https://www.instagram.com/p/DW2dQ2yiadD/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
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The school is backing him.
I’m somewhat hopeful that means that he’s committed to the Draft process and not looking to portal. Good for him. And good luck to Allen!
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ESPN’s mock draft with Graves at 22 to the 76ers:
He may yet rise higher. With a lot of guys returning to college, there’s more room near the top for Allen to work into than there was a month ago.
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The NBA released their list of the 73 players invited to the combine & Allen Graves is on the list.
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Will be interesting to see how he grades out on physical measurements and speed and agility tests.
He isn’t overly athletic, needs to do decent and at least be middle of the pack in many areas to avoid red flags which may give teams pause.
Was Podz being thought of as an R1 at this point in the pre-draft in 2023? I feel like no mock draft really means anything until the combine.
I think if he came back to SCU he could be a lottery pick or even top 10 next year.
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I think your take on Podz is accurate, but I seem to recall John Hollinger of the Athletic giving him a holler during his one SCU season. JDub was also beginning to get more buzz towards the end of his final season . I think there’s an additive component as well. The Graves interest in the mocks may be helped with Podz’ and JDub’s early success. While not with the volume of Ben Howland’s UCLA players, the two Broncos draftees have proven to be NBA ready. That and SCU reaching the NCAAs have given Graves more visibility than he would have had before. I’d love for him to come back but if he proves to be first round draftable, the guaranteed money would be hard to pass up, even in the 20s. Just conjecture and my 2cents.
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Graves needs to test well at the combine and ball out. Most of his weaknesses can be worked on. But his athleticism isn’t really one of them. Could see him easily slipping out of the 1st round.
He’s been in Houston training for the combine, maybe in hopes of testing like Mike Mamula. For you youngins, Google the reference.
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I am simply taking a moment as a Bronco fan to appreciate that we are able to have this conversation.
Where our third NBA draft pick (and fourth NBA player) in half a decade might land (and how our previous player’s championship ring and all-star appearance, as well as how our recent NCAA trip might impact visibility) would have been beyond fantasy not at that long ago.
I think Allen’s measurable qualities will be strenuously analyzed, as well as his on ball offensive ability - he did not make many mid range jumpers to my memory, and most threes were assisted. Given his size, that may be okay… we shall see. Strange how the NIL has apparently thinned out the second half of the draft.
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Remember when some of us wanted #HerbOut after 4-5 seasons in?
It’s been a long journey (with a pandemic in the middle) and the future is uncertain (conference realignment, NIL, portal, etc)… but it feels so much better to be a bronco bball fanatic now than in say 2016.
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Re: Buckets X link mentioning only 3 non-power conference…I’d add an asterisk that several others started their careers at non-power conf…Joshua Jefferson at SMC before Iowa St., Bennett Stirts at Drake before Iowa, Yaxel Lendenborg at a JC then UAB before Michigan. Those are just the ones I’m aware of.
My point…many on the list weren’t 4 or 5 stars out of high school nor Power 5 recruits. There is still room for non-power conference schools, especially mid-majors to identify, recruit and land players with great potential.
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Quality mid majors do a better job of developing talent IMO. A talented player like Jefferson or Graves can go to a quality WCC program and be a guy the coaches are thinking about every day – how do we get this guy as good as he can be bc he can take us places? Same guy at a power program – well, SCU is making a living off recruiting those guys in the portal.
That’s why i think Graves should think twice about going in the portal if he decides not to stay in the draft.
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You mean me after the Loyola Chicago game? 
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Yahoo Sports Kevin O’Connor released his latest mock & has Allen at 16. Think that’s the highest I’ve seen Graves in any mocks.
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The LSU fans online seem to be losing hope (or confidence, at least) that Graves will leave the draft and head back to LA. And the Duke fans seem to have all but given up.
The best realistic scenario for SCU is that Graves stays in the draft and goes first round. That’s a tremendous additional feather in the cap for Sendek on the recruiting trail.
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I think the NBA combine starts Sunday. I guess we’ll have a better idea about Graves in a week.
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Allen at the Combine measures at just under 6’8" barefoot with a 7’0" wingspan and weighing 226 lbs.
Also, Graves is seemingly not participating in the Combine scrimmages. That most likely means that he has been given a guarantee by one or more teams that, if available, he’ll go in the first round.
Best case scenario for SCU* and hopefully for Allen as well.
*Because Graves coming back as a Bronco was very unlikely at this point. SCU would have to mortgage Leavey just to compete with the money that Duke, Michigan, and LSU were/are ready to throw down.
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I’m shocked that he is not going to compete in the scrimmages. That is his strength - court sense/basketball IQ/team play.
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That’s a slightly better vert than I would have guessed; still way below some of the athletic freaks, Morez Johnson, the two AZ guys Peat and Awaka but in the same neighborhood of some well known guys like Karaban, Joshua Jefferson and Kaufman-Renn.
Height sounds right, most guys measure a full 1" below their roster height, and 7’ wingspan translating to +4.25 compared to height is solid.
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