For players hoping to get drafted to the NBA the goal is to get an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine. Unfortunately, neither Colin Castleton or Alex Fudge were able to secure one of the heavily sought after invitations. Fortunately, they were both invited to the G League Elite Camp which takes place the week prior to the NBA Combine and gives players a chance to earn an invitation to the NBA Combine.
To start the G League Elite Camp was measurements–an important step in any pre-draft combine. Colin Castleton measured at an impressive 6’10.5” without shoes, also measuring with a 7’3.5” wingspan that jumps off the page. Considering that Castleton will be looking to carve out a role as a rim protecting anchor, these measurements helped him out considerably.
Alex Fudge measured at 6’7.5” without shoes, perhaps slightly shorter than what would have been expected for the forward who was listed on most game programs at 6’9”. However, he did come in with a 7’1” wingspan–one of the highest among non-centers at the event.
Next was athletic testing, where Fudge was particularly impressive in the lane agility and sprinting events, testing as one of the more dynamic athletes there. When it came to the max vertical leap, an event that everyone loves to see, Fudge posted a 35.5” jump that puts him into the realm of a lot of athletic wings at the NBA level, though not one that will jump off the page.
Castleton didn’t shine quite as brightly in the agility and speed testing which will come as a bit of a disappointment as he would have liked to have proved through these tests that he’s someone that could hang with smaller players on the perimeter. His max vertical leap of 34.5” did jump off the page as when you factor in his incredible length and one of the better leaps from a center you can see huge shot blocking potential at the highest level.
After measurements and athletic testing were the shooting drills.
Here is where things started to go awry for Alex Fudge. On the spot up shooting drill where players take 30 three-point shots from various locations, Fudge went 5/30, which was the worst performance in the drill by anyone at the event by a longshot. He was able to salvage his performance somewhat with a 17/30 performance in “off the dribble shooting” and 12/25 in the “3-point star” drill, which were average numbers relative to the rest of the group.
Colin Castleton, whose shooting never materialized at the college level, performed well when it came to shooting. His 15/25 spot up shooting, 19/30 off the dribble shooting, 10/10 free throws, and 14/25 in the 3-point star drill were some of the best numbers for any center present and it might be something that makes a front office believe he could develop into the shooter.
The final element of the G League Elite Camp were the scrimmages which is what a lot of the scouts are there to see.
This is where Castleton really shined, with some people coming away saying that he was one of the best five on five players at the camp.
In his first game, Castleton finished with 12 points and 4 turnovers off the bench, including a massive dunk where he rolled to the basket and slammed the ball in the face of his defender. In game two he showed off more of his defensive game with 3 blocked shots in addition to 10 points and 4 rebounds. Castleton was comfortable on both ends of the floor not overextending himself and playing within the structure of the game, exactly the role he’d play for an NBA team if given the opportunity.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well for Alex Fudge who struggled to find any rhythm, looking out of sorts defensively and struggling to make plays with the ball. In his first game he actually got to start, finishing with 5 points and 5 rebounds.
It was thought that Castleton might earn an invitation to the NBA Combine based on how he performed at the G League event but when the players who got the invitations were announced–Castleton was not among them.
This might seem like a disappointment, but it’s important to know that there is an element of gamesmanship and a dose of politics that go into these invitations. NBA teams have to submit a list of who they want to get an invitation to the NBA Combine, and they will often do their best to hide players that they are interested in taking or signing to a contract. Right now Colin Castleton is expected to go undrafted, or perhaps sneak into the late second round. If a team was interested in getting him, they likely wouldn’t put him on their list to go to the NBA Combine as they don’t want other teams to see what they’re seeing–they’d prefer he doesn’t get any more spotlight which could allow him to fall to them. Teams will also do favors for agents they’re working with to get their players invitations, adding to the murkiness of who “deserves” getting an invitation and who doesn’t.
It might seem like a disappointment that Castleton isn’t going to the NBA Combine but there could still be teams that are extremely interested in him as a shot blocking, rebounding, ball moving center that could likely contribute from day one.