Syracuse Basketball Senior Jerami Grant
With plays like this, it's no wonder that Jerami Grant's standing reach and wingspan were among the best at the NBA combine in Chicago on Thursday.
(Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com)
While all the players taking part in this week's NBA combine in Chicago hope to set themselves apart on the court, Syracuse's Jerami Grant managed to stand out off the court on Thursday.
Grant, the former Syracuse University player, had one of the best standing reach measurements of the 60 players at the NBA draft combine. Grant's standing reach was measured at 8 feet, 11 inches. That was the second-highest reach among the small forwards at the combine and it was higher than Kentucky power forward Julius Randle (8-9), Florida power forward Patric Young (8-7), Arizona forward Aaron Gordon (8-9) and North Carolina forward James Michael McAdoo (8-10).
(See the measurements for all the players)
Grant also had a wingspan that measured 7 feet, 2.75 inches. That tied UCLA's Kyle Anderson for the longest wingspan among the players that worked out in the small forward group. Only five players at the combine had longer wingspans — Indiana's Noah Vonleh, Baylor's Isaiah Austin, Michigan State's Adreian Payne, New Mexico's 7-foot center Alex Kirk and Arizona State's 7-1 center Jordan Bachynski.
"That wingspan is something that's going to be difficult to find,'' ESPN basketball analyst Jay Williams said as Grant's measurements scrolled across the bottom of the television screen during ESPNU's coverage of the combine.
Grant worked out with the small forwards, but his standing reach and wingspan had former NBA general manager Tom Penn thinking Grant could eventually handle the power forward position.
"We start to think of him as power forward, a rebounder and shot-blocker,'' Penn said. "You can make credible case based off these measurable of him as a four.''
On Friday, the players at the combine will be measured for vertical leap and timed in various sprints and court drills. Grant figures to do well in those areas.
"There were times watching him this year at Syracuse when his athleticism absolutely shocked me,'' Williams said.
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla agreed, "The athleticism is off the charts.'' But Fraschilla also noted, "The thing that worried me on tape, and then I checked the numbers, he wasn't in the top 100 in offensive or defensive rebounding ratio.''
Grant, who averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds for Syracuse last season, was measured at 6 feet, 7.75 inches in shoes. He weighed 214 pounds.
ESPN's Chad Ford currently has Grant going to Toronto with the No. 20 pick in his mock draft.