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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz held another draft workout Wednesday, featuring Croatia's Leo Cizmic, SMU's Semi Ojeleye, Middle Tennessee's JaCorey Williams, Arizona State's Obinna Oleka, Arizona's Chance Comanche, and Senegal's Youssoupha Fall.
Semi Ojeleye visits
Semi Ojeleye, a strong combo forward from SMU, was the best prospect who came in to workout with the Jazz Wednesday. Ojeleye is currently slated to go 27th in DraftExpress' latest mock draft and might be a fit for the Jazz because of their need of a big forward who can shoot.
"A lot of guys fall into this range. This is the spot you want to be. If I can impress the Jazz, I can sneak into that first round," Ojeleye said.
Ojeleye spent his first two years at Duke, then transferred to SMU for his senior season after sitting out a year. That means he's pretty old for a prospect, in fact, he's the oldest player currently in DraftExpress' first round. But he does show defensive potential because of how big he is (even more obvious in person) and how fundamentally sound he is. That doesn't show up in his pretty paltry block and steal totals, though, which means the statistical models aren't big fans.
Maybe the biggest benefit of Ojeleye is his terrific shooting. He shot 43 percent from the 3-point line in his senior season on a lot of attempts, about five per game. He was first in the NCAA's at pick-and-pop efficiency, at 2.19 points per possession, obviously incredible. That's a great NBA skill to have.
But I do agree with Walt Perrin, Jazz vice president of player personnel, when he said that Ojeleye will need a lot more offensive skill development, especially with ballhandling and quickness, to be able to play small forward at the NBA level. It's probably easiest to imagine him at the power forward for now, which is fine.
So then Ojeleye will have to be able to defend the NBA's bigger power forwards. Honestly, I think he has the strength and quickness to do that, but won't ever be able to truly contest shots inside consistently.
To me, Ojeleye has an unusually small window between ceiling and floor. I think he'll be a perimeter-based bench combo forward who plays solid defense. Sort of a less feisty and, therefore, less impactful DeMarre Carroll type.
Youssoupha Fall
Standing 7-foot-4 and with a 9-foot-9 standing reach, Youssoupha Fall is an incredibly large person, both up close and watching game film. He's still years away from really contributing at the NBA level, but his height and associated ability to dunk and block shots means he's an upside prospect down the road.
I worry a lot about how well he moves, though. He lurches and seems at least a step slow to everything. I think the NBA has mostly figured out how to attack those players.
Familiar faces Quin Snyder and Tyrone Wallace
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder was hanging around at the Zions Bank Basketball Center Wednesday, and it was good to see him back after a vacation to Central America he and his family took after the season.
After returning, he recorded a podcast with The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, which you can listen to here. It's worth the listen.
Another familiar face at ZBBC Wednesday was Tyrone Wallace, who worked out with Jazz trainers after the draft prospects finished. Wallace was the 60th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft for the Jazz and spent the year with the Salt Lake City Stars.
