URI Rams
URI's Daniels is hoping to get picked in Draft
08:55 AM EDT on Thursday, June 26, 2008
URI’s Will Daniels, putting up a shot against Northeastern at the Ryan Center last season, has worked out for 11 pro teams.
The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson
After crisscrossing the country in search of his basketball future, Will Daniels will finally receive some answers tonight.
Daniels, the two-time first-team All-Atlantic 10 forward from the University of Rhode Island is holding out hope to hear his name called in tonight’s NBA Draft.
Daniels has worked out for 11 pro teams, and scouts have him slated as a player who could be selected late in the second round.
“I felt good about all of my workouts, but some were better than others,” said Daniels. “I think three or four teams are pretty serious, but a lot of teams have expressed interest.”
Daniels spent much of the spring and all of the previous month working on improving his NBA stock. His agent, Andy Miller, has set up a workout center in Las Vegas that Daniels has played out of for weeks now. He’d also leave the desert for workouts with the following NBA teams: Celtics, Heat, Pistons, Bulls, Grizzlies, Bucks, Sonics, Blazers, Raptors, Bobcats and Wizards.
“I’ve been in Las Vegas for a month and a half. I haven’t been in Rhode Island since I graduated (with a degree in communications),” he said.
Daniels says he’s treated the draft preparation like a full-time job, paying attention to a strict diet, lifting weights and studying the personnel of the teams he has interviewed with. Daniels finished his Rhody career with 1,678 points (eighth all-time) and 662 rebounds. Last season, he ranked fourth in the A-10 in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game, and 11th in rebounding, at 6.5 a game. Daniels says the scouts he has spoken with see his 6-foot-7, 230-pound frame and ability to shoot the ball and like his versatility.
“They’re saying that even though my size sometimes says I’m a ’tweener, the NBA likes interchangeable guys. Like (former Celtic) Ryan Gomes,” said Daniels.
The NBA is filled with productive second-round players, including Gomes, Gilbert Arenas and Carlos Boozer. If Daniels is not drafted, he says he hopes to catch on with a team for the summer-league season and pursue his NBA dreams any way possible.
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