Former Rebels facing uncertain future as NBA Draft approaches

By Taylor Bern

Thursday, June 16, 2016 | 2 a.m.

One week from tonight in Brooklyn, 60 players will be selected in the NBA Draft. Odds are that most of the eligible former Rebels who have entered won’t hear their name called, and projections for the two that likely will get drafted are all over the map.

Pat McCaw and Stephen Zimmerman Jr. have been going through the pre-draft machine since May, when they were invited to Chicago for the NBA combine. From there it’s been mostly team workouts, and all three other eligible Rebels — Derrick Jones Jr., Chris Obekpa and Goodluck Okonoboh — have participated in some of those as well.

But going back to that combine, McCaw’s stock has continually ticked upwards as teams have complimented his versatility. In one of the scrimmages in Chicago, McCaw turned heads with 14 points on nine shots plus four assists, three rebounds, two steals and no turnovers in 17 minutes.

McCaw wasn’t really on any mock drafts when he (and more than half the roster) decided to leave the program early, and he’s been moving mostly up the boards ever since. In the latest projections, he’s at 25 (NBADraft.net), 26 (ESPN), 41 (Draft Express) and 45 (CBS Sports).

This is a good part to point out that while many of the people who work on mock drafts put a lot of reporting into them, these are basically educated guesses outside of the top 10. Last year, in the first round, Draft Express’ final projection had 17 players within three spots of where they ended up getting drafted. NBADraft.net (16) and Chad Ford at ESPN (12) didn’t fare any better.

Most mock drafts had Christian Wood getting selected even though he had been sliding down draft boards. However, few realized the full impact of Wood’s team interviews, which one NBA scout said was one of the worst he had ever seen.

Though it’s not for the same reasons, this year Zimmerman has started to slip a bit. Once pegged as a potential lottery pick, Zimmerman at the combine turned in slow agility times with a slightly high body-fat percentage (11.15 percent) and didn’t participate in the scrimmages.

On Ford’s mock drafts at ESPN, Zimmerman has dropped out of the first round while others have him at 24 (NBADraft.net), 43 (Draft Express) and 50 (CBS Sports). Part of his projection is teams determining how much they think Zimmerman’s right elbow, which he can’t completely straighten following a childhood injury, will limit his development.

Even if Zimmerman slides a bit, he measures nearly 7-foot in shoes and teams like the potential of his jump shot. One of the things many people wanted to see more from Zimmerman in his one year at UNLV, post play, actually will become less important at the next level, while his shot must get better.

Of the other three, only Jones has a dunker’s chance of getting drafted. Jones has had workouts with the Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets and today he’s with the Sacramento Kings, all of whom likely see a raw talent with a penchant for finishing around the rim.

Okonoboh, who left the program in November and originally planned to transfer, and Obekpa, who sat out as a redshirt and never officially played at UNLV, are both shot blockers with minimal offensive games. Their professional careers almost certainly will start by trying to make a roster during the NBA Summer League here in Las Vegas from July 8-18.

That also will be the first proving ground for McCaw and Zimmerman, only they will likely know a week from now what team they are on.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.