Michigan Wolverines basketball freshman center Hunter Dickinson entered his name into the 2021 NBA Draft just ahead of the May 31 deadline, and has been training in the Washington D.C. area preparing for his potential professional career.
Dickinson hired an NCAA-certified agent and is retaining his eligibility. He has until July 7 to withdraw his name from the draft and return to school.
He was hoping to receive an invite to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, which is set to take place next week from June 21-27, but it was not in the cards — at least not yet. Instead, Dickinson has earned a bid to the NBA G League Elite Camp, which is scheduled for June 19-21, also at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
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Former Michigan guards Chaundee Brown and Mike Smith, and incoming transfer commit DeVante' Jones, a former Coastal Carolina guard, have also received invitations to the camp. While the list of NBA Draft Combine invitees have not been announced yet, it's assumed that former Michigan wings Franz Wagner and Isaiah Livers will be among the group to earn invites.
The G League Elite Camp is a three-day event that gives NBA Draft prospects an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of NBA and NBA G League scouts, coaches and front-office executives. The athletes will participate separately in five-on-five games, as well as strength and agility drills.
The kicker is that the top standouts from the camp will earn an invite to the NBA Draft Combine, so Dickinson's hopes of attending the event are not dead just yet. He will have the opportunity to impress scouts and front offices in both the workout portion and interviews.
The 7-1, 255-pounder averaged team-highs in points per game (14.1) and rebounds per contest (7.4), while shooting an efficient 59.8 percent from the field. He earned second-team All-America honors and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the year while helping lead the Wolverines to an outright regular-season conference title and the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight in their second season under head coach Juwan Howard.
Dickinson has made it clear that he is keeping his options open, noting that there isn't much downside to testing the NBA waters after such a stellar year on the hardwood.
“With the season I had, I felt I earned the right to kind of see what NBA teams were saying," Dickinson said on the Defend The Block podcast recently. "That’s why I was very big on trying to get an NCAA certified agent, because I want some guidance in the process, but I also wanted to make sure able to retain my eligibility."
While preparing for the draft, Dickinson is trying to expand his repertoire. Known as a back-to-the-basket big man, he wants to show he can step out and hit jump shots and switch screens defensively.
“The biggest thing for me was my body. That’s something I’m hearing … a lot of NBA teams wonder what does body composition look like," he said. "That’s something I’ve taken really head on this offseason. I’m on a strict diet over here. It’s pretty hard but really changing my body, slimming down, getting pretty toned, getting a lot better in that area.
"Also, my movements and stuff like that in the weight room … the strength coaches have focused a lot on lateral movement, being able to guard the ball screens on either the collegiate or the NBA level. That’s another big thing people are trying to say I can’t do. That’s a big area for me.
“Then, just continue to expand my game … my shot, making it more consistent. Those are probably the big main three things I worked on this offseason. I’ve done a lot of work outside practice.”
Watch for more NBA Draft coverage at TheWolverine.com in the days to come.
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