TWENTY-FOUR DAYS remain before that annual crapshoot known the NBA draft. One figures it cannot come soon enough for Hassan Whiteside.
The one-and-done Marshall shot-swatter has been coveted by NBA scouts for his freakish length, great ability to time shots and the way he runs the floor. He has been projected to be a "lottery pick," or a top-14 selection.
Many analysts see him going 14th, to the Houston Rockets. One analyst, Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen, has him going seventh to the Detroit Pistons.
"Is he the next Marcus Camby?" Thomsen writes. "The Pistons - desperate for frontcourt athleticism - will gamble on the explosive shot-blocking and open-court potential of Whiteside with an eye toward reinventing their old defense-first formula."
But that was written May 19, an eternity ago. The pre-draft combine in Chicago took place since then, and as ESPN.com's Chad Ford writes, it didn't all go well for Whiteside.
His physical measurements are indisputable. He stands 6-foot-101/2 without shoes, 6-111/2 with them, and is a still-lanky 227 pounds. His wingspan is 7-7 and his standing reach is 9-5, both at the top of the prospect chart.
He didn't do well on the athletic tests to which ESPN.com gained access. His no-step vertical jump of 271/2 inches and max vertical of 31 didn't wow anybody.
And apparently, he has lost a bit of the humility he had early in the season at Marshall, and that may toss him lower in the first round - or even out.
Interviews are a large portion of the Chicago event. Ford writes that a number of general managers told him that Whiteside's interviews were "rocky." And Ford wasn't surprised after talking to the big guy.
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Whiteside's draft stock taking a hit
TWENTY-FOUR DAYS remain before that annual crapshoot known the NBA draft. One figures it cannot come soon enough for Hassan Whiteside.
The one-and-done Marshall shot-swatter has been coveted by NBA scouts for his freakish length, great ability to time shots and the way he runs the floor. He has been projected to be a "lottery pick," or a top-14 selection.
Many analysts see him going 14th, to the Houston Rockets. One analyst, Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen, has him going seventh to the Detroit Pistons.
"Is he the next Marcus Camby?" Thomsen writes. "The Pistons - desperate for frontcourt athleticism - will gamble on the explosive shot-blocking and open-court potential of Whiteside with an eye toward reinventing their old defense-first formula."
But that was written May 19, an eternity ago. The pre-draft combine in Chicago took place since then, and as ESPN.com's Chad Ford writes, it didn't all go well for Whiteside.
His physical measurements are indisputable. He stands 6-foot-101/2 without shoes, 6-111/2 with them, and is a still-lanky 227 pounds. His wingspan is 7-7 and his standing reach is 9-5, both at the top of the prospect chart.
He didn't do well on the athletic tests to which ESPN.com gained access. His no-step vertical jump of 271/2 inches and max vertical of 31 didn't wow anybody.
And apparently, he has lost a bit of the humility he had early in the season at Marshall, and that may toss him lower in the first round - or even out.
Interviews are a large portion of the Chicago event. Ford writes that a number of general managers told him that Whiteside's interviews were "rocky." And Ford wasn't surprised after talking to the big guy.
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TWENTY-FOUR DAYS remain before that annual crapshoot known the NBA draft. One figures it cannot come soon enough for Hassan Whiteside.
The one-and-done Marshall shot-swatter has been coveted by NBA scouts for his freakish length, great ability to time shots and the way he runs the floor. He has been projected to be a "lottery pick," or a top-14 selection.
Many analysts see him going 14th, to the Houston Rockets. One analyst, Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen, has him going seventh to the Detroit Pistons.
"Is he the next Marcus Camby?" Thomsen writes. "The Pistons - desperate for frontcourt athleticism - will gamble on the explosive shot-blocking and open-court potential of Whiteside with an eye toward reinventing their old defense-first formula."
But that was written May 19, an eternity ago. The pre-draft combine in Chicago took place since then, and as ESPN.com's Chad Ford writes, it didn't all go well for Whiteside.
His physical measurements are indisputable. He stands 6-foot-101/2 without shoes, 6-111/2 with them, and is a still-lanky 227 pounds. His wingspan is 7-7 and his standing reach is 9-5, both at the top of the prospect chart.
He didn't do well on the athletic tests to which ESPN.com gained access. His no-step vertical jump of 271/2 inches and max vertical of 31 didn't wow anybody.
And apparently, he has lost a bit of the humility he had early in the season at Marshall, and that may toss him lower in the first round - or even out.
Interviews are a large portion of the Chicago event. Ford writes that a number of general managers told him that Whiteside's interviews were "rocky." And Ford wasn't surprised after talking to the big guy.
Ford did qualify his comments by saying Whiteside is a nice kid with a great smile, who can carry on a conversation - things we saw as the 2009-10 season progressed at Marshall.
"In the 15 minutes or so I spent with him one-on-one, he projected a confidence that bordered on naïve arrogance," Ford writes. "He compared himself to everyone from Dwight Howard to Hakeem Olajuwon [with whom he spent a week training], complained about where I had him on my mock draft [No. 14 to the Rockets] and was insulted that our scouting report didn't have more on his 3-point shooting ability."
What, he sinks 3-of-5 for the Thundering Herd and he fancies himself the next Channing Frye? It seems Whiteside has developed an attitude he didn't have back in November.
Whiteside probably shouldn't be reading his own clips, so to speak, and he shouldn't read Ford's latest mock draft, which hit the Internet late last week. Ford acknowledges that Whiteside will still be considered at 13th (Raptors) and 14th (Rockets), but drops him to 24th, to the Atlanta Hawks.
Also on ESPN.com, John Hollinger uses a nerdish "Draft Rater" to project a prospect's NBA success by years 4-5. Hollinger is pretty bullish on how well his top 12 lists have fared over the years.
Whiteside is not on Hollinger's top 12. He's on the duds - prominent names ranked outside the top 35 collegians. Whiteside is pegged at No. 62.
Here are some other tough comments: He has been labeled the biggest "high risk/high reward" player in the draft, and Ford and others have compared him to Tyrus Thomas.
Well, Thomas is still in the league. The bad news is Thomas hasn't done much to back up his No. 4 overall selection in the 2006 draft.
Perhaps Whiteside can boost his stock at workouts in the weeks to come. He might want to, because that money for which he bolted from Marshall might be melting away.
Article Preview
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Whiteside's draft stock taking a hit
TWENTY-FOUR DAYS remain before that annual crapshoot known the NBA draft. One figures it cannot come soon enough for Hassan Whiteside.
The one-and-done Marshall shot-swatter has been coveted by NBA scouts for his freakish length, great ability to time shots and the way he runs the floor. He has been projected to be a "lottery pick," or a top-14 selection.
Many analysts see him going 14th, to the Houston Rockets. One analyst, Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen, has him going seventh to the Detroit Pistons.
"Is he the next Marcus Camby?" Thomsen writes. "The Pistons - desperate for frontcourt athleticism - will gamble on the explosive shot-blocking and open-court potential of Whiteside with an eye toward reinventing their old defense-first formula."
But that was written May 19, an eternity ago. The pre-draft combine in Chicago took place since then, and as ESPN.com's Chad Ford writes, it didn't all go well for Whiteside.
His physical measurements are indisputable. He stands 6-foot-101/2 without shoes, 6-111/2 with them, and is a still-lanky 227 pounds. His wingspan is 7-7 and his standing reach is 9-5, both at the top of the prospect chart.
He didn't do well on the athletic tests to which ESPN.com gained access. His no-step vertical jump of 271/2 inches and max vertical of 31 didn't wow anybody.
And apparently, he has lost a bit of the humility he had early in the season at Marshall, and that may toss him lower in the first round - or even out.
Interviews are a large portion of the Chicago event. Ford writes that a number of general managers told him that Whiteside's interviews were "rocky." And Ford wasn't surprised after talking to the big guy.
