor power forward Quincy Acy also partook in the workout and performed well.
- Vanderbilt's John Jenkins considers himself the best shooter in the draft, and Amick can see him grabbing the attention of teams in need of another scorer. The 6'4'' guard averaged 19.9 PPG on 54.2% shooting from the field and 43.9% from long range in college last season. The Nuggets, who have the 20th, 38th, and 50th picks respectively, are scheduled to bring him in for a second workout.
