By ADAM ZAGORIA
PITTSBURGH — If you’re an NBA scout, this is the place to be for the NCAA Tournament.
Five of the Top 10 projected picks in the NBA Draft via ESPN.com are here in the Steel City:
No. 4 – Marvin Bagley III, Duke
No. 6 – Wendell Carter Jr., Duke
No. 8 – Collin Sexton, Alabama
No. 9 – Trae Young, Oklahoma
No. 10 – Mikal Bridges, Villanova
Bagley and Brunson are also two of the four finalists for the Naismith Award, along with Arizona’s Deandre Ayton and Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham.
Here’a sampling of some comments from and about these players from players and coaches.
DUKE’S MARVIN BAGLEY III ON HIS FIRST (AND ONLY) MARCH MADNESS:
“It’s something new. I obviously have not been part of it. You grow up, you watch it in school. Everyone has their phones, iPads, whatever they have, computers, whatever they have, watching this tournament. So it’s obviously a good thing for the sport of basketball.
“So, being able to finally be here and actually be here and actually be a part of it is a great thing, great feeling, and I’m just trying to soak it all in. This is — from here on out, you only get one guaranteed game, so you’ve got to take it one day at a time, so, just trying to soak everything in, and just try to have fun but still be able to lock in when it’s time to be prepared and get ready.”
VILLANOVA’S MIKAL BRIDGES ON FIVE LOTTERY PICKS BEING HERE:
“At this point now, every team’s a great team and they’re all going to have great players.”
DUKE’S COACH K ON THE ONE-AND-DONES HERE:
“Well, their talent and their drive and their work ethic, they know that they have it. And then when they come into your program, are they going to give it’ to you to develop. And in our cases, the guys who have come in have done that — you wish you could coach them longer. You’re not ever going to coach them to the level that they will be at but can you get them to a very high level where they can be successful in this environment.
“And but like in Marvin’s case, I can’t speak to the other youngsters — Marvin, Wendell and all of these guys have been great kids for us, and they’re not going to be really good all of the time because of transitions that they have to make and they are called upon to do it every day. But overall, they’ve been really good to work with. So you look for attitude along with that. Will they give themselves up to be taught? Will they listen, or are they stuck in their ways? And I can speak for Marvin, he’s a good student of the game, and he’s been a real pleasure to coach.”
RHODE ISLAND COACH DAN HURLEY ON TRAE YOUNG:
“Trae Young, he really has no weakness in his game. He can score at every level obviously, with amazing range on his perimeter shot. He can pass the ball with either hand at ridiculous angles. He has the ball in his hands, it has to be over 90 percent of the time, you know, 90, maybe even 95 percent.
“So he’s just constantly attacking. So he has every requisite skill and you just try to make things as hard for him as you possibly can in a ball screen defense. And when he’s playing in isolation and when he’s coming at you in transition, you just try and show him as many different looks as you can, too, during the course of the game, because he adjusts so quickly to what he sees on the court, but he also has the mind for the game, too.
“It’s a heck of a challenge, but they also have some long athletes that play around to him. And when they’re right, there may be — their long athletes are making threes around him when they’re right. But it all starts with him.”
ALABAMA’S COLLIN SEXTON ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ACADEMICS:
“I feel like it’s important, very important, because if you ain’t got books, then a lot of things won’t open up in the future. So I feel like that’s the most important thing, and also my siblings, they got their degree, so I want to get mine as well. So that’s what just pushes me.
“And also me and Herb in the same class. We battle. We battle it out to see who get better grades and stuff. It’s just like a competitive thing.”
RHODE ISLAND’S STANFORD ROBINSON ON ONE-AND-DONES GETTING MORE ATTENTION THAN SENIORS:
“I mean these players that come in one-and-done, they’re very talented. Let’s not get that wrong. They had a lot of hype coming out of high school, so I feel like that helps them when they get to college. Everyone’s interested in what the youngins are doing, you know? If you’ve been around for a while, it’s kind of like you’re the old news. Everyone’s into the new news.
“Yeah, they get a lot of hype, well deserved, but I do wish, like us older players can still get some of the recognition that these young players do as well.”
