It was an eventful first weekend of May for the Nevada basketball program. Jordan Brown, a 6 foot 10-inch five-star recruit from Roseville, California made his third unofficial visit to Nevada. Nevada is in Brown’s final three schools along with Cal and Arizona. Brown’s visit was controversial as it was initially reported he was making an official visit to the school, which would have been his last official visit per NCAA rules.
Brown’s talent has made head coach Eric Musselman recruit a straight-out-of-high-school to play right away for him. There have been only three other Nevada players — Cameron Oliver, Lindsey Drew and Josh Hall — that have played as true freshmen for Musselman. For many fans, Brown seems like the final piece for the Wolf Pack as the McDonald’s All-American forward gives Nevada the big man it desperately needs.
If Nevada does not get a commitment from Brown, it still will have added one new player. Graduate player Ehab Amin announced he plans on transferring to Nevada from Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. Amin is a 6-foot 4-inch guard who will be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer. In 2016-17 Amin led the nation in steals averaging 3.4 a game. Depending on the health of Drew — who tore his Achille’s tendon near the end of last season — Amin could be a significant defensive player for Nevada on the defensive end of the floor next season.
Nevada has three players who entered the their names into the NBA Draft without agents, making them elligible for collegiate play next season if not drafted.
Caleb Martin worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, May 7. The Lakers have the 47th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Martin is projected to go anywhere from the late first round to the middle of the second round.
Cody Martin was invited to participate in the NBA combine, joining his twin brother Caleb who was invited a week prior. Cody was the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year while Caleb won the conference’s highest honor of Player of the Year. The Martins are the most talented twin prospects since Kansas’ Marcus and Markieff Morris who were selected back-to-back in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft.
Cody Martin is the better defender of the two twins and the better playmaker. Martin led the team in assists, field goal percentage and blocks per game. He was second on the team in rebounds and third in points per game. Where Cody Martin most needs improvement before leaping to the professional ranks is free throw and three-point shooting. Martin shot only 70 percent from the charity stripe, which is a 10 percent increase from his sophomore year at North Carolina State. Martin is projected by many outlets to go undrafted or at best to be taken somewhere in the mid to late second round.
Jordan Caroline has not been invited to the NBA Draft Combine but was invited to workout with the Oklahoma City Thunder. For Caroline, this work out will be his best chance to showcase to teams if he is NBA ready or if he needs to stay in school for another year to develop other parts of his game. Jordan Caroline flew to Oklahoma City just before his workout on Sunday, May 6. According to nbadraft.net, Caroline is projected to go undrafted. The Thunder have the 57th pick in the draft. Nbadraft.net projects the Thunder will use that pick on a different Nevada star — Cody Martin.
Caroline has a similar body and play-style to Michigan State’s Miles Bridges who is projected to be picked either in the lottery or the late in the first round. The two also have stats that almost mirror each other. Both averaged 17 points per game this past season. Bridges shot better from both the free throw line and beyond the arc. Caroline bested Bridges in rebounding and field goal percentage. Perhaps the key difference is that Bridges seems to be a better defender, which may be something Caroline emphasizes next season if he returns to Nevada. With that maybe Caroline can sneak into the first round next season and be a steal for whoever would select him.
The NCAA deadline for players to withdraw from the draft and return to school is May 30, three weeks before the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21.