While certain players are lucky enough to be considered lottery locks and even top five locks in the
NBA Draft each summer, which lead them to not participating in combines and only working out and interviewing with a handful of teams, it is the polar opposite for players near the end of the first round or into the second round.
Some players have improved their draft stock drastically due to pre-draft workouts, but the last thing anyone would call it is easy.
After working out twice and three times a day for weeks, players usually gather up enough miles to qualify for any frequent flyer program, just to go through a grueling workout before booking another flight for another NBA city.
For recent San Antonio Spurs draftee Marcus Denmon, he wasn’t even projected to be drafted. He recently chronicled his pre-draft process for Dime Magazine and talked about everything from a Minnesota hotel with a flat screen tv in the bathroom to a certain coach’s wardrobe malfunction.
Denmon said he trained at UC-Santa Barbara with BDA Sports and the Peak Performance Project Sport Science facility.
I would do one workout in the morning usually around 8:00, then I’d come back and do the weight room and agility workout around 11 or 11:30 at P3 Sport Science. Then I’d come back in the afternoon at around 3:00 and work on whatever we decided to do that day. I was working out three times a day for six weeks, essentially since the season has been over.
While Denmon’s name being called at number 59 to the Spurs lead to many fans scratching their heads at picking up another undersized shooting guard, Denmon said he worked on improving his ball-handling prior to the draft. If he’s able to able to add play-making skills to an effective shooting game, I can see Denmon as a drive-and-dish point guard off the bench.
I would say my ballhandling and ability to play the point guard position. As far as running the team with the ball in my hands, that is something I set out to work on going into the pre-draft process and just continuing to work on all of those things I feel like I did well already.
As for what he thought stood out to NBA coaches and GMs, Denmon mentioned the one asset that could have put him ahead of other candidates, defense.
Me being a competitor, and my defense. A lot of scorers, and I was a scorer in college, a lot of scorers don’t have that defensive mindset, but I have that mindset. I went into workouts and I didn’t care how highly touted a guy was, I would go after them on both ends. I showed my toughness and my competitiveness I feel like.
What do you think about the Spurs selecting Denmon Spurs fans? Think he will be another late round steal for the Spurs?
