Only a small group of players who are actually eligible for the NBA Draft actually get invited to the NBA Combine every year. This year, there are two Vols who have received invites with a chance for a third to join them still.
Late Friday night, Tennessee junior point guard Jordan Bone tweeted out that he had been invited to participate in the 2019 NBA Combine. On Saturday afternoon, his teammate, star junior forward Grant Williams, tweeted out that he had also been invited to the combine.
Thank you @NBA for the invite to the Combine!! I’m thankful, blessed, and excited for this opportunity!!! #NBACOMBINE2019
— Grant Williams (@Grant2Will) April 27, 2019
The 2019 combine will begin on May 14th — the same day as the NBA Draft Lottery — and will run through May 19th. The combine takes place in Chicago.
There are typically only about 60 or so players invited to participate in the combine every year. Last year, 69 participants were invited to the combine. This year’s class figures to be about the same size.
Much like with the NFL Combine, players will go through several drills and will be measured and evaluated by scouts. All players at the combine can be tested in the following events or measured with the following criteria:
- Standing reach
- Height without shoes
- Wingspan
- Standing vertical leap
- Max vertical leap
- Shuttle run
- Lane agility
- Three quarter sprint
- NBA break left shooting %
- NBA break right shooting %
- NBA corner left shooting %
- NBA corner right shooting %
- NBA top key shooting %
- On the move fifteen shooting %
Williams, like teammate Jordan Bone and all the other underclassmen participants at the combine, can go through the drills and be evaluated and still withdraw his name from the draft pool. He has until May 29th to remove his name from consideration if he chooses to return to Tennessee for his senior season.
This past season saw Williams rise to new heights with the Vols. Williams was named the SEC Player of the year as a sophomore, and he repeated as a junior this season, becoming a two-time winner of the award. Not only that, but Williams was also voted a consensus First-Team All-American and a First-Team All-SEC performer for his junior campaign.
The 6-foot-7, 236-pound forward from Charlotte, North Carolina led the Vols in points per game and rebounds per game and was second on the team in blocks per game. Williams finished his 2018-19 season averaging 18.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 56.5 percent overall, 32.6 percent from three, and 81.9 percent from the free throw line.
Both Bone and Williams have received invites to the combine, and there’s a very good chance that another Vol, Admiral Schofield, will also get invited to participate.
