Months of traveling and workouts across the NBA helped Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann make an impression, they hope, on the league’s talent evaluators.
Now all they can do is wait and watch the draft unfold on Thursday at 7 p.m. (ESPN).
In addition to attending the NBA Combine, Kabengele has visited with nine teams.
“I think with the combination of my size and my ability to shoot the ball in different areas of the game, as well as my offensive rebounding and rebounding in general, I feel like that can be essential for a team,” Kabengele told reporters in Orlando a few weeks ago.
The 6-foot-10, 255-pound Kabengele redshirted his first season on campus but quickly turned heads in October 2017 during an open practice with the media in which he showed off his 3-point shooting ability and post moves. Kabengele was a contributor in 2017-18 and then was named the ACC’s Sixth Man after recording 13.2 points and 5.9 rebounds.
Mock drafts widely project Kabengele as a first-round pick. NBAdraft.net has him going No. 22 to Boston, CBSSports.com has him slated at No. 23 to Philadelphia and theRinger.com places him at No. 30 to Milwaukee.
Mann has done a little bit of everything at FSU, a “stat-sheet stuffer” in coach Leonard Hamilton’s eyes. As a senior, he averaged 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds.
When asked what a misconception of his game was, Mann had a funny answer.
“Probably that they think I can’t shoot,” he told Pacers.com. “But they’ll find out quick that I can.”
Mann is viewed as a potential second-rounder, going at No. 38 to Chicago in NBAdraft.net‘s mock draft and theRinger.com projecting him at No. 43 to Minnesota.
Kabengele’s NBA workout schedule
May 26 – Utah
May 28 – Boston
May 31 – Orlando
June 3 – Cleveland
June 5 – Indiana
June 7 – San Antonio
June 12 – Brooklyn
June 14 – OKC
June 15 – Atlanta
Cofer’s NBA workout schedule
June 5 – Miami
June 13 – Phoenix
June 15 – Boston
Mann’s NBA workout schedule
May 17 – Atlanta
May 20 – Philadelphia
May 28 – NBA Pro Day
May 31 – Phoenix
June 3 – Orlando
June 6 – Brooklyn
June 9 – Chicago
June 12 – Detroit
June 13 – Indiana
June 15 – Minnesota
June 17 – Cleveland
June 18 – Boston
Christ Koumadje’s NBA workout schedule
Charlotte
Philadelphia
Orlando
(player NBA team visits courtesy FSU sports information)
FSU draft picks in Leonard Hamilton Era
2017 – Jonathan Isaac, 7th overall (first round) by Orlando
2017 – Dwayne Bacon, 40th overall (second round) by New Orleans
2016 – Malik Beasley, 19th overall (first round) by Denver
2012 – Bernard James, 33rd overall (second round) by Cleveland
2011 – Chris Singleton, 18th overall (first round) by Washington
2010 – Solomon Alabi, 50th overall (second round) by Dallas
2010 – Ryan Reid, 57th overall (second round) by Indiana
2009 – Toney Douglas, 29th overall (first round) by LA Lakers
2007 – Al Thornton, 14th overall (first round) by LA Clippers
2006 – Alexander Johnson, 45th overall (second round) by Indiana
2005 – Von Wafer, 39th overall (second round) by LA Lakers
2004 – Tim Pickett, 44th overall (second round) by New Orleans