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June 17 Workout Recap

06/22/11

  1. Written by: caseyholdahl  / avg. rating: 3.0

    On June 17, the Trail Blazers hosted workouts featuring Keith Benson, Center (Oakland); Michael Dunigan, Forward (BC Kalev/Cramo Tallinn); Rick Jackson, Forward (Syracuse); Demetri McCamey , Guard (Illinois); Darius Morris, Guard (Michigan); Greg Smith, Center (Fresno State); Nolan Smith, Guard (Duke); Malcom Thomas, Forward (San Diego State) and Jordan Williams, Forward (Maryland).

    The following are interviews and footage of each players workout, along with thoughts on each player from acting general manager Chad Buchanan. Click here to see photos from the June 17 workout.


    KEITH BENSON

    According to Buchanan: "A four-year player from a smaller school, but a lot of intrigue physically because of his size and length. Good shot-blocker. Can step out and shoot it a little bit. Can he turn up his motor is kind of the question mark for a lot of people with him. But he oozes some potential."


    MICHAEL DUNIGAN

    According to Buchanan: "Michael Dunigan is just a warrior, a physical battler. Limited skill-wise, but keeps his game pretty simple. Long, physical, pretty quick off the floor. I think he's going to be a defensive-type role player at the next level. He may have to work his way up, be it through the D-League or overseas. I think he still has a lot of room to grow."

    Read more about Dunigan's workout in Portland


    RICK JACKSON

    According to Buchanan: "Very crafty around the hole. Lefty. Good hands. He's got great footwork in the post. Not a great athlete, but he maximizes what he's got. He blocks shots, good rebounder. Not a face-up shooter, struggles at the free throw line, but he reminds me a little bit of a version of Zach Randolph. Around the hole, that is."


    DEMETRI MCAMEY

    According to Buchanan: "Good shooting point guard, good pick-and-roll point guard. Love the way he shoots the ball. He's got a great, compact simple stroke. Good vision. Always plays with his head up. High assist guy. The thing he'll battle is probably his weight a little bit. But his body looks good now, he's trimmed up, a little lighter on his feet."


    DARIUS MORRIS

    According to Buchanan: "Darius has got great size for a point guard. Really good with the ball, good vision. A lot of people have compared him to Andre (Miller). He’s an LA kid, just like Andre, he’s a natural playmaker. He’s got to become more consistent shooting the ball with some range and he knows that. And that’s kind of the one chink in his armor. But he’s got great vision, sees a lot of things happen before they develop. I think Darius can evolve into a very good point guard at our level."

    Read more about the similarities between Darius Morris and Andre Miller


    GREG SMITH

    According to Buchanan: "Love his physical tools. He's got an NBA center body. Big hands, big chest. Still a young player, still developing as a player. Still learning to kind of put it all together and that comes with his age and his inexperience. But, like I said, he's got the tools physically to play in the NBA paint. But he's got some growing to do, both skill-wise and experience-wise."


    NOLAN SMITH

    According to Buchanan: "We’ve seen him for so long. He’s just a rock-solid, high-character guy. He’s improved at the college level and he’s improved every year, which we like. Can score it. Good defender. That was kind of his identity coming into college. He evolved into a pretty good offensive player as well. When we grade him out statistically, he grades out very high for us. We had dinner with Nolan in Chicago and we think highly of him as a person, too."

    Read more about Smith's workout in Portland



    MALCOLM THOMAS

    According to Buchanan: "Long, quick off the floor, defensive-minded power forward. Shot the ball well today, which is something he didn't have a lot of freedom to do at San Diego State. Knows his role, accepted his role at San Diego State and I think he knows what his role would be at the next level. Like him defensively. A little undersized defensively, maybe, but I think he had a good workout today."


    JORDAN WILLIAMS

    According to Buchanan: "One of the better rebounding bigs in the country this year. Very soft hands, a good feel for how to play around the basket. Good footwork. Not a great athlete. He's also another guy who has battled some weight issues and his body looks good now, he's trimmed up. He's lack of lift will probably limit his upside a little bit. Doesn't shoot it probably as well as he could one day. But very good player around the hole. And rebounding numbers like that you don't see very often, so that's usually a skill that can translate to our level."
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