Orlando Summer League: 
Trey McKinney Jones – Miami Heat
DeQuan Jones – Indiana Pacers

Las Vegas Summer League:
Rion Brown – Charlotte Hornets
Kenny Kadji – Milwaukee Bucks
Shane Larkin – New York Knicks
DeQuan Jones – New Orleans Pelicans
Trey McKinney Jones – Miami Heat
Durand Scott – San Antonio Spurs

JULIAN GAMBLE dipped his shoulder and spun around Kenny Kadji in a flash. Gamble planted both feet, quickly rose toward the rim and threw down a powerful, emphatic dunk. Slam.

Kadji couldn't help but scream while watching his former teammate from the University of Miami.

"Don't bring down the rim, Jul'," Kadji yelled in excitement during a team practice at Aspiring Champions Gym near King of Prussia. "That'll cut into our winnings, man."

Two minutes later, Marcus Lewis, the 2014 ESPN College Slam Dunk Champion from Eastern Kentucky University, took flight from the foul line and almost dunked on Garrius Adams from the 2013 ACC championship Miami team.

Half a dozen players and two coaches filled the gym for some early practice on Wednesday for simply dubbed "The Basketball Tournament," which started yesterday at Philadelphia University. The championship will be June 28 at a site to be determined.

Thirty-two teams will overrun the gym this weekend for the chance at winning $500,000, which is then split among the members of the winning team. John Mugar, founder of the event, said the process began 3 years ago to establish a new tournament in Philadelphia.

"It's being financed from an investing group out of Boston," Mugar said. "The reason they're investing is because we hope to establish this as something that is broadcast-worthy, and we would like to give out the premise of an open basketball tournament and make it valuable to sponsors or anyone interested."

The notable teams in the field include one composed of members of the 2009 Villanova team that reached the Final Four, including Reggie Redding, Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham, who now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Another team is made up of former Saint Joseph's stars; another squad includes eight former players from City 6 teams, such as La Salle's Dalton Pepper and Aaric Murray; and a Cornell team that made the Sweet 16 in 2010.

Another team named "Rep Your City" is headlined by Delaware 87er Aquille Carr, Lewis, Gamble, Adams and Kadji. Matt Gibson, their coach and a writer for Dime Magazine, brought his team to Philly 2 days early to get some practice in. Gibson said he got his team together because of some connections he made through journalism.

"After 2 days of practice, we'll be in great shape to make a serious run in the tournament," Gibson said. "No one picked us to win the tournament, but we have a confident bunch and there are clusters of guys that have played together in college and professionally. Having some type of organization in an event like this can go a long way."

Mugar thinks that a tournament such as this, which promotes the idea of "team basketball" more than anything else, could be a mainstay in Philly if received well.

"Realistically, and as a basketball fan, I want to see how team basketball levels up with supremely talented players," Mugar said. "Having a winner-take-all prize really puts the emphasis on team basketball. It's purely paid to win. There's no emphasis on statistics. The box scores don't mean as much as the final score overall. I can't say I have a favorite, but I am interested in how it plays out."

For more information, visit www.thetournament.com.


(philly.com)

Imagine, a five-on-five, single elimination, winner-takes-all contest open to anyone and offering a $500,000 grand prize for the last team standing.

Now imagine 32 teams consisting of former college stars, with each team having something of a regional/program flavor. One group features former college stars Hakim Warrick and Marshall Henderson (Team TYGTAL), another team has the stars of the 2010 Cornell Sweet 16 run, yet another contender contains the studs from legendary H.S. program St Anthony's (N.J.), and there is also a squad that reunites Villanova's 2009 Final Four team, including major names Scottie Reynolds, Dante Cunningham, Corey Fisher and more.

Today the qualifiers were announced.

And the team that UM fans will want to watch the most is the one knows as "Rep Your City"  as it will have former 'Canes Kenny, Kadji, Julian Gamble, & Garrius Adams among its key players.

Here is the full team profile:
Aquille "The Crimestopper" Carr has so many hits on his YouTube highlight video that you’d expect him to already be a household name across the country. Carr, a 5’6", 20 year old point guard who got his nickname because it’s said that crime in the streets of Baltimore came to a stop when he played his high school games, recently declared for the NBA draft after a stint in the D-League.

Carr will be passing the ball to a talented group of former teammates from 2 different D1 schools: Miami and Coppin State. Three of the best Hurricanes of recent years, Kenny Kadji (6'10" PF), Julian Gamble (6'11" C), and Garrius Adams (6'6" SF) bring height, athleticism, and big game experience to RYC. Former Coppin State standouts Akeem Ellis, who starred in his rookie season with the Rio Grande Vipers (D-League) and Tony Gallo, who has been playing professionally in Canada after averaging 17 ppg his senior year, is, like Carr, another explosive point guard, with a pick-pocket’s stealth on defense.  Rep Your City also boasts former Kansas State big man Jordan Henriquez and Akeem Williams, who led the UMASS-Lowell River Hawks in their jump to D1 this past season, scoring 2,000 points in his career. 6’8" PF Dartaye Ruffin was a key contributor to Drexel’s team for 4 years and was named to the CAA all-rookie team after his freshman season.

GM Matt Gibson, himself a former captain at D3 Lesley (Boston), spent the past season as a graduate assistant at Emerson College under former BC and Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien.  Gibson also contributes to Dime Magazine and will undoubtedly use some of the connections he’s made to garner more Fan support for Rep Your City going forward. With the talent and names on this Team, getting attention, and advancing, seem likely.


(stateoftheu.com)

New Vipers rookie forward Kenny Kadji has been busy getting acquainted with the NBA D-League’s faster pace and his team’s unique, 3-point-heavy system.
“The speed, the way we play … you have to be in tip-top shape,” said the 6-foot-10, 242-pound Kadji, who is averaging 4.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.3 minutes in four games. “The last week has been rough. Once I get my legs under me, I’ll be fine.”

Kadji, a range-shooting forward, averaged 9.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in four college seasons split between Florida and Miami. He played his first two years at Florida, where one of his teammates was current Houston Rocket Chandler Parsons.

After going undrafted in last summer’s NBA Draft, Kadji played a month in Germany before returning to the States. It didn’t take him long to figure out that the D-League was the best route to the NBA. While he has not talked to Parsons in a while, he knew what the Vipers could offer.

“I know a lot of people from this team get called up and I felt it was a good fit as far as the Rockets and that relationship,” Kadji said.

Kadji has impressed with his defense. Having spent the NBA preseason in camp with the Cleveland Cavaliers under defensive-minded coach Mike Brown, he is further ahead in that aspect than offensively, where his lack of conditioning has affected his shooting (3-for-19 from the field, 1-for-9 from 3).

“He’s gifted athletically,” Vipers coach Nevada Smith said. “He’s really long, he’s got good feet and good instincts. He does a good job with rotations and knowing where to be.”


(themonitor.com)

NBA proCane F Kenny Kadji was signed on Saturday by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League. Kadji was in the Cleveland Cavaliers training camp before being cut.




(sfgate.com)

The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived center DeSagana Diop, forward Kenny Kadji, guard Jermaine Taylor and guard Elliot Williams.

The Cavaliers' roster now stands at 15.

Diop averaged 3.7 minutes in three preseason games for the Cavs.

Kadji played in seven preseason games with averages of 5.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game.

Taylor averaged 5.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in seven preseason games.

Williams played in six Cavs preseason contests, averaging 2.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per game.


(realgm.com)

Rookie power forward Kenny Kadji got more than 50 texts after scoring 15 points in his NBA debut on Tuesday night as the Cavs beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 99-87, in the preseason opener at The Q.

“He’s long, he’s athletic, he did some good things last night,” (Cavs coach Mike) Brown said after Wednesday’s practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “He did some good things in the scrimmage. With his length, his athleticism, his quickness and agility, if he continues to try to play hard, he can impact the game when he’s out there.”

The Cavs are in the market for another big, especially with the uncertain status of Andrew Bynum, who has yet to be cleared for five-on-five basketball. Kadji, who certainly looked more viable on Tuesday than veteran DeSagana Diop, would like to stake his claim and figures his energy can only help him.


(hoopsworld.com)

As a 25-year old rookie, Miami graduate Kenny Kadji was completely overlooked coming out of college, going undrafted. The Cleveland Cavaliers picked him up for the Summer League squad, and Kadji has impressed many. What other teams saw as an age concern, Kenny Kadji sees as a developmental benefit, meaning Kadji aims to contribute immediately. In his preseason debut, Kadji showed this with a 15 point, five rebound performance.

And Kenny Kadji may be exactly what the Cleveland Cavaliers need. Kadji is just shy of seven feet, and with his three-point potential (37% in his two years with the Hurricanes), Kadji can find a nice place in the front court as a long range threat, shared only with rookie Anthony Bennett who will presumably see action at the three and four spot; Bennett, however, is only 6’8. And at 6’11, Kadji is a decent shot blocker, averaging 2 blocks per game with the University of Miami. This summer with the Cavaliers, Kadji has showed he can bring energy to the court and make an effort on the boards.

Kadji is seen to have a high basketball IQ, and with his ability playing the pick-and-roll, Kadji could find himself playing decent minutes running the pick-and-pop with Kyrie Irving, showing off that three-point range.

While Kenny Kadji’s second preseason game was lackluster, he did go 4-4 from the line and block a shot in his nine minutes of play against the Orlando Magic. I’m excited to see how Kadji will respond in Tuesday’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats, as well as how the preseason will pan out for him. With the health uncertainty that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front court has seen in recent times, Kadji is a great asset for the Cavs to keep around. He fits right in with the youthful spirit of this Cleveland team and hopefully his maturity as a rookie will allow Kadji to see minutes early on.


(isportsweb.com)

INDEPENDENCE: Of the 50 or so text messages that Kenny Kadji received following his impressive performance in Tuesday’s preseason opener, his favorite came from his mother, Annie.

“You’re still not that good,” she wrote to him, a loving reminder not to get too impressed with himself after scoring 15 points and grabbing five rebounds in 12½ minutes during the second half of a 99-87 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kadji is in the hunt for the final roster spot on the Cavs, but coach Mike Brown warned that his scoring outburst in the second half doesn’t necessarily push him ahead of Henry Sims in the battle to be one of the Cavs’ big men. Sims’ final line of four points and a rebound in 6½ minutes is far less impressive, but Sims is a little more of a true center than Kadji, who can play in the middle, but whose game is better suited at power forward.

Brown said that’s the reason Sims was the first off the bench in the competition between Kadji and DeSagana Diop. He needed a center to play alongside rookie Anthony Bennett so he went with Sims, whom Brown says does a lot of the little things well that don’t necessarily show up in a box score. And with a detail-oriented coach like Brown, the little things are more important than a few extra points, since the minutes Sims and Kadji are vying for will be extremely limited barring an injury.

In fact, the need is more at center than power forward, since the Cavs already have Tristan Thompson, Anthony Bennett, Anderson Varejao and Earl Clark all capable of playing power forward. Given the injury histories of Andrew Bynum and Varejao, the Cavs ideally would like to carry another center in case injury again inevitably strikes. That’s part of the reason they brought Diop to camp, but Brown didn’t play Diop until the final 3½ minutes of Tuesday’s scrimmage and it was immediately clear why. Diop labored getting up and down the floor, and it’s now apparent the 12-year veteran doesn’t have much of an NBA career left.
Kadji, however, got up 11 shots in a short amount of time (thanks to grabbing the rebound on a couple of his own misses), and he grabbed four offensive rebounds.

“It was a good experience,” Kadji said. “I just wanted to go out there and do what Coach wanted me to do: Bring energy and play hard. I got open a few times and my teammates found me.”

Kadji led the Miami Hurricanes to an ACC title last season and then went undrafted in June, in part because he’s already 25 years old — he’s only seven months younger than Bynum.

Kadji was born in France but spent most of his childhood in Cameroon, Africa. When he moved to the United States for basketball, some of his grades didn’t transfer and he was forced to attend IMG Academy. By the time he was able to choose a college, he began at the University of Florida before transferring to Miami, which forced him to sit out a year. He also received a medical hardship from the NCAA following back surgery during the 2009-10 season.

Add it all up and Kadji is already considerably older than most NBA rookies, which could’ve played a role in him going undrafted.

“The draft was disappointing, obviously,” Kadji said. “Now I have a chance with the Cavaliers. You can’t get any younger. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

Kadji had offers to play overseas, but declined. He played on the Cavs’ summer league team and was eager to accept the invitation to training camp.
“I wanted to take a shot at my dream,” he said.

He presumably isn’t doing this for the money. His father, Gilbert Kadji, heads the group that produces Kadji-Beer. It is not distributed in the U.S., but is wildly popular in Cameroon similar to how Budweiser is viewed by Americans. Gilbert Kadji is reportedly one of the wealthiest men in Cameroon, and the family owns a home in West Palm Beach. His mother, Annie, will attend the Cavs’ preseason game Friday at the Orlando Magic.

Kadji and Sims are believed to be fighting for one roster spot, although the Cavs could conceivably keep both of them at the expense of a third point guard such as Matthew Dellavedova.

“He’s long, he’s athletic, he did some good things [Tuesday] night and he did some good things in [Saturday’s] intrasquad scrimmage, too,” Brown said of Kadji. “With his length athleticism, agility and quickness and all that stuff, if he continues to try to play hard, he can impact the game when he’s out there.”
Injury update

Alonzo Gee (hamstring) was a full participant in practice Wednesday, but Brown said it was a noncontact practice. Tyler Zeller was again a limited participant as he recovers from a strained hip.

Neither Gee nor Zeller played in Tuesday’s preseason game, and it’s too early to tell if either will be available for Friday. But their injuries, along with the absence of Bynum, could postpone any roster cuts until next week simply because the Cavs need the extra practice bodies.


(ohio.com)

INDEPENDENCE: Kenny Kadji had the better stat line, but that doesn't necessarily mean he has pulled ahead of Henry Sims in competition for the final "big" spot on the roster.

Kadji had 15 points and five rebounds in 12 1/2 minutes Tuesday, while Sims had 4 points and a rebound in 6 1/2 minutes, but Cavs coach Mike Brown turned to Sims first and didn't play Kadji until the second half.

Brown said not to read too much into his decision to go to Sims first, he just needed a center in the game to play alongside Anthony Bennett and Tyler Zeller was unavailable. Sims is more of a natural center than Kadji, but Brown thought Kadji could play center despite being more of a power forward.

Where does all of this leave DeSagana Diop? Behind. That was obvious when Brown played him for the game's final 3 1/2 minutes, yet that was all it took for Diop to look exhausted. It doesn't look as if he has much of an NBA career left.

If the Cavs fall in love with both Kadji and Sims, they could keep both of them -- likely at the expense of a third point guard like Matthew Dellavedova. It's probably more realistic to think Sims and Kadji are battling for one spot on the roster.

As for Kadji, he said he received more than 50 text messages following Tuesday's game. His favorite, he said, came from his mother, Annie.

"You're still not very good," she told him. Now that's motherly love.


(ohio.com)

Undrafted forward Kenny Kadji has agreed to sign a non-guaranteed contract and play in training camp with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a league source told RealGM.

Kadji, 25, turned down several substantial offers from European clubs to focus on starting his career in the NBA. He will travel to Cleveland next week to begin preparing for camp.

Kadji was on the Cavaliers’ summer league team in July, averaging 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds.


(hoopsworld.com)

The Dallas Mavericks, having traded down twice, drafted former Miami Hurricanes’ PG Shane Larkin with the 18th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Having been technically drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 16th pick, Larkin will become a Maverick once the swap becomes official.

While at UM, Larkin averaged 14.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 4.6 apg.  The 5-11, 176-pound guard was the 2012-13 ACC Player of the Year (Coaches, Sports Illustrated, ESPN), All-ACC First Team (ASCMA, Coaches, ESPN), All-ACC Defensive Team (ASCMA, Coaches) and ACC Tournament MVP.

According to ESPN, the Mavs intend to keep Larkin for now, but should they need to create cap space for Dwight Howard, Larkin could be traded in July.
Former UM PF Kenny Kadji was picked up on Friday by the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent.

Hurricanes head coach Jim Larranaga told CaneSport, “Kenny will impress a lot of scouts with his size, shooting ability and overall athleticism.  I am confident he will be in the NBA this season.”

In his senior year, Kadji averaged 12.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 0.8 assists.

He was voted Second Team All-ACC.


(caneswarning.com)

University of Miami basketball coach Jim Larrañaga plans to watch Thursday’s NBA Draft from his bed, where he will be recovering from oral surgery. Despite the discomfort, he said he will force himself to smile as at least two former Hurricanes — point guard Shane Larkin and forward Kenny Kadji — are expected to be drafted.

Larkin is considered such a lock he was invited to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for the draft ceremony, where he will be sitting in the audience with his family.
The last time two UM players were picked in the NBA Draft was 1970, and they were selected in the 10th round (Don Curnutt) and the 15th round (Wayne Canady). This time, Larkin is projected to go in the first round — somewhere between No. 13 and No. 21 — and Kadji in the middle to late second round.

Their UM teammates, Durand Scott, Julian Gamble, Reggie Johnson and Trey McKinney Jones, probably will go undrafted and have to latch on to an NBA summer league team or go overseas. All the UM players have spent the past few weeks working out and interviewing with NBA teams. Kadji worked out for 13 teams, and Larkin more than that.

Larkin’s size (5-11) and Kadji’s age (25) are of concern to some teams, but both have impressed on and off the court. Larkin, who opted for the draft after his sophomore season at UM, tested off the charts at the NBA Combine with a 44-inch vertical leap — second-best of all-time at the Combine. His charisma and pedigree are also plusses.

A few of the most popular mock drafts have Larkin going No. 14 to the Utah Jazz, No. 15 to the Milwaukee Bucks, or No. 16 to the Boston Celtics, where Larrañaga’s son, Jay, is an assistant and being considered for the head coaching job after the departure of Doc Rivers, who knew Larkin as a youth in Orlando. If he drops past No. 20, the Jazz might take him at No. 21, or he could wind up with Indiana at No.23.

“From what I’m hearing, Shane will probably go 15 to 20, but he could fall to 25 and the only reason is his size,” said one NBA scout, who did not want to be named. “Some people just don’t like small point guards, and he’s not going to grow. But the majority of teams like him. He did great at the Combine, and the thing that makes him different is because of his dad [baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin], he grew up used to the bright lights and the big moments.”

ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford said: “Larkin is really talented. If only he were a couple inches taller. It’s not only height he lacks, but length. His wing span measured 5-10, and in the last decade we haven’t seen many point guards with that wing span. But he’s a great pick-and-roll player, shooter, one of the best athletes out there, so some team will take a chance on him.”

Larkin reportedly had a good workout with the Jazz.

“It was good that I had to go out and play with bigger players. I’ve seen people say that, ‘His height, he can’t play defense, da da da,’ so I went out to prove that I can,” he told Utah reporters.

Jazz head scout Walt Perrin said: “Shane’s 44 vertical is unbelievable for a point guard. It was eye-popping seeing those kind of numbers. If a guy can play, it doesn’t matter what his size is. We think he can play. How well he plays on this level is something we have to evaluate.”

Kadji is 6-11 and a good perimeter shooter, making him a coveted “stretch 4” player.

“Some teams will see his age and ask, ‘What’s his upside? Can we get a younger guy as good as him?’ ” another NBA scout said. “But he’s a good pick-and-pop player and there’s value in that.”

Said his Washington-based agent, David Bauman: “The flip side of being older is Kenny won’t make the mistakes 19-year-olds sometimes make, on the road with money, clubbing, women, drinking. He’s not going to do that. He’s a man. His maturity showed in all his interviews.”

Assuming they get drafted, Larrañaga said Larkin and Kadji will leave behind “a legacy” for the program, which will help with recruiting in years to come.
“Prospects always ask, ‘Who you got in the NBA?’ We’ll be able to say DeQuan Jones, Shane, Kenny, maybe Durand,” Larrañaga said. “Shane was not considered one of the top-20 high school prospects and now is a first-round pick. He improved at UM. We want that message sent and clearly understood.”


(miamiherald.com)

Shane Larkin and Kenny Kadji likely improved their NBA Draft stock on Friday by wowing the scouts at the NBA Combine in Chicago.

Larkin registered a jaw-dropping 44-inch vertical leap, the second highest ever and best since Kenny Gregory jumped 45.5 inches in 2001.

Larkin, the 5-11 former University of Miami point guard, also had the best sprint time of the 61 players at the combine. His 34.5-inch leap from a dead standstill was also the top mark. ESPN draft guru Chad Ford tweeted Larkin was testing out as the “top athlete.”

Kadji, the 6-11 former UM forward, also had an impressive day with a 38-inch vertical and 34 from a standstill. Ford called Kadji’s leaping ability “very surprising.”

Heading into the combine, Ford said of Larkin: “He’s got a great vertical; he’s very quick with the ball. Actually, when you start to look at some of the advanced metric numbers, he tests as a top-10 player in the draft.

“I know that some NBA scouts, especially a lot of the older ones and the older GMs, they don’t pay attention to those, but you’ve got a lot of NBA front offices now that are really looking at those numbers as well, and Larkin shows really well there. He actually showed better than every other point guard other than Trey Burke in the draft. I think that helps his cause of being a first-round pick.”


(miamiherald.com)

Shane Larkin and Kenny Kadji are one step closer to realizing their NBA dream. The former University of Miami basketball players are among 61 players invited to Chicago for the NBA Combine, which begins Wednesday and runs through Sunday.

The NBA’s general managers and scouts will interview the players, put them through a battery of athletic tests, and measure them to determine their true heights. Larkin, who is listed as a 5-11 and 186-pound point guard, said he is eager to show any doubters that his athleticism, strength, and court sense can compensate for his lack of height.

“It’s huge to get an invitation to the combine,’’ Larkin said by phone from Bradenton, where he has been training at the IMG Academy with former UM teammates Kadji, Reggie Johnson, and Julian Gamble.

“It means I’m almost there, almost in the NBA. I’ve been working on my ball-handling and my mid-range jump shot because there are very athletic 7-footers in the NBA and you can’t get to the rim as much, so I’ll have to rely more on a pull-up, mid-range jumper than I did in college.’’

As for concerns about his size, Larkin said: “I’m small, but I can dunk easily and I’ve got to show them that I’m strong enough to handle the big men off the post. I’m excited to get there and show what I can do. I’m not nervous. Basketball is basketball.’’

Kadji said he isn’t nervous, either.

“This is something I’ve been working on my whole life, and I have an opportunity now to showcase my skills to GMs in the NBA who respected me enough to invite me to the Combine,” Kadji said. “People know about my shooting ability, so I want to focus on showing them my athleticism, my ball-handing, jumping, my running, sliding my feet. I have special gifts not all the big men have, and that versatility is important in the NBA.’’

Kadji said he has “no doubt’’ Larkin has what it takes to play in the NBA.

“He can’t do anything about his height, he was born that way, but he makes up for it with his speed, decision-making, and awareness on the court,’’ Kadji said. “I’ve played with him the past two years, and he can handle anything. He’ll be fine. Shane is strong and really quick and his basketball IQ is way up there.’’

Larkin and Kadji will fly together from Bradenton to Chicago on Wednesday morning along with a few other draft prospects who have been working out at IMG. The invitation list for the NBA Combine was compiled from votes of all 30 NBA front offices. The league sent each team a list of a few hundred draft-eligible players, and each team voted for 60 invitees.

Larkin is being projected as a first-round or early second-round pick, and Kadji as a second-round pick. The NBA Draft is June 27.


(miamiherald.com)

Final exams end Wednesday at the University of Miami, but the studying and learning go on in Bradenton for former Hurricanes basketball players Kenny Kadji, Reggie Johnson and Julian Gamble.

They are participating in IMG Academy’s NBA Draft Training Program, and Shane Larkin is scheduled to join them Thursday night.

Draft prospects in the program are preparing for the NBA Combine, being held May 15-19 in Chicago. They are trying to elevate their stock by spending 12 hours per day working on basketball skills, speed and movement, strength and conditioning, mental exercises, vision training, nutrition and communications. Among the activities they go through are a mock combine, a mock draft, mock interviews with general managers and mock news conferences.

While they await their Atlantic Coast Conference championship rings in the mail, the former Canes are chasing their NBA dreams together. Larkin, a sophomore who decided to skip his final two years of college eligibility, is projected to be picked anywhere from late in first round to the middle of the second round. Kadji is expected to be chosen in the second round.

Among the other players in the program are Brandon Paul of Illinois, Laurence Bowers of Missouri and Romero Osby of Oklahoma.

“It’s definitely not college anymore,” said Johnson, who is working his way back from arthroscopic knee surgery that kept him out of the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. “The whole focus is on life as a pro, everything from getting strong enough to handle bigger guys to how to walk into a room to meet with a GM. They told us to shake everyone’s hand, to make eye contact, and not to rock back and forth in our chair because that makes you look nervous. I’m glad Kenny and Julian are here because we’ve gone through so much together, we push each other, and we have a lot of fun together.”

Johnson said he meets with the nutritionist three times per week, is drinking only water and G2 (diet Gatorade) and already has lost 12 pounds since arriving nearly a month ago. He was itching to play after his surgery, and now he has added motivation — infant daughter, Camryn, who was born May 1 in North Carolina to Johnson’s high school sweetheart. He said they plan to marry “pretty soon,” but first he hopes to sign with a team and get financially stable.

“I have a beautiful little princess depending on me now,” he said. “I was there for the childbirth and it was the most amazing thing. God works in mysterious ways, and he brought us this little girl. When I look into her eyes, it makes me want to cry. I want to provide everything for her, and that drives me to work harder.”

He said the most challenging parts for him have been the outdoor agility training and the vision training. Athletes sit in a dark room, see lights coming quickly from different angles and have to react. The goal is to improve hand-eye coordination so players can handle quick passes and have better peripheral vision to find open teammates.

Gamble said the group of about a dozen athletes has bonded like a team, and he will be rooting for all of them on draft day June 27. Paul has been ribbing Kadji about a controversial out-of-bounds play during the NCAA Tournament game between the Canes and the Illini.

“We’re grinding hard together, day in and day out, and it’s good to be around guys that can relate,” Gamble said. “They don’t know anything about what to expect in the draft process, just like I don’t know anything. We’re learning together from people who coached, played and scouted in the league and the experience is invaluable.”

The basketball skills training is led by former NBA coach Kenny Natt, who worked with the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings. He has coached Karl Malone, John Stockton and LeBron James. Speed expert Loren Seagrave, who has coached Olympic track and field stars, works with the athletes on lateral movement, explosion and stamina.

Kadji is familiar with the staff and the campus, as he attended high school there. He showed Johnson and Gamble around when they arrived and is thrilled to be among friends.

“It’s great to have my UM brothers’ support,” Kadji said. “This is a big step for everybody, and there’s going to be a little bit of butterflies, I’m sure. This will help us be ready.”

He said he has been focusing on getting stronger, and improved from six repetitions bench pressing 185 pounds to 11 reps. He is enjoying the leadership training, and thinks it will come in handy.

“The teams want to see how professional you are, especially if you’re not a top 10 pick, if you’re a guy on the fence,” he said.

“Here, they give us advice on what to say and what not to say to GMs, how to handle the trap questions they throw at you, how to dress, things like that. So, when we get there, we’ll look like pros, not like nervous college kids.”


(miamiherald.com)