NBA prospects welcome chance to make Impact

Herb Pope was covered in sweat.

But it was a good sweat, the kind from hard work and desire, two commodities he supposedly lacked early in his college basketball career.

The 6-foot-8-inch power forward from Seton Hall via New Mexico State can't change his troubled past - he was shot in high school, arrested for drunken driving at New Mexico State and punched an opponent below the belt at Seton Hall - but he can try to live in the present in the hopes of solidifying his future.

Pope has spent the past three weeks at Impact Basketball on East Sunset Road, one of 30 potential prospects for Thursday's NBA Draft. He goes through shooting drills, weight training and scrimmages, trying to sharpen his skills and make enough of a positive impression that he might get taken in the second round, or, at worst, get signed as a free agent and find a spot on an NBA team's summer league roster next month in Las Vegas.

"I've been working on my technique, polishing up my moves," said Pope, who has worked out for six NBA teams. "I'm trying to learn the NBA style of game. I'm also trying to show them I have high character and they can depend on me."

Character. It has become a bigger part of the draft equation for teams. Gone are the days when a general manager might call someone and get a line on a player's work ethic. Now, players are brought in to work out as much for their habits as their jump shots so coaches and team executives can see firsthand how they handle themselves.

"The individual workouts have become even more important to the teams than what a guy did in college," said Joe Abunassar, the founder and president of Impact Basketball. "The teams want a chance to get to know the players. They want to see how they react, what their personality is like. It's a big investment, and they can't afford to make a mistake."

To that end, Abunassar has altered the way he prepares his clients. There's not as much 5-on-5 scrimmaging as had been the case in the past. Instead, specific drills are tailored to the NBA game along with the usual weight training and conditioning.

"We've had to change our philosophy," said Abunassar, a former team manager at Indiana for Bob Knight who has been working out players since 2001. "We work a lot of pick-and-roll, a lot of 3-on-3 stuff now. We're catering to what NBA teams are looking for."

Abunassar said the potential draftees at Impact run the gamut from Syracuse shooting guard Dion Waiters and Mississippi State power forward Arnett Moultrie, who are likely first-round picks, to possible second-round guards Scott Machado of Iona and Tu Holloway of Xavier, to guys such as Pope and Villanova guard Maalik Wayns, who hope to get drafted, to David Michaels, a Valley High School graduate who was a star at Division III Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., but probably will go undrafted.

"We're trying to do two things," Abunassar said. "One is to help guys who are hoping to move up in the draft. The other is to help get the guys who know they're going to get drafted get ready for the summer league. We want them in the best shape possible so they can hit the ground running."

Wayns, who decided not to return to Villanova for his senior season, said he has to show NBA teams he's more than a scorer after averaging a team-leading 17.6 points last season.

"In college, they needed me to score," said the 6-2 Wayns, who hopes to get taken in the second round. "I've been using these last few weeks to get better overall, and I just want a chance to show I can play. I feel I'm as good as the 15th pick."

For Michaels, a 6-7 forward who can play shooting guard and both forward spots and has great range with his jumper, there probably won't be a second round. In April, he participated in the predraft Portsmouth Invitational in Virginia, and it took him awhile to get untracked. He might not have impressed NBA scouts, but he has caught the eye of teams from Korea, Germany and Belgium, and there's a good chance he will have an opportunity to play overseas.

"It was a big learning curve for me" at Portsmouth, said Michaels, who averaged 20.0 points and 6.0 rebounds as a senior. "I wasn't used to playing against that kind of competition. Here (at Impact), I'm playing against high-level competition on a daily basis. The nerve factor has worn off. I'm much more comfortable."

Abunassar said one criterion that hasn't changed is talent.

"To be a good guy in the drills is one thing, but you still have to be able to play the game," Abunassar said. "We can get all these guys as prepared as possible. But at the end of the day, it's all about whether you have the ability to play in the NBA."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.