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SALT LAKE CITY — Brandon Davies has dreamed of this day for a long time.
"It's crazy. My phone's been blowing up with people telling me not to screw this one up," he joked about his chance to work out for the Utah Jazz. "It's a dream come true just being here and obviously wearing the jersey of the team I watched growing up."
This wasn't one of those pre-draft workout invitations handed out to former local college players because the team needed a body. Davies has worked himself into a 2nd round draft prospect.
The former Provo high and BYU star impressed scouts with his performance at the Portsmouth Invitational in April earning MVP honors. That performance earned him an invite to the NBA Scouting Combine in Chicago where he once again made an impression on scouts and general managers.
He left a good impression during his workout back home in Utah.
"He plays extremely hard," says Jazz Vice President of Player Personnel Walt Perrin. "He's an aggressive player. He's a physical player. He's going to have to, on our level, learn to move away from the basket because at his size he's not going to be able to post up like he could at BYU."
Perrin believes Davies has worked his way into the 2nd round of the draft and if he is able to become a consistent mid-range jump shooter he can have success in the NBA.
"I think he's going to have a spot in this league somewhere," Perrin says. "I think because of being most valuable player at Portsmouth, being invited to Chicago, being in this workouts people are looking at him in a different light now than earlier."
This was Brandon's eighth pre-draft workout and he has five more before the Draft on June 27th. It's been a grind but he's enjoying every minute of it.
"A lot of guys are tired or getting sick of them but for me It's a dream come true," Brandon says. "It's all fun to me. The more opportunities for me the better. There are a lot of people that wish they were in my position so I just have to take advantage of each opportunity."
