Remember this time last year when Kevin Pittsnogle was considered almost a lock in the NBA draft? He had that tremendous run, he was a big man with an outside shot. At worst he would be a poor man’s Dirk Nowitzki. Then he went to the Chicago pre-draft camp and found out just how much more he had to learn and do before he’d get to be a 1st round pick.
Now we are starting to see the same thing playing out with Aaron Gray.
Aaron Gray is closer than ever to turning his childhood dream to play in the NBA into reality.
The 7-foot center from Emmaus is coming off a standout junior season at Pittsburgh and is being projected by some NBA draft experts as a mid-to-late first-round pick in June.
…
“I’ve been talking to a lot of pro scouts and a lot of general managers,” Gray said. “I just talked to Jerry West the other day, and he seemed to think I have a good chance to be mid-to-late first-round, and that I’ll have an opportunity to go through some workouts to improve my status.“If that’s the case, then obviously it’s going to be something big that I’m going to have to consider.”
But Gray said he won’t make any decision without talking with Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, whose younger sister Maggie, the Army women’s basketball coach, died on Thursday. Gray said Internet reports that he had already made his decision to enter the draft are false.
“I don’t know what sources they are talking about, especially with what’s going on with coach Dixon now,” Gray said. “She just died [Thursday] night. He obviously needs some time. I’m not going to be selfish and put myself ahead of what he’s dealing with, because obviously his situation is more important than mine right now.
“The last thing he needs to worry about right now is me.”
It’s pretty much a given that Gray will go to the pre-draft camp in Orlando and not hire an agent — he’s already said there wouldn’t be any hiring of an agent. He has nothing to lose and everything to learn and gain by going. As this article points out, there is still a way to go.
As for Gray, he proved much work remains after he wore down against a brutal Big East schedule.
He was outplayed by Bradley sophomore Patrick O’Bryant in the Panthers’ season-ending 72-66 loss to the Braves in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19.
“There is so much stuff I can take away from this season and go back and look at,” Gray said. “I learned about how to better prepare myself for each game, what I need to do on off-days, the type of stuff I need to do in between games so I stay fresh.”
Gray will get his game broken down, his strengths and weaknesses completely explored by the process, and that is a good thing. The more knowledge and information he gets, the more he can use it to get better.
