DRAFT EXPRESS ESPN INSIDERS COMBINE WINNERS AND LOSERS
• More top prospects than usual will not have their measurements taken at this year's combine. Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, RJ Barrett, and Darius Garland opted out of the proceedings, and Rui Hachimura, De'Andre Hunter and Matisse Thybulle are not in attendance at all. Even so, there's data available for all of these players from previous settings, and teams will not be fully in the dark even if these prospects do not come in for workouts.
• Tacko Fall may not be the highest-profile prospect at this year's combine, but he warrants special mention since he posted record-breaking numbers. The UCF standout measured 7-foot-7 in shoes (an inch taller than he was listed in college) with an 8-foot-2¼ wingspan and a 10-foot-2½ standing reach that exceed all officially recorded measurements. They are unofficially surpassed only by Manute Bol's alleged 8-foot-6 wingspan and 10-foot-5 standing reach of NBA lore. At this point in league history, there are not a lot of truly anomalous players from a physical perspective, but Fall certainly qualifies as such. Fall had a strong showing at the inaugural G League Elite Camp and was one of the 11 players who moved on to play at the NBA combine. He has a chance to continue to build on that momentum and potentially earn a spot in the second round (or, at minimum, a two-way contract).
• Bol Bol measured impressively -- with similar dimensions to Rudy Gobert -- standing 7-2¼ in shoes with a 7-7 wingspan. However, Bol weighed in at 208 pounds, down considerably from the 234 pounds he weighed at the Nike Basketball Academy last August. Having fractured his foot in December, Bol likely hasn't been able to do much work in the weight room and quickly shed much of the bulk he put on in his time at Oregon, which isn't ideal considering he will be asked to bang with opposing centers in the NBA. Bol likely will never be especially bulky and he is able to rely less heavily on physicality than most big men with his unique scoring touch. But his ability to find a comfortable playing weight that will allow him to hold his own defensively is a point of interest among teams.
• Cam Reddish lived up to expectations and compared favorable to fellow one-and-done prospects such as Jayson Tatum, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevin Knox in the measurements -- standing 6-8 in shoes with a 208-pound frame and a 7-0½ wingspan. Talent has never been the issue with the Duke freshman, and his measurements were well known after he made the rounds in various camps from an early age. But it's a positive for him to remind teams of his unique physical tools. He could be a riser in the pre-draft process as the memory of his disappointing season fades over time, replaced by these kinds of data points and strong pre-draft workouts.
• In contrast, Jarrett Culver exceeded the previous consensus among teams regarding his measurables. He's grown since last year, now standing 6-6¾ with a 6-9½ wingspan and a lean 194-pound frame. That puts the Texas Tech standout in the same class as especially big guards such as Caris LeVert, and he compares favorably to others such as Spencer Dinwiddie and D'Angelo Russell in terms of height and reach. Culver's ability to handle the ball and be a playmaker at that size is unique. It gives him nice upside to grow into as his body fills out and his perimeter shot stabilizes.
• Romeo Langford and Kevin Porter Jr. both posted prototypical numbers for their positions, as expected, with an identical 8-7 standing reach. Porter is marginally smaller than Langford standing 6-5½ in shoes, but his 213-pound frame and 6-10 wingspan falls somewhere between Victor Oladipo and James Harden on the spectrum of strong guards. Langford measured 6-6 in shoes with a 6-11 wingspan that gives him similar dimensions to Jason Richardson and Bogdan Bogdanovic
• Nassir Little measured 6-6 in shoes. His 7-1¼ wingspan and 224-pound frame place him somewhere between Jaylen Brown and Kawhi Leonard in terms of physical comps. Little's length and bulk should allow him to play the power forward position in the NBA with relative ease.
• Jaxson Hayes's physical comparisons are just as impressive as his 6-11½, 219-pound frame and 7-3½ wingspan -- falling somewhere between Tyson Chandler and Clint Capela.
• Brandon Clarke recorded perhaps the most interesting measurements of any player tested this week, given that this is the first time teams are getting their eyes on his official numbers. Standing only 6-8¼ in shoes with an even 6-8¼ wingspan and a 207-pound frame, Clarke has similar dimensions to wing players such as Gordon Hayward, Klay Thompson and Rodney Hood. But that did not stop him from blocking an astonishing 4.3 shots per 40 minutes at Gonzaga last season. His 8-6 standing reach may not fall in step with other comparably versatile defensive forwards such as Draymond Green (8-9) or LeBron James (8-10¼), but it is far from a deal breaker given the potential he showed last season while protecting the rim and locking down several NBA-level guards off of switches.
Finding a real NBA comp for Clarke's measurements -- especially someone who also plays center minutes -- is challenging. The closest ones we can find are DeMarre Carroll (6-7¾, 207 pounds, 6-10 wingspan) and Andre Roberson (6-7, 206 pounds, 6-11 wingspan), and even those aren't exact matches due to their superior length.
• Coby White is another interesting case, as he measured out extremely tall (6-4¾ in shoes) but doesn't have great length (6-5 wingspan, 8-1½ standing reach). His physical comps are nevertheless excellent, partially due to his improved frame (191 pounds), as the likes of Kyrie Irving, CJ McCollum and Malik Beasley have similar dimensions to him.
I’m jk obviously but where is this info from?
