Day 3 in Orlando

Thursday’s Pre-Draft action had its studs and duds. Some of the players I’ve been keeping tabs on are performing well. And some other players I’ve swept aside and neglected mentioning are receiving high praise for their solid play.

Joseph Treutlein from draftexpress.com again categorizes how well certain guys are playing after the action on Thursday concluded.

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Some of the good

Malik Hairston Oregon

An injury to Tywon Lawson forced Hairston to play point guard, something he was clearly uncomfortable doing as evidenced by his four turnovers. The Detroit native did, however, make a number of heady cuts to the basket and knocked down a few jumpers, including a clutch shot late in the game to hold off the opposing team.

Teams will like Malik’s intangibles and versatility the most. His hoop’s IQ is very high and quite frankly I’m not sure if there’s a safer way to go in the 2nd round.

Wayne Ellington UNC

Wayne’s draft stock actually rose after Thursday’s action…

Ellington bounced back from an awful first day by moving off the ball beautifully and doing a great job knocking down shots from 17 to 20 feet by either spotting up, coming off a screen or pulling up off the dribble. Considering how one-dimensional he’s been at the camp, Ellington obviously needs to be stroking the ball well from outside if he is to make any type of impression. His defense, ball handling and finishing at the rim didn’t do him many favors.

Hopefully Wayne will heed the advice of the people that truly care about his future and return to school. Analysts are saying the same types of things about Wayne that I saw much of during the season. Again I’m not in Orlando watching these guys but what’s being said about Wayne seems right on.

Tywon Lawson UNC

After proving to be the top player in Orlando on Wednesday, Lawson suffered a minor injury and was kept out of action on Thursday. The sophomore playmaker is expected to return to action for Friday’s final day of camp.

Here’s DraftExpress President Jonathan Givony’s thoughts on Lawson as well,

Joining the injured list is Ty Lawson, fresh off a breakout performance last night—with a supposed “hip pointer.” Some NBA people we spoke with wondered whether hip pointer is actually code for “first round promise,” considering how well he played in the first day and how few point guards there are in this draft once you get past D.J. Augustin. Let’s see if he comes out and plays in the final day.

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Those first round promises can be misleading. But I believe Tywon is a first round talent, just not top 20 material. Orlando at #22 would be wise to take him, as well would San Antonio at #25.

Gary Forbes Massachusetts

Forbes had the camp’s most dominant performance so far, finishing with 30 points on only 16 shot attempts. He showed the full repertoire offensively, slashing to the rim, posting up smaller defenders and even hitting an NBA three-pointer. Even more impressive was his ability to get to the line 16 times within the flow of the offense. The UMass senior was easily the player of the day on Thursday and continued to make a case why he should be selected in the second round.

I’ve seen Forbes’s name in the 2nd round of a few mock drafts. After Friday concludes he will likely pop up in many more of them.

DeMarcus Nelson Duke

Played with his typical outstanding intensity on both ends of the court. He brought the ball up and even ran the point at times, initiating the offense but not doing much shot creating for teammates. Where Nelson really excelled was getting out in transition and slashing to the basket. He did a much better job finishing at the rim than he did Wednesday. Nelson’s defense wasn’t as good as it usually is in his matchup with the incredibly quick Mike Taylor, who gave him some problems on dribble drives. Nelson’s limitations with size and ball handling, along with his average athleticism, still make the NBA an uphill climb, but continuing to play with this kind of fire is definitely helping his cause.

Nelson, despite playing well, will not get drafted. Good college player will make a solid overseas player.

Mike Taylor Iowa State (played in the D-League last year)

D-League champion Mike Taylor put all of the professional experience he garnered this season to great use, looking more explosive than anyone else on the floor. He blew by defenders as if they weren’t there, shot the ball well from the perimeter and even showed some decent court vision in finding the open man in the half court. Taylor has been one of the camp’s most impressive players and has helped his NBA stock considerably. The Louis Williams clone will have a lot of buzz going into the final day.

When I saw Mike Taylor’s name on draftexpress.com a few days ago, I thought, who is this guy? Well the craze for Mr. Taylor has continued and I for one do not know what to make of it. He played one year at Iowa St. before getting booted from the team because of multiple arrests. But he had a great year in the D-League and has since then recieved tons of interest. He’ll likely get drafted in the early 2nd round.

Some of the bad

Davon Jefferson USC

Jefferson has yet to show the type of effort or fire you would expect to see from a player who is currently fighting for his professional future after having prematurely hired an agent despite an average freshman season at USC. His conditioning looks poor, he’s dribbling the ball excessively and he has yet to make use of the terrific athletic ability that made him a prospect in the first place.

D-League 2nd team wannabe.

Trent Plaisted BYU

Another underclassman who may have hastily decided to forfeit his college eligibility, Plaisted has struggled to make an impact consistently. He’s just floating up and down aimlessly at times and not using his athleticism to finish strong around the basket. You can’t ignore his physical tools, but at the same time, you’d like to see him make more use of them on the glass or defensively.

In the few times I’ve seen him play, he has always impressed me. I assure you he will not be a repeat of the last recently drafted BYU big man Rafael Araujo. Plaisted will get drafted, but will it be with the right team?

I also want to add a little bit about Kansas big men Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson. I’ve already mentioned that Sasha will get drafted, but didn’t really mention Darnell.

Here’s what Givony said about these two on Thursday

The Kansas duo Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun did a good job in the morning drills as well. Kaun with his feel for the game, agility and scrappiness around the basket, and Jackson with his improved mid-range jumper and the intensity he brings to the floor. It’s not hard to see why Kansas was so good this year with those two manning the post alongside Darrell Arthur. Jackson’s strong play definitely continued in the actual game, as he made some very quick and effective moves in the post, was constantly around the ball, knocked down his only shot and showed a lot of heart.

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I’m stiil saying that Kaun will get drafted but Darnell seems too mediocre and pedestrian to play at the NBA level. But I’m sure people said the same thing about Malik Rose too.

I will have more player reviews and reaction from Friday’s happenings soon.