Wizards to host Bassey, Huff, among others in pre-draft workout originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
With the 2021 NBA Draft just 24 days away, the Washington Wizards are preparing for their 15th overall pick by hosting pre-draft workouts. College standouts like Charles Bassey, Jay Huff, Greg Brown III and others will be displaying their talents to GM Tommy Sheppard and company at the Wizards’ facility this Tuesday.
Bassey was a highly sought-after prospect coming out of high school and had an illustrious three-year career at Western Kentucky. Per a Wizards press release, Bassey finished his senior season second nationally in double-doubles (18), second in total rebounds (325), second in total dunks (70) and fourth in blocks per game (3.1), among other accolades. Bassey is a 6-foot-11 rim protector and decent scorer and could provide Washington with more depth at the center position.
DMV natives will know the name Jay Huff as the forward spent five years under the tutelage of Tony Bennett at the University of Virginia. After redshirting his freshman year, Huff became a stalwart of UVA’s rotation for the next four seasons. He averaged career highs in points (13.0), rebounds (7.1), blocks (2.6) and minutes (27.0) per game during his senior year. Huff can hold his own on the defensive end and is a solid outside shooter. Wizards fans will like the thought of him becoming a three-and-D forward who can solidify Washington’s front-court.
Greg Brown III is just 19 years old and spent one season at Texas as a forward. He was named to the BIG 12 All-Freshman team after averaging 9.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in 2020-21. Brown III is not very refined as he’s so young, but he’s a natural athlete: his mother Tonya “was a four-time National Champion track athlete at Texas [and his] father, Greg, played for Texas football and in the NFL.”
Isaiah Todd of the G-League Ignite is perhaps the most intriguing of the six prospects coming to Medstar Wizards Performance Center on Tuesday. Playing against arguably higher-caliber competition in the G-League, Todd averaged 12.1 points on 43% shooting this season in just over 24 minutes per game as a guard. The youngest of the prospects on this list, Todd is from Baltimore and was named a McDonalds All-American in high school.
Washington will also host two other prospects on Tuesday: Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross and Richmond’s Blake Francis. Ross turned heads at Pepperdine by becoming the “first player in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history to have career totals of at least 2,200 points, 800 assists and 400 rebounds” across four years as a point guard. Francis is the oldest of the bunch at age 23 and has the stats of a seasoned veteran: as a graduate senior in 2020-21, he put up 16.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Francis is also a local kid. He attended both Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington and Wesftield in Chantilly.
Pre-draft workouts for college prospects are an annual occurrence for every NBA team over the summer, as the squads’ front offices get an up-close-and-personal look at potential future draftees. With over three weeks until the draft, the Wizards will host several other workouts for dozens of prospects up until the big night.