Gonzaga's Daye, Heytvelt, and Downs Impress NBA Scouts

Just a few updates that I came across while browsing looking for workout schedules etc...

--You have to think that Gonzaga forward Austin Daye was hoping the athletic results from the combine would be lost and not posted on the Internet. Watching him for two years, it's pretty clear to see that he is not oozing athleticism. I saw this piece done by SB Nation partner site Testudo Times (Maryland) which said one of Austin's pluses was athleticism and I had to chuckle. He's skilled and has tons of upside but he's not about to go Dwight Howard on someone. Because of this, his combine results didn't really shock me.

But first...the good news that I just found about 3/4 of the way through writing this post. Austin worked out for the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday as part of a multi-team event with talent evaluators like Pat Riley and Don Nelson in attendance and prospects such as Terrance Williams, Luke Nevill, Darren Collison, and Chase Budinger. Austin got some great feedback apparently and is, once again, doing everything right.

Gonzaga forward Austin Daye and Temple guard Dionte Christmas had the best days, according to multiple NBA decisionmakers. Daye opted for a softer sell than Collison, using humor as his pitch.

"As long as Nellie likes me, I'm fine with it," joked Daye, who said he's "pretty committed to staying in the draft" but is looking for a guarantee that he will be picked among the top 20. "I don't really care who else is on the team."

Now for the athletic results from the combine (quite the buzzkill)...

continue reading this post for more on Daye and updates on Josh Heytvelt and Micah Downs

His vertical was middle of the pack, his agility and speed were near the bottom of the people tested and of course, he was the only person at camp that could not throw up 185 pounds on the bench press. Josh Heytvelt was actually able to bench 185 pounds 15 times (Notre Dame's Luke Harangody lead everyone with 23). No big surprise and no big deal for Austin. A guy that weighs less than 200 pounds with over a seven foot wingspan is not going to be able to bench that much weight. It's just physically improbable unless your getting one hell of a spot, just ask Kevin Durant. People will freak out for a day or so believing the bench press means something but as long as Austin keeps working out well, it won't matter.

As our plethora of fanshots pointed out today, Austin did not have the best workout in the world Monday for the T-Wolves. He missed a lot of shots and struggled in the physical drills. Whether or not this has a lasting effect on what he decides to do with his future remains to be seen but if he is not making open shots and at least showing some physicality in the paint, you have to believe that not many GM's are going to guarantee he will be top-20.

He does have to knock every team out of their chair however, just one, preferably in the top-20.

--Josh Heytvelt apparently worked out for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday but they may have the worst team website (sorry EDZ) so it is hard to tell when he worked out and how he did. You'll see some evidence later on in this little piece but the T-Wolves apparently had Heytvelt confused with Gonzaga forward Micah Downs. Here is their mini-bio on JH:

Josh Heytvelt (Ht. 6-11, Wt. 260) scored 9.6 points while grabbing 4.6 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per game for Gonzaga last season. He shot 43.1 percent from the floor while leading the Bulldogs with an 81.3 percent free throw percentage.

Josh wouldn't have a sniff at the draft with those stats and doing a little research it's clear to see they filled Josh's bio with Micah Downs' information. The question now is what does it say for Micah's bio...you'll see.

Anyways, Josh worked out for the Wolves Tuesday but their is no real discussion about how it went even though according to other sources, Josh has been looking good. Their has been little information regarding Josh but here is a snippet:

•Q Score Up: Players who are being mentioned more and more in a positive light by NBA teams we speak to: B.J. Mullens, Tyler Hansbrough, Rodrigue Beaubois, Josh Heytvelt, Jack McClinton, Jeff Pendergraph, Omri Casspi

Obviously not Earth-shattering news but any positive news regarding Gonzaga prospects is worthy here.

On to the future for Mr. Heytvelt and in the immediate future he has an upcoming workout with the Sacramento Kings of the cellar. Keep your fingers crossed that Josh can avoid being drafted by Sacramento, why you ask? Well when was the last time you heard forward UW standout, now King Spencer Hawes' name? I thought so. The positive to this workout is that JH is in the same group as DeJuan Blair. It'll be very interesting to see how Josh does against a shorter but more powerful big like Blair.

--Back now to Micah Downs who has been very quietly impressing draft scouts and seemingly forcing his way into draft consideration. Micah was listed by the Minnesota Timberwolves site as having worked out Tuesday as well for the Wolves and he was lucky enough to receive Syracuse forward Paul Harris' bio on the site. Apparently Micah played 30.5 minutes a game for the Orange. Anyways, the site did offer a quick reaction to seeing Micah:

Micah Downs showed an ability to hit shots around the 3-point arc. The intriguing aspect to Downs is his length at 6-8. At the practice facility, it was hard to ignore the physical comparisons to Wolves' forward Mike Miller. Downs will need to prove to scouts that he can put the ball on the floor and not just rely on outside shooting.

According to DraftExpress, Micah is headed to Chicago to workout for the Chicago Bulls. Hopefully we can gather some information from that workout for you tomorrow.

That's all I got for you now but with all the workouts rolling in, keep checking back for more updates.