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Six B1G Alums Join NBA Draft Combine

The reformatted NBA Draft Combine began yesterday, and six players from the Big Ten are among the participants.

By Kevin Knight (SpartyOnHuskers)
NCAA Basketball: Minnesota at Indiana Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Shams Charania from The Athletic and Stadium released late Sunday evening the 60 participants for the 2020 NBA Draft Combine. Among those participating include six former Big Ten players.

The players include:

  1. Daniel Oturu, Minnesota Golden Gophers
  2. Jalen Smith, Maryland Terrapins
  3. Lamar Stevens, Penn State Nittany Lions
  4. Xavier Tillman, Sr., Michigan State Spartans
  5. Kaleb Wesson, Ohio State Buckeyes
  6. Cassius Winston, Michigan State Spartans

Noticeably absent from the list are other graduates from the Big Ten such as Anthony Cowan Jr. of Maryland and Zavier Simpson from the Michigan Wolverines.

The NBA Draft Combine will be formatted significantly different this year from years past due to COVID-19. The even has been spread over the next few weeks leading up to the NBA Draft, delayed multiple times itself, that will take place Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Per the press release issued by the NBA announcing the Combine, it will be formatted and include new features such as:

NBA Draft Combine 2020 will give players the opportunity to participate in league and team interviews, both conducted via videoconference from Sept. 28 through Oct. 16. Players will also take part in an individual on-court program consisting of strength and agility testing, anthropometric measurements, shooting drills and a “Pro Day” video, all conducted in October at the NBA team facility nearest to a player’s home or interim residence. Medical testing and examinations will be performed by NBA-affiliated physicians in the same market.

As part of the event’s innovative format, the NBA will incorporate HomeCourt, a mobile basketball training application that uses advanced machine learning and computer vision, to provide analytics and record the shooting evaluation portion of NBA Combine 2020 and for players to create a unique “Pro Day” video. The video, used to showcase a player’s skills, may feature only the individual player (and either a coach or trainer) and can be up to 45 minutes long. HomeCourt is developed by NEX Team, Inc., an NBA strategic partner.

All six players out of the Big Ten participating in the Combine have been projected as potential first and second round picks.

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