By JOSH NEWMAN & ADAM ZAGORIA
Special to ZAGSBLOG
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Former Iona point guard Scott Machado was the most impressive guard in the building Saturday when 44 draft eligible players worked out for representatives of all 30 NBA teams.
Machado proved perfectly capable of running an offense, penetrated into the lane at will and did most of it at the expense of explosive Xavier guard Tu Holloway, another diminutive guard looking to secure draft positioning.
“Machado gets his teammates good shots,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv after watching him play alongside 43 other NBA hopefuls at the Nets’ training center.
“I just want to show how I play and what type of player I am, the type of person I am as well,” said the 6-foot-1 Machado, who averaged 13.6 points and a Division 1-best 9.9 assists en route to winning the Haggery Award as the New York area’s top player.
“I just want to keep rising. I don’t really look at the draft boards or none of that. I just want to be one of the best point guards coming out and for everyone to recognize I’m one of the best point guards coming out.”
DraftExpress.com projects Machado going at No. 46 to the Knicks, who need a point guard to complement Jeremy Lin but are likely to pursue a veteran like Steve Nash via free agency.
The NBA scout confirmed that Machado would likely go in the second round and be chosen after North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall and Weber State’s Damian Lillard. Marquis Teague of Kentucky and Tyshawn Taylor of Kentucky could also go ahead of Machado.
“You need one team to like you,” Machado said. “The thing is to try to impress as much as you can so that you have more options. The better you play and the better you perform, the better it is. I think it’s all about opportunities in this league. Being able to get an opportunity, you have to be able to take advantage. I feel like if I do get picked in the second round, I can take advantage.”
Other players from Saturday’s workout who took advantage of the opportunity included 6-7 Tennessee Tech guard Kevin Murphy, 6-9 New Mexico forward Drew Gordon and 6-6 Missouri guard Kim English.
“Murphy is a poor man’s MarShon Brooks,” the scout said.
“Gordon is a tough customer. He rebounds, bangs and scores in close.
“Kim English is very quick, can really run and he has a decent size for the position.”
As for Machado, Saturday represented his first workout for NBA teams with the draft looming on June 28. Machado said he will get with his agent, Aylton Tesch, and plot out what to do next.
Tesch works work with noted NBA agent Dan Fegan at his Lagardere Unlimited agency and, like Machado’s parents, is from Brazil.
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