SACRAMENTO -- The seemingly never-ending stream of draft prospects continued to roll through the Kings’ practice facility on Thursday morning. The group included a floor general, a legend’s son and one of Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State players.
Tennessee's Jordan Bone headlined the workout. The junior point guard showed improvement in all three seasons at the college level and helped lead the Vols to a 29-5 record and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
“I feel like I had a really good season,” Bone said “I thank my coaches, my teammates and my supporting cast for pushing me and allowing me to perform and have the year that I had this year.”
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While he posted 13.5 points and 5.8 assists this season for the Vols, Bone believes he has more to show when it comes to his game.
“I really wasn’t the primary guy, I ran the show, I was the point guard of the team, but you know there are things that I’m working on every single day, so when I have an opportunity like this, I can go out and show,” Bone added.
Trey Mourning, son of Hall of Fame big man Alonzo Mourning, showed a nice shooting stroke from the perimeter while working out with the Kings’ staff on a far court. Before jumping into the draft process, he went to his father for some advice on what to expect.
“Just focus on getting better every single day,” Mourning said of the what his father said. “Whatever the GMs or scouts decide, that’s on them. It’s just about me getting better every single day and controlling the things that I can control.”
NBA
Mourning didn’t exactly set the world on fire in his four seasons at Georgetown. As a senior, he averaged 6.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game under head coach Patrick Ewing. He has an NBA body, but his lack of production at the NCAA level is an issue.
6-foot-8, 220-pound banger Zylan Cheatham finished his college career strong under Hurley at Arizona State, posting 12.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Like Mourning, he has a big body, but whether or not his name will be called on draft night is still up in the air.
“He just knows how to get the best out of guys,” Cheatham said of Hurley. “Me and his relationship is really good because personally, I love somebody who is going to push me and who wants the best for me.”
Cheatham participated in the G League Elite camp in May, which is another avenue for pro prospects and NBA hopefuls to get more exposure.
“I was able to put my game in front of every team in the NBA,” the power forward said. “I was able to match up with some guys that are ahead of me or that I’ve been watching on tv. It’s basically a good test for me to see where my game is at.”
Terence Davis out of Mississippi, Chris Silva from South Carolina and Brian Bowen, who played last season in Australia, finished out the group of six.
A McDonald's All-American during his prep career, Bowen was a key figure in the FBI’s corruption investigation into the NCAA that cost Rick Pitino his job at Louisville. Bowen's family was accused of taking $100,000 from Adidas in exchange for committing to the Cardinal’s.
Before choosing to sign with the Sydney Kings, Bowen was declared ineligible for the 2018-19 NCAA season and likely beyond that.
Bone and Bowen are projected to go in the mid-to-late second round in the upcoming draft, although that could change between now and June 20.
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The Kings will take the weekend off from prospect workouts, but they are expected to host a few more groups next week. They have already seen 66 prospects through their 11 workouts to date and are likely to see that number increase dramatically as they prepare to select at No. 40, 47 and 60 in the upcoming draft.