Chicago ? The NBA released its official draft measurements of college players at the NBA Combine Friday at Attack Athletics Training Center.
Kansas University’s Sherron Collins, who had an on-again, off-again battle of the bulge in four years at KU, stood 5-foot-111/2 with shoes and weighed 217 pounds. He was 5-101/4 without shoes with 9.2 percent body fat.
Cole Aldrich measured 6-111/4 with shoes and tipped the scales at 236 pounds. He was just 6-9 without shoes with a wingspan of 7-43/4 and reach of 9-31/2. He had 8.5 percent body fat.
Xavier Henry measured 6-61/2, 210 with shoes and 6-51/4 without shoes. He had 4.7 percent body fat.
Stats of all combine players are available at draftexpress.com.
Cole’s funky jumper
A realgm.com reporter asked Aldrich about his jump shot — in which he brings the ball back behind his head.
“I started playing basketball in the fourth or fifth grade. I think it kind of came from the soccer throw over the head out of bounds. It’s ugly, but it has a soft touch to it,” Aldrich said.
“We’ve made some minor things to it, just to kind of clean it up a little bit. It goes in quite a bit of the time, so we don’t want to mess with it too much.”
Windy City combine
Collins enjoyed participating in drills in his hometown.
“I’ve got a lot of support, a lot of people in my corner, especially from Chicago,” Collins said. “I’m just soaking this all in.”
He said he wasn’t nervous performing before so many NBA scouts.
“It’s not too nerve-wracking,” Collins said. “There are some butterflies, but once the first shot goes in, it’s pretty fun.”
Rating KU players
One NBA official who attended the combine told the Journal-World that Aldrich definitely was a lottery pick (top 14). He said Henry would be tapped toward the end of the lottery, while Collins figured to be an early- to mid-second-round pick.
“With Sherron, a lot of teams are scared of his body, that he’s a hamburger away from putting on 15, 20 pounds,” the NBA official said. “We’ve heard he is shooting for 190, 195. If he gets there by the (June 24) draft, it could show a real commitment on his part. You can’t play at that weight (217) in this league.
“Aldrich is ready to contribute right now defensively. I think he will eventually start. He has to hit that open jump shot that he turned down a lot this year. Henry has a nice shot. Sometimes he’s not aggressive enough on the offensive boards. He’s going to be a good player. All three definitely will be drafted, two definitely in the first round.”
KC Classic
Zach Peters, a 6-foot-9 junior-to-be from Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas, who has orally committed to KU, will play three games today at the K.C. Classic at Okun Fieldhouse in Shawnee (20200 Johnson Drive). His Team Texas squad will play 9:15 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. The schedule is available at KCclassic.net.
— Gary Bedore contributed to this report
