Red-Blue games
The three UA representatives playing in the NBA Combine games Thursday — Kobi Simmons, Rawle Alkins and Kadeem Allen — were actually outnumbered by other Wildcats inside the Quest Multisport complex.
That’s because Arizona had three alums coaching in the games and two others evaluating them.
Nets assistant Bret Brielmaier and Lakers assistant Jesse Mermuys are serving as head coaches for two of the four combine teams, and D-League head coach Matt Brase is an assistant for another.
The three coaches had breakfast together Thursday before heading out for games that were watched by Lakers head coach Luke Walton and Bulls staffer Jeff Feld, two others with UA blood.
“We’re a NBA training ground,” said Brase, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers coach for the past two seasons. “Just like Arizona baseball says it’s the MLB training ground, that’s what we are.”
Shrinkage
Arizona typically measures the heights of players with their shoes on, and rounds up when there are any fractions.
So that explains why Kadeem Allen was listed at 6 feet 3 inches last season yet measured at 6-1 without shoes and 6-2.25 with shoes when NBA measurements came out this week. And why Kobi Simmons, whom UA put at 6-5 last season, came out at 6-3.25 without shoes and 6-4.5 with shoes in NBA measurements.
But Rawle Alkins somehow still lost an inch this week. Listed at 6-5 by UA, Alkins is NBA-rated at 6-2.5 inches without shoes and 6-3.75 with them.
New role
In his first game Thursday, Simmons had a different kind of stat line than he put up last season.
The former UA guard had just three points but five assists and three turnovers while trying to prove himself at point guard.
A shooting guard last season, Simmons had five assists in three games for the Wildcats but also scored in double-digits during each one.
“I’m a point guard,” Simmons said. “I played a two in school so (NBA scouts) know I can play off the ball. … I think I did a pretty decent job today.”
Simmons may have impressed even more in testing. He had the fifth-best shuttle run (2.98 seconds, 0.14 behind leader Isaiah Briscoe) and the seventh-best max vertical leap (38.5 inches).
Sales pitches
Not only do participants in the NBA combine interview with multiple teams during the week, but they also show up to talk about themselves with the media.
It was clear many of them were ready for both occasions.
UCLA’s T.J. Leaf: “I think I can score on three levels, which not a lot of bigs are able to do.”
Cal’s Ivan Rabb: “I think people don’t realize I got better this year.”
Gonzaga’s Nigel Williams-Goss: “With me being a two-time academic All-American, never having any off court issues, and just the way I compete on the floor, that allows my team to respect me. I just try to make sure I’m as well rounded as possible.”
Alkins: “My playmaking (is) underrated. Whether it’s making plays for myself or teammates and my defensive ability. I want to be known as a two-way player and lockdown defender.”
And Simmons: “John Wall, his speed and athleticism, I think I can match it.”
Big picture
Williams-Goss left college basketball on a doubly painful note, having twisted his ankle in the final two minutes of Gonzaga’s championship game loss to North Carolina — and having a last-ditch driving shot blocked away in the final seconds.
That memory wasn’t fun, but Williams-Goss remembers it a different way, too.
“If you put it in the grand scheme of things, not too many people can say they played for a national championship,” Williams-Goss said. “That’s something I hold on to. As bad as it hurts, it was definitely a blessing.”
The big number
58 Percent of spot-up shots Kadeem Allen made during NBA testing, eighth-best among combine participants.
Quotable
“Absolutely not. He’s gonna say what he’s gonna say, but it is what it is – we lost.”
– Leaf, on whether he was bothered by LaVar Ball’s remarks after UCLA lost to Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, when the father of Lonzo Ball said winning a title was unrealistic because the Bruins were slow afoot because they had “three white guys.”
— Bruce Pascoe
