Weems making strides at NBA pre-draft camp

Arkansas forward Sonny Weems has slowly but surely shown some progression at this year’s NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando.

The former University of Arkansas, Fort Smith star, Razorbacks standout and slam dunk champion (see video below) has been working out for teams and participating in glorified pick-up games this week.

Weems stumbled out of the gates a bit with a 6-point performance in his first game, but has since shown improvement, handling some time at point guard Thursday in the absence of North Carolina guard Ty Lawson (hip pointer). Weems scored 11 points and had 4 rebounds in his team’s 74-70 win, and followed that up with his best outing yet Friday with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

Here’s what the analysts are saying about Weems’ 11-point, 4-rebound performance Thursday.

Rob Reheuser, NBA.com:

Weems doesn’t carry an ounce of excess baggage on his body and is clearly one of the better athletes in the field. His overall game still needs polish, but he has the makings of an NBA player.

Matthew Kamalsky, HoopsHype.com:

Weems showed nice versatility, but is still very raw all-around. He can do some nice things, but few of them consistently.

Jonathan Givony, DraftExpress.com, today critiqued Weems’ 16-point game:

Sonny Weems also had the breakout game he needed (16 points, 6-13) after showing more offensive aggression than we had previously seen. A player with great tools who could surely get drafted, Weems needs to continue to improve his skill level with the ball and his perimeter defense to keep teams interested in him over the next few years.

Most mock drafts are predicting Weems to go in the late second round on June 26. DraftExpress.com today has Weems going to Portland with the 55th pick overall, while NBADraft.net has the slam dunk champ heading to Washington with the 47th overall selection.

HoopsWorld.com, as far as I can tell, has Weems going the highest to Milwaukee with the seventh pick (37th overall) in the second round.

Filed under: SEC Basketball, Arkansas Basketball by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: May 31, 2008 at 12:24 pm