The Portland Trail Blazers worked out six more prospects at the Tualatin practice facility on Wednesday in advance of the 2013 NBA Draft.
Dewayne Dedmon | USC | Junior | 6-foot-11 | 239 pounds | C | DX profile | No. 61 in top 100
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The Portland Trail Blazers worked out six more prospects at the Tualatin practice facility on Wednesday in advance of the 2013 NBA Draft.
Dewayne Dedmon | USC | Junior | 6-foot-11 | 239 pounds | C | DX profile | No. 61 in top 100
Junior (2012-13): Led the Trojans in rebounding (7.0), blocks (2.1 - 44th nationally) and steals (1.1). Finished in double figures in rebounding eight times and scoring eight times in 31 appearances, with two double-doubles. Had five-plus blocks on three occasions, including a season-high six vs. UC Riverside, and three or more on 12 occasions. Posted 13 points, 13 boards and five blocks at Utah and 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in only 23 minutes vs. Cal. Missed the final game of the season after being suspended for violating team rules.
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As is the case with most raw, athletic big men, Dedmon does his best work on the offensive end as a finisher at the rim. Lacking a natural feel for scoring inside, but having little issue elevating to dunk the ball around the basket, Dedmon shoots a solid 56% as a finisher, even if it pales in comparison to the 74% he shot last season.
Where Dedmon has always stood out is as a rebounder. He was not quite as productive crashing the offensive glass as he was last year, but showed significant improvementon the defensive end. Improving his overall per-40 minute rebounding average from 10.2 to 12.1, Dedmon ranked as the 11th more prolific rebounding center amongst BCS-conference players.
Dedmon also showed significant development on the defensive end. Though he is the most foul prone player in our top-100, he showed significantly better awareness as a weakside shot blocker, averaging an above average 3.8 blocks per-40 minutes pace adjusted and doing a better job making crisp rotations to erase the mistakes of his teammates.
Making strides as a shot blocker and rebounder, two aspects of the game he struggled with a year ago, the name of the game for Dedmon moving forward is polish. If he can be a more disciplined individual defender and develop a more efficient offensive repertoire, he could certainly give scouts something to think about in addition to his physical tools and solid motor should he return to school. Possessing many of the tools teams value in a third center, it's not difficult to see Dedmon ending up on a NBA team's roster, even if he may not have progressed as quickly as some may have hoped considering he turns 24 later this year.
Archie Goodwin | Kentucky | Freshman | 6-foot-5 | 189 pounds | SG | DX profile | No. 32 in top 100
Career Highlights: Led the SEC in free throw attempts and finished 11th in scoring as a freshman. Selected Freshman All-SEC.
Freshman (2012-13): Kentucky's leading scorer with a 14.1 scoring average (11th in the SEC) en route to Freshman All-SEC honors. Averaged 12.8 points in SEC games only. Posted 25 double figure scoring games and had five outings with 20 or more points. Ranked second on the team in assists (88, 2.7 apg) and steals (36, 1.1 spg). His 466 points scored in his first season ranks as the 10th best mark for a UK freshman ever. Became just the ninth freshman in school history to sink 100 or more free throws as he made an SEC- leading 212 attempts. Shot at least eight free throws in one-third of his appearances. Only the third UK freshman under John Calipari to begin his career with five-straight double figure scoring games.
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High School: Notched Parade and McDonald's All-America accolades. Had 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 18 minutes for the West team in the McDonald's game. Played in the Nike Hoop Summit for the U.S. Junior National Select Team, scoring seven points in a loss to the World Select Team. Rated as the No. 14 prospect in the nation by Scout.com and No. 15 by ESPNU and Rivals.com. Won two AAU national titles during his career.
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Goodwin is an excellent NBA prospect from a phy