Jamont Gordon Pulls Out NBA Pre-Draft Camp

In a surprise move, dubbed as a “what in the world are you thinking” act by Draft Express, Mississippi State junior Jamont Gordon has pulled out of the NBA Pre-Draft Camp which is scheduled to jump off today, May 27th, at the Walt Disney Sports Complex outside of Orlando, Florida.

Generally, top NBA draft prospects do not participate in the pre-draft camp, rather they attend as ‘physical only’ invitees. Most feel that these top 15-20 prospects need not stack themselves up against the competition in a pick-up game style atmosphere, as many elect to participate in individual team workouts, which are now only allowed to take place after the conclusion of the Orlando camp. Many agents also feel that their bread-winning players have a greater chance of getting injured or exposed if they play against a field which is desperate to improve their draft standing. The 64 invitees scheduled to actually play must compete for 40-45 open NBA draft slots.

Jamont Gordon’s move comes as a surprise because many still expect him to remain in the draft, while most mock drafts list him as being selected in the second round, if all all. The general consensus has been that while Gordon may not be NBA-ready, his game doesn’t necessarily stand to benefit from returning to college for one more year.

Jamont Gordon has yet to “officially” hire an agent. The Clarion-Ledger reported on May 22 that Gordon had been working out with John Lucas II twice daily in Houston, and would leave for Orlando on May 27th. Lucas II, who is a former NBA player and coach, has become well known for helping players with addiction problems, something he himself dealt with as a member of the Houston Rockets in the late 1980s. Lucas II has also been a basketball mentor, assisting many players with training for the NBA. John Lucas II has close ties with former Mississippi State basketball player, Lawrence Roberts, who played with his son, John Lucas III, at Baylor before both players transferred from the tumultuous Bears program; Lucas III ended up at Oklahoma State.

Another hurdle to a possible return to Mississippi State for Jamont Gordon is his grades. Since the conclusion of the season, Jamont missed several classes at the beginning of April, and I’m sure countless more while he has been preparing for a chance to earn a salary from playing basketball.

One could speculate all day as to why Gordon has pulled out of the NBA pre-draft camp. An injury is certainly a valid possibility. Through the years, many NBA teams have purportedly made promises to select certain players if they are still on the board when said team is on the clock. In many cases, promises are the fodder of agents trying to increase buzz around their players.

However, rumors of promises have dwindled in recent years as teams have discovered by trail-and-error (Shelden Williams supposedly had one from the Atlanta Hawks in the 2006 NBA Draft) that promises to unproven players are foolish, especially considering the unpredictable nature of the selection process. Aside from the dying practice of first round guarantees, second round promises are more of a rarity.

Gordon, who has been speculated many times over from being drafted in the mid-to-late second round to not at all, couldn’t have circumvented the pre-draft camp because of a second round promise…..could he? First of all, second round contracts are not guaranteed. Second, even if Gordon has received a 2nd round promise, it would be a horrible mistake for him to forgo the chance to either miraculously play himself into the first round, or at least get more exposure in front general managers and scouts, from domestic and abroad.

Like I said, one could wonder about Gordon’s curious move from morning to night. Only time will tell how his pursuit of the NBA will play out.

Continued Reading

From Bulldog Maroon & White:

• Jamont Gordon: So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good-bye! [4.22.08]
• Will he stay or will he go? Jamont Gordon and Mississippi State [3.29.08]

• Does Anyone Feel A Draft? The Bulletin (Philadelphia) by Drew Silverman
  • Not a glowing endorsement, albeit minor, of Jamont Gordon.

• Will Nets Make Draft Day Moves? HoopsWorld by Wendell Maxey
  • Speculation that the New Jersey Nets could have their eye on Jamont Gordon with the 40th pick.

Update on Charles Rhodes, a Bulldog with NBA hopes

After testing the NBA waters last year, Mississippi State’s Charles Rhodes had no choice but to turn pro as he completed his four years of NCAA basketball eligibility. Initially, Rhodes’ career as a Bulldog faced a hiccup as he thought about transferring at the conclusion his freshman season after spending some time in the doghouse with lack of practice work ethic and occasions of tardiness. However, in his subsequent three years, Charles showed budding maturity on and off the court. The three time All-SEC performer will always be thought of for his “flair” if you will, as he was never found lost for words when dealing with the media. Rhodes will no doubt be fondly remembered for his excellent play in the post and being the key factor in this year’s NCAA first round win over Oregon.

[Bulldog Maroon & White Archive: Senior to Watch: Charles Rhodes - March 18, 2007]

Since the end of the season, Charles Rhodes was selected to participate in the DiGiorno College All-Star Game which took place in San Antonio, TX on April 4th and was shown on CSTV. Rhodes’ American team was defeated 106-100 by the National squad as he received limited playing time, I’m sure that picking up 5 fouls in 12 minutes had something to do with that. Nonetheless, Rhodes managed to score 10 points on 4-8 shooting and 2-3 from the free-throw line his time on the court. True to form, Rhodes failed to snag a rebound, an issue which plagued him during his tenure at Mississippi State.

Charles Rhodes next participated in the Portsmouth Invitational which is an annual senior-only tournament and was held from April 9-12 in Portsmouth, Virginia. As Rhodes has not been listed in many mock drafts as being a potential first or second round NBA selection, Portsmouth was a big chance to put his name on the radar of NBA scouts.

Rhodes only played in two of his team’s three games, starting both. In those two games, he averaged 27.5 minutes, 11.5 points and 8 rebounds while shooting 38.5% from the field. Joseph Treutlein of DraftExpress.com reported that Rhodes “played within himself” in game 1, but “came out with a gunner’s mentality” in game 2. No word on what caused Rhodes to miss the third game as Treutlein reported that Rhodes was a no-show, hopefully it was not due to injury. Nonetheless, Charles Rhodes made DraftExpress’s all tournament third team in Portsmouth.

While no one expects Rhodes to be drafted in this year’s NBA draft on June 26th, the day after Charles’ birthday, he will no doubt receive an invite to the NBA pre-draft camp which will take place in Orlando, FL from May 27th – June 3rd. Rhodes currently shows up at #85 on NBADraft.net’s Big Board (updated on 4/28/08), and is ranked 29th among power forwards, 52nd among NCAA seniors, by DraftExpress.

Both NBADraft.net and DraftExpress.com compare Charles Rhodes to former LSU Tiger, McDonald’s All-American, and 2005 SEC POY, Brandon Bass. After two seasons in Baton Rouge, Bass was selected 33rd overall in the 2nd round of the 2005 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets. He is currently thriving with the Dallas Mavericks in the midst of a 2-year, $1.59 million contract. With hard work, improved rebounding, and advancing diversity in his offensive game, the NBA is a very attainable goal for Charles Rhodes. Best of luck.

Featured Reading:

• C-Rhodes has become C-omplete – Rick Cleveland, Clarion-Ledger
• Miss. State’s Charles Rhodes talks, and plays, a good game – Jeff Zillgitt, USA Today

Charles Rhodes Profiles:

• DraftExpress
• NBADraft.net

YouTubes:

• Jamont Gordon’s no-look pass to Charles Rhodes for a dunk vs. Ole Miss.
• 2008 NCAA Tournament – Miss. State v Oregon highlights.
• Off The Court – Interview with Charles Rhodes.
• Charles Rhodes put-back dunk vs. Memphis, 2008 NCAA Tournament

Jamont Gordon: So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good-bye!

To quote Nino Brown: “See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya.”

Late Monday night, Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports reported that Mississippi State junior Jamont Gordon would declare for the NBA draft and most likely send his official letter to the league on Tuesday. This certainly should come as no surprise to Bulldog fans as Gordon wasn’t on MSU’s Starkville campus attending class for the first couple weeks of April (most likely surpassing his eight unexcused absence limit – but I’m sure a miracle could have been pulled off had he decided to return to school).

What does come as a surprise is that Jamont believes he will be a first round pick. Or at least that’s what he’s been told, by whom I can’t imagine. Gordon has evidently submitted an evaluation request to the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee, which is composed of all 32 NBA General Managers and is chaired by Stu Jackson, the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the league.

Essentially, the Advisory Committee does just that, they provide feedback, or advice, to potential undergraduate entrants to the NBA draft so they can get an idea on their future status before making important decisions such as skipping class or hiring representation. Gordon has stated that he will not sign with an agent in the event that he gets injured during the draft workout process.

About a week ago, LSU fab-freshman, Anthony Randolph, received word from the committee that he would be a lottery pick. He thus hired an agent, former Chicago Bulls point guard B.J. Armstrong, effectively ending his 1-year career at Louisiana State.

There is no question that Jamont Gordon has an NBA body as he is quite the physical specimen. And while he won’t jump out the gym, his 6′4 225 pound size just might instill fear in NFL wide receivers, much less NBA point guards.

Unfortunately, Gordon has a couple factors working heavily against his favor. For one, he currently lacks the competency to efficiently manage a team, even on a college level. His propensity for turning the ball over, to the tune of 4.1 per game during his three year career with the Bulldogs (4.1 TOPG was also his junior year average, good enough for 5th highest in the NCAA), would no doubt be further exposed once faced with the faster, better, stronger defenders of the NBA. Considering that the point guard position is exponentially harder to learn than any other position for NBA newbies, I would find it very hard to believe that a league GM or NBA coach would try to use him as such.

Naturally, the next option would be two-guard, but despite his muscle, jump shooting is not exactly Jamont Gordon’s strong point. Many reports entering this past season indicated that Jamont Gordon spent the entire summer working on his jumper. However, his FG% actually went down between his sophomore and junior campaigns, from 41.9% to 41.5%; the more glaring drop being 3P% which fell from 34.7% to 31.9%. Averaging 17.2 PPG this past season, Gordon certainly burned his share of nets, just not with the efficiency, decision-making, or shot-selection that NBA scouts desire.

On March 29th, I wrote a post analyzing Jamont Gordon’s NBA resume and where the various internet mock-drafts had him being selected. Out of 15 sites surveyed, only two had Gordon being selected in the first round. After a quick check, much of the same holds true today. The two mock drafts which do have Gordon going in the first round are among the lesser-known NBA mock draft sites.

If I had to take a guess, Gordon will stay in the draft and an NBA team will take a chance on him in the 2nd round. However, I do not see him playing himself onto a roster as a result of summer league play. Jamont could go make some decent money playing pro-ball in Europe, or beyond, where the more physical game might be best suited for his style. But I see him using the budding National Basketball Development League (NBDL) to hone his game/pg skills and garner more attention which might allow him to make the jump to the league.

Back to my opening quote, I wish Jamont Gordon the best and certainly hope he represents his Mississippi State basketball experience well in trying to work his way into the first round. However, I would not want to be in his position of having to overcome his own obstacles to get into the territory of guaranteed first round money. Wait, what the hell am I talking about? I’d love to have his talent and a chance at life in the National Basketball Association.