Enjoy:
While something of a surprising invite, Jamel Artis' inclusion in the 2017 NBA draft combine in Chicago gave the former Pitt star an invaluable opportunity to showcase himself in front of hundreds of NBA coaches, executives and scouts.
For a fringe NBA prospect, one who is on the outside of most any mock draft you'll see, it was a pivotal moment, even if it's mostly a forum to receive physical measurements and undergo interviews with teams.
So how'd he fare?
Measurements
Height, without shoes: 6'5.5" (3rd among guard prospects)
Height, with shoes: 6'6.75" (4th among guard prospects)
Weight: 213.2 lbs (6th-highest among guard prospects)
Wingspan: 6'10" (6th among guard prospects)
Body fat percentage: 11.9 (62nd of 64 participating players)
Hand length: 9.25 inches (1st among guard prospects)
Hand width: 9.75 inches (4th among guard prospects)
Standing reach: 8'9" (2nd among guard prospects)
Shooting drills
Off the dribble, 15 feet, break left: 50 percent (10th of 26 participants)
Off the dribble, 15 feet, break right: 83.3 percent (1st of 26 participants)
Off the dribble, 15 feet, top of the key: 66.7 percent (10th of 26 participants)
On the move, 15 feet: 52.8 percent (23rd of 26 participants)
NBA 3, break left: 0 percent (last of 32 participants)
NBA 3, break right: 80 percent (1st of 32 participants)
NBA corner 3, left: 40 percent (24th of 32 participants)
NBA corner 3, right: 80 percent (4th of 32 participants)
NBA 3, top of the key: 60 percent (12th of 32 participants)
15 footer, break left: 40 percent (4th of 7 participants)
15 footer, break right: 60 percent (2nd of 7 participants)
15 footer, corner left: 60 percent (3rd of 6 participants)
15 footer, corner right: 60 percent (3rd of 7 participants)
15 footer, top of the key: 60 percent (3rd of 7 participants)
Strength and agility
Lane agility time: 11.62 seconds (33rd of 55 participants)
Shuttle run: 3.08 seconds (26th of 55 participants)
Three-quarter court sprint: 3.44 seconds (48th of 55 participants)
Standing vertical leap: 23.5 inches (last among 55 participants)
Max vertical leap: 31 inches (50th of 55 participants)
The rush of numbers can be a little overwhelming and can, understandably, prompt questions about what all of this means.
Artis was labeled as a shooting guard/small forward, which, even in an increasingly positionless league, basically means he'll be an off-ball wing. His physical measurements put him among the tallest and longest guard prospects, particularly with his height, reach and hand size. While his weight appears fine, his body fat percentage is quite noticeable, and not in a good way (though sports writers are hardly ones to critique the physical stature of pro basketball hopefuls).
His shooting numbers, when averaged out, put him around the middle of all players who took part at the combine, which isn't the most encouraging sign for a player who's trying to sell himself to NBA teams as a taller guard with a smooth outside stroke. As his speed and agility numbers indicated -- as well as his college tape -- he's not someone who can be relied on as a dribble penetrator who will blow by players with his quickness and athleticism. He is also, based on that small sample size of five shots per spot, more comfortable from the right side than the left, which isn't all that unusual for a right-hander like himself. The figures he posted on the vertical jumps aren't entirely surprising, but still awfully low.
Though it's not especially important for lottery prospects, hardly any of whom take part in them, the 5-on-5 scrimmages are an opportunity for players to show a level of skill and comfort in the closest thing the combine offers to a true game setting, albeit a very improvised and free-flowing one. In the two games he played, Artis was largely invisible, particularly while playing with ball-dominant guards like Frank Mason and Melo Trimble. It's not necessarily a shocking development -- Artis was, after all, one of the lower-rated participants there -- but having watched him be such an integral and needed component of Pitt's offense this season, it was a little strange. Offensively, he played almost entirely off the ball and usually stood around the perimeter. In his first game, he played with a defensive intensity I didn't see for much of the season, though that assertiveness waned a bit as the second of the two scrimmages went on. In a moment all-to-befitting of the combine's 5-on-5 drills, Artis switched teams about midway through the second half of the second scrimmage as the opposing squad, due to injuries, ran out of substitutes.
Stats were difficult to come by, but in the first scrimmage, he went scoreless, missing his lone shot attempt (a 3), while recording six rebounds, two assists and two turnovers in 22 minutes. I went the old-fashioned route for the second game and kept stats myself, but the ESPN feed kept cutting away for interviews and even commercials, so I wasn't able to get a fully accurate picture of what he did statistically. He did at least score, making a 3 from near the top of the key. Overall, though, his impact on the game was similarly negligible.
I don't know how much the combine necessarily hurt him since getting an invitation was an accomplishment in and of itself, and he may have fared extremely well in interviews, but I'm not sure how much he necessarily boosted his hopes of getting drafted.
But, as I've long said about Artis, he'll get paid good money to play the game he loves somewhere. And that's certainly something.
Craig Meyer: cmeyer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @CraigMeyerPG
While something of a surprising invite, Jamel Artis' inclusion in the 2017 NBA draft combine in Chicago gave the former Pitt star an invaluable opportunity to showcase himself in front of hundreds of NBA coaches, executives and scouts.
For a fringe NBA prospect, one who is on the outside of most any mock draft you'll see, it was a pivotal moment, even if it's mostly a forum to receive physical measurements and undergo interviews with teams.
So how'd he fare?
Measurements
Height, without shoes: 6'5.5" (3rd among guard prospects)
Height, with shoes: 6'6.75" (4th among guard prospects)
Weight: 213.2 lbs (6th-highest among guard prospects)
Wingspan: 6'10" (6th among guard prospects)
Body fat percentage: 11.9 (62nd of 64 participating players)
Hand length: 9.25 inches (1st among guard prospects)
Hand width: 9.75 inches (4th among guard prospects)
Standing reach: 8'9" (2nd among guard prospects)
Shooting drills
Off the dribble, 15 feet, break left: 50 percent (10th of 26 participants)
Off the dribble, 15 feet, break right: 83.3 percent (1st of 26 participants)
Off the dribble, 15 feet, top of the key: 66.7 percent (10th of 26 participants)
On the move, 15 feet: 52.8 percent (23rd of 26 participants)
NBA 3, break left: 0 percent (last of 32 participants)
NBA 3, break right: 80 percent (1st of 32 participants)
NBA corner 3, left: 40 percent (24th of 32 participants)
NBA corner 3, right: 80 percent (4th of 32 participants)
NBA 3, top of the key: 60 percent (12th of 32 participants)
15 footer, break left: 40 percent (4th of 7 participants)
15 footer, break right: 60 percent (2nd of 7 participants)
15 footer, corner left: 60 percent (3rd of 6 participants)
15 footer, corner right: 60 percent (3rd of 7 participants)
15 footer, top of the key: 60 percent (3rd of 7 participants)
Strength and agility
Lane agility time: 11.62 seconds (33rd of 55 participants)
Shuttle run: 3.08 seconds (26th of 55 participants)
Three-quarter court sprint: 3.44 seconds (48th of 55 participants)
Standing vertical leap: 23.5 inches (last among 55 participants)
Max vertical leap: 31 inches (50th of 55 participants)
The rush of numbers can be a little overwhelming and can, understandably, prompt questions about what all of this means.
Artis was labeled as a shooting guard/small forward, which, even in an increasingly positionless league, basically means he'll be an off-ball wing. His physical measurements put him among the tallest and longest guard prospects, particularly with his height, reach and hand size. While his weight appears fine, his body fat percentage is quite noticeable, and not in a good way (though sports writers are hardly ones to critique the physical stature of pro basketball hopefuls).
His shooting numbers, when averaged out, put him around the middle of all players who took part at the combine, which isn't the most encouraging sign for a player who's trying to sell himself to NBA teams as a taller guard with a smooth outside stroke. As his speed and agility numbers indicated -- as well as his college tape -- he's not someone who can be relied on as a dribble penetrator who will blow by players with his quickness and athleticism. He is also, based on that small sample size of five shots per spot, more comfortable from the right side than the left, which isn't all that unusual for a right-hander like himself. The figures he posted on the vertical jumps aren't entirely surprising, but still awfully low.
Though it's not especially important for lottery prospects, hardly any of whom take part in them, the 5-on-5 scrimmages are an opportunity for players to show a level of skill and comfort in the closest thing the combine offers to a true game setting, albeit a very improvised and free-flowing one. In the two games he played, Artis was largely invisible, particularly while playing with ball-dominant guards like Frank Mason and Melo Trimble. It's not necessarily a shocking development -- Artis was, after all, one of the lower-rated participants there -- but having watched him be such an integral and needed component of Pitt's offense this season, it was a little strange. Offensively, he played almost entirely off the ball and usually stood around the perimeter. In his first game, he played with a defensive intensity I didn't see for much of the season, though that assertiveness waned a bit as the second of the two scrimmages went on. In a moment all-to-befitting of the combine's 5-on-5 drills, Artis switched teams about midway through the second half of the second scrimmage as the opposing squad, due to injuries, ran out of substitutes.
Stats were difficult to come by, but in the first scrimmage, he went scoreless, missing his lone shot attempt (a 3), while recording six rebounds, two assists and two turnovers in 22 minutes. I went the old-fashioned route for the second game and kept stats myself, but the ESPN feed kept cutting away for interviews and even commercials, so I wasn't able to get a fully accurate picture of what he did statistically. He did at least score, making a 3 from near the top of the key. Overall, though, his impact on the game was similarly negligible.
I don't know how much the combine necessarily hurt him since getting an invitation was an accomplishment in and of itself, and he may have fared extremely well in interviews, but I'm not sure how much he necessarily boosted his hopes of getting drafted.
But, as I've long said about Artis, he'll get paid good money to play the game he loves somewhere. And that's certainly something.
Craig Meyer: cmeyer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @CraigMeyerPG
