Tag Archives: Mason Plumlee

Mason Plumlee works out with Washington Wizards, sits down with Monumental Sports

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Former Duke forward and NBA Draft hopeful Mason Plumlee worked out for the Washington Wizards Wednesday. The Wizards hold the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA Draft, which will take place two weeks from today at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Plumlee appears to have been working heavily on his mid-range jump shooting in the months leading up to the NBA Draft. The 6-foot-11 forward was predominantly a post scorer during his days at Duke, but showed a soft touch with his jumper in his Wizards workout, even stepping out to knock a few down from 3-point range. Check out highlights of Plumlee’s Wizards workout, courtesy of Monumental Sports.

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After his workout, Plumlee sat down with Dave Johnson and Glen Consor of Monumental Sports, where the former Blue Devil gave his own scouting report and discussed the NBA Draft advice he got from his older brother Miles, what it was like to play for Mike Krzyzewski and basketball games in the Plumlee driveway.

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Mason Plumlee participates in private workouts in Boston and Philadelphia

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With less than three weeks to go before the NBA Draft, Mason Plumlee began participating in private workouts for potential NBA suitors. Plumlee attended the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, but only participated in athletic testing and interviews.

Mason Plumlee held his first two private workouts with Boston and Philadelphia this week. (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

Mason Plumlee held two private workouts with Boston and Philadelphia this week. (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

The first stop for Plumlee was Boston, where he worked out for the Celtics Tuesday alongside Miami center Reggie Johnson, Belmont guard Ian Clark and German point guard Dennis Schroeder. Boston sits just outside this year’s draft lottery, holding the No. 16 overall pick.

Plumlee then departed for Philadelphia for a workout with the 76ers, competing alongside UCLA forward Shabazz Muhammad, Gonzaga forward Kelly Olynyk, 6-foot-10 Norvel Pelle—a former Iona commit who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA—and N.C. State forward Scott Wood. Philadelphia will select 11th in this year’s Draft.

But some reports indicate the Sixers’ coaching staff may have been more impressed with Pelle than with Plumlee or Olynyk.

Plumlee had previously said that he also has scheduled to work out with the Dallas Mavericks (No. 13), Phoenix Suns (No. 5), Portland Trail Blazers (No. 10) and New Orleans Pelicans (No. 6), although no official announcements regarding these workouts has been made.

Reports indicate he will head to Portland to work out with the Trail Blazers June 19.

It also appears other teams are entering the mix for Plumlee as well. Reports say the former Duke forward will work out for the Detroit Pistons—who hold the No. 8 overall selection—June 21.

#AskChron: Duke basketball 2013-14 and the NBA Draft

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With Duke gearing up for the 2013-14 season and the NBA Draft less than a month away, we took to Twitter to answer some questions our readers submitted to @dukebasketball.

There’s a lot to talk about now, so let’s dive in:

Bobby Colton: As we learned last season, the starting lineup can change without any warning whatsoever. All through the exhibition season we were led to believe Quinn Cook and Alex Murphy would both start, yet when Duke opened up the season it was Tyler Thornton and Rasheed Sulaimon running with the first unit. As far as I can tell, there will be four guarantees in the starting lineup. Cook will be the team’s starting point guard. The 6-foot-1 guard out of Washington D.C. earned the assignment after averaging 11.7 points and 5.3 assists per game last season. Cook proved to be a true distributor and displayed a refined 3-point shot that made defenses stay honest. Sulaimon will start on the wing due to his ability to be an impact two-way player. He could very well be Duke’s best offensive and defensive player this season. Jabari Parker, the freshman ranked No. 2 in his class by ESPN, will start at one forward spot and could very well be the team’s best player this year. Sophomore transfer Rodney Hood also has a forward spot locked in. In his freshman year at Mississippi State, Hood showed considerable potential by averaging 10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

That leaves one more spot in the front court. The candidates for that spot include sophomore Amile Jefferson, redshirt sophomore Marshall Plumlee and senior Josh Hairston. I expect this spot in the starting lineup to be fluid all year, but my guess is that head coach Mike Krzyzewski will give a vote of confidence to his senior and start Hairston opening day. There will be an open competition this offseason between the three players, and though Hairston may be the least skilled of the trio, he provides experience that neither of the other two can offer.
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Mason Plumlee continues with athletic drills and interviews at NBA Draft Combine

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After taking his official measurements yesterday at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, former

Duke forward Mason Plumlee continued with athletic drills Friday.

According to ESPN’s NBA Draft insider Chad Ford, Plumlee impressed the scouts with his performance in the lane agility drill and the three-quarter court sprint.

Plumlee also recorded a 36-inch vertical leap, which was three inches more than Pittsburgh center Steven Adams, who is gaining considerable steam as a potential lottery pick thanks to a strong showing this weekend in Chicago. Last year at the NBA Draft Combine, Mason’s older brother Miles shocked the scouts with a 40.5-inch vertical leap.

Mason Plumlee followed that up with a standing vertical leap of 30.5 inches, which was five inches less than another big man with lottery aspirations, Indiana’s Cody Zeller.

In addition to competing in athletic drills, Plumlee has also had the opportunity to interview with NBA coaches and executives at the NBA Draft Combine. Many scouts and GMs point to the interviews as the most important part of the combine. Plumlee posted a picture of his interview schedule on Instagram the other day. His schedule included 13 NBA teams, including nine lottery teams.

Have a few more interviews today !

Plumlee has already started scheduling individual workouts with some teams. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reported that Plumlee has scheduled a private workout with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers are projected to pick No. 11 in the draft this season, though the final draft order won’t be official until after the draft lottery takes place May 21.

Duke basketball alumni measure up at the combine

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Duke’s trio of seniors, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry, are not participating in drills at the NBA draft combine in Chicago, but they did get measured along with the other draft hopefuls. Here are some interesting measurement notes, as per ESPN’s Chad Ford. The official measurements—which are expected to match Ford’s—will be released today.

Mason Plumlee measured taller than expected at the NBA draft combine.

Mason Plumlee measured taller than expected at the NBA draft combine.

    • Duke prospects stand taller than expected: All three of Plumlee, Kelly and Curry recorded heights in shoes taller than the playing heights listed for them by the Blue Devils this season. Curry measured in at 6-foot-3, a full inch taller than expected. For a guard who will make his living as a shooting guard, every inch will count. Kelly was only slightly taller than expected, coming in a shade under 7-feet tall after being listed at 6-foot-11 this season. Plumlee’s size may be the most important as far as draft stock is concerned. Plumlee was 6-foot-11.25 in socks after being sized at 6-foot-10 this season. Measuring half an inch above 7 feet wearing shoes, Plumlee was one of only seven big men to record heights greater than 7-feet, which may help teams see Plumlee as an option at the center spot.
Ryan Kelly's body fat is up, but it is probably due to his injury trouble this past season. Photo by Jisoo Yoon/The Chronicle

Ryan Kelly’s body fat is up, but it is may be due to his injury trouble this past season. Photo by Jisoo Yoon/The Chronicle

  • Injuries cause weight gain/muscle loss: Kelly and Curry dealt with injuries for much of the 2012-13 season, and now it’s showing at the combine. Kelly recorded the highest body fat, coming at at 14.8 percent. Though his body fat is up, his weight is actually down two pounds from his playing weight. The expectation is that when healthy the body fat will be solved. The same can be said for Curry. Curry was tied for the fourth highest body fat figure—second highest among guards behind just Providence’s Ricky Ledo. His weight, however, was almost six pounds lower than the number listed by Duke.
  • Duke players have short arms: At least comparatively. Curry’s wingspan is only 6-foot-4, which is only an inch longer than his height. The concern with Curry is that guards who need to create their own shot—as Curry will need to do as a 3-point shooter—need the length to do so.  Kelly and Plumlee both had wingspans shorter than their heights. This could be especially problematic for Plumlee. Even though his height is impressive, he has a shorter wingspan than a number of shorter big men who could go in the first round, such as Steven Adams, Gorgui Dieng and C.J. Leslie. One player of note with a shorter wingspan than Plumlee was Cody Zeller, who was the same exact height as the Duke grad.

Mason Plumlee pulls out of NBA draft combine

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Today is the start of the NBA Draft Combine, but not even the lone healthy Blue Devil draft hopeful will be participating in drills.

According to ESPN’s Chad Ford, Plumlee will only go through medical testing and conduct interviews.

Others who won’t be doing drills include Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum, Indiana’s Cody Zeller and Syracuse’s Michael Carter-Williams, all of whom are lottery hopefuls.

Though Plumlee won’t be doing drills, Ford did get to see Plumlee in Chicago a few days ago, and came away impressed.

In a piece for ESPN, Ford notes that scouts aren’t in love with Plumlee, but Ford himself is very high on the Duke big man.

Plumlee is 23, and for NBA teams, that’s akin to having an infectious disease. Despite his improvements on the court, scouts have been reluctant to put him back into the top 10. I understand the hesitation because of his age. Virtually every advanced metric says age is a strong predictor of NBA success or failure. But with Plumlee, I’m not so sure.

Mason Plumlee won't be competing in drills at the NBA draft combine today. (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

Mason Plumlee won’t be competing in drills at the NBA draft combine today. (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

For Ford, Plumlee’s biggest asset, just like older brother Miles, is his athleticism.

Athletically, Plumlee is among the top two or three big men in the draft. Nerlens Noel is the only player who clearly looks bouncier. However, there are things Plumlee can do that no other big in this draft can. He has great hands, can catch and finish on the run and plays with power in the post.

Ford notes that Plumlee’s lack of length, uninspiring shot blocking, and “work-in-progress” jumper have scared off teams. Though scouts are afraid, Plumlee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, is not concerned with his client’s draft stock.

Plumlee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, is fairly certain Plumlee is a top-10 pick, maybe even top-five. Bartelstein is so certain that he’s pulling Plumlee out of the drills portion of the draft combine Thursday.

I’m not sure I see him going that high. I know most of the scouts I talk to don’t. However, Bartelstein has a point. If a team wants an athletic big, how can they really pass on him?

Although he is not participating in drills, Plumlee’s draft stock can improve this weekend based on his interviews with interested teams and the performances of his fellow big men. A lot can change before the draft takes place, as the draft order has yet to even be determined. Plumlee can safely expect to hear his name called in the first round, but what pick is still very much up for debate.