Notes and Video From the Hornets Pre-Draft Workouts

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Published: June 4, 2012

The Hornets are working out Austin Rivers, Jermey Lamb, Terrence Ross, Terrell Stoglin, Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Meyers Leonard, Arnett Moultrie, and Terrence Jones today at the Alario Center. Notes and videos will be posted here throughout the day.

Even though Anthony Davis isn’t here, he’s still the talk of the first Hornets pre-draft workouts. In nearly every individual player interview there were questions asked about what it was like playing against Davis and how they thought they would play with Davis. Is he as good as advertised? Will their games compliment his? The answers were fairly standard, with the exception of Zeller.

My first impression of Zeller is that he’s smart, willing to work, and not overly impressed with Anthony Davis. He remarked that Davis scored “only” five points against them. We didn’t get to see much in the actual workout and there wasn’t much said about him in either Monty or Dell’s interview.

Here’s some video from Zeller after the workout–

John Henson, the forward from UNC, had a lot of nice stuff to say about New Orleans, calling it a “great sports city”. He talked about how he really enjoyed his drive from the airport. What?

Here’s some video, and then I’ll let you know what I think of the big man from UNC.

While there is sure to be some speculation about whether or not Henson will be able to physically play with Davis right off the bat in a front court, the reality is not that important. Would they get pushed around if they were out there together for 40 minutes a night? Sure, but trying to win it all this year or next isn’t an ideal move anyway. The next few seasons are about gaining experience and growing talent. In a few years, once they’ve put on some weight and their offensive games have improved, I think you’d be looking at one of the best two-way front courts in the league.

Perhaps most importantly, and this isn’t really being talked about too much, Henson is one of the few players in the draft who would really be able to battle Davis in practice, giving him a long defender to work against every day for the foreseeable future. Getting a top-notch defender in there to work with Davis on a regular basis is, in my opinion, one of the most important moves the organization can make.

Jeremy Lamb 6’5″ guard from UConn

Terrence Ross 6’6″ guard from Washington

Terrell Stoglin 6’1″ guard from Maryland

In another interview Arnett Moultrie said that the Hornets  told him they are looking for the best player available and not drafting for need. Monty acknowledged the possibility that they would take another big man despite their being so many on the roster already. “That’s why we brought those guys in, because there’s so many bigs that can go in the top 10, so we’ve got to take a look at all of them.”

Despite there being more potential top-10 selections than in most recent years, Monty threw criticisms at agents who didn’t allow their players to attend, noting that he though they weren’t doing their jobs.

Asked about whether Davis is now the number one guy, Monty instead named Eric Gordon, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, as the best player on the team. Asked about Gordon’s future yet again, Monty expressed dissatisfaction that he was being asked the same questions over and over.

“He has always intimated to me that this is the place where he wants to be,” Williams said. “We talked this weekend and he said he wanted to come down here and work out and see the guys and see the coaches. That’s who he has been since he has been here.”

Gordon was in the gym watching workouts, but was not available to the media. He’s been working out at the Alario Center with Monty in recent days alongside a number of his teammates from last year.

As for Demps, the highlight of his interview was his statement when asked when he would declare Davis as their selection. He claimed he wanted to do “due diligence”, but nobody believed him. Your eyes, Dell, they lie!

 

 

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