Larry Sanders Working out with Portland today (June 15th)

[districtballer]

The Portland TrailBlazers have been looking long and hard at Larry Sanders and many in Portland are speculating that they will take him with the #22 pick (which is right in the range that he's being projected in by most NBA exec-types). He's working out at their practice facility and looks to be the headliner and only surefire first-round prospect accompanied by Jerome Randle (California), Gani Lawal (Georgia Tech), Elijah Millsap (UAB), Osiris Eldridge (Illinois St.), and Marquez Haynes (UT-Arlington).

The Blazers have had their collective eye own on Sanders for awhile. The first time I mentioned him here was back in March. Chad Ford had Sanders going to the Blazers in one of his earlier mock drafts. There are plenty of reasons to see him as a potential fit in Portland. He's got legit 4 size, he's an upperclassmen who has improved throughout college, he's a worker, he's efficient around the basket, and he put up big rebounding numbers in college. That's a lot to like.

This line from Draft Express might pop for you...

Larry Sanders' measurements (6-9 ¼ without shoes, 7-5 ¾ wingspan, 9-4 standing reach) are eerily similar to those of DeMarcus Cousins (6-9 ½, 7-5 ¾, 9-5), minus 70 pounds (292 to 222). As one NBA assistant GM told us-"if you can put 20 pounds on that kid, he [can] be an absolute force in the paint."

The knocks on Sanders are his lack of range offensively and some questions about whether he will be able to translate his game from small school ball to the NBA.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2010/6/14/1517869/preview-tuesdays-draft-workout

 

[districtballer]

Nick Poust's 'Blazing Portland' blog talks about Larry Sanders workout today and taking him with the #22 pick or trading up to get him by packaging Rudy Fernandez and #22 to move up in the draft and get him, postulating that Larry could be gone from 15-20. He also says Larry could teach LaMarcus Aldridge a thing or two about rebounding the basketball.

Onto a player that could further help Aldridge on the glass: Larry Sanders. The 21-year old forward will workout with the Blazers along with another lanky forward, Gani Lawai. Sanders has a ridiculous 7′5″ wingspan that is comparable to that of Demarcus Cousins, who is expected to go in the draft’s top-five, and equally adjective-filled potential. Lawai has a similar wingspan, but doesn’t seem to have the potential upside of Sanders. Portland would be doing themselves a great service by taking Sanders with the 22nd pick–that is, if he falls that far.If he teams in the 15-20 range have their eyes on him, this is where the trade value of Rudy Fernandez comes into play. Package him and the 22nd and Sanders could be a force down the road for Portland.Even until he learns the NBA game he can fit Camby’s mold, with his ability to rebound and block shots. His work ethic is heralded, so you know he’ll bring everything he can to the table out of the gate despite being raw and new to the NBA game. And, as one Assistant GM told Draft Express, “if you can put 20 pounds on that kid, he [can] be an absolute force in the paint.” Just what the Blazers want to hear. And, if his scouting report does comes to fruition, he could teach Aldridge a thing or two about working aggressively inside.

http://fanhuddle.com/portlandtrailb...-galore-draft-workouts-and-lamarcus-aldridge/

 

[districtballer]

Larry made the Portland Trailblazers' Home Page.

http://www.nba.com/blazers

 

[districtballer]

Larry was not able to make today's workout in Portland due to travel issues but has rescheduled the workout for tomorrow.

From Ben Golliver's twitter:

Dior Lowborn (forward, San Francisco) replaces Larry Sanders (forward, VCU) in today's pre-draft workout.

Good news: Larry Sanders re-scheduled his workout for tomorrow due to travel issues.

http://twitter.com/blazersedge

 

[BaNgMyPrOgRaM]

It's all hype. No one is gonna show their hand. I just hope he goes to an EC team, if not OKC.

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Didnt want to start a new thread but the President of the United States scared me tonight. And then he reassured me and then he scared me and then he reassured me!

 

[districtballer]

So Larry's flight was cancelled yesterday which was why he couldn't make it out to Portland. He is working out with the Trailblazers today along with Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga), Jeff Foote (Cornell), Luke Harangody (Notre Dame), Samardo Samuels (Louisville), and Dominic Waters (Portland St.).

From Official Portland Trailblazers' twitter:

Chad Buchanan said Larry Sanders (forward, VCU) will workout for the team tomorrow. Cancelled flight was reason for his absence

June 16 workouts: Matt Bouldin, Guard (Gonzaga); Jeff Foote, Center (Cornell); Luke Harangody, Samardo Samuels, Forward (Louisville) cont..

Cont. Workouts for June 16- Larry Sanders, Forward (Virginia Commonwealth); Dominic Waters, Guard (Portland State).

http://twitter.com/pdxtrailblazers

 

[districtballer]

Here's the video from http://www.blazers.com with Larry's interview. He apparently tweaked his back so he didn't have a great workout.

Here's the video of Larry's interview with blazers.com:

http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.el...s/blazers/2010/06/16/sanders061610m4v-1349834

Here's Chad Buchanan, Trailblazers Director of Scouting's take:

Buchanan's take: "Larry's back was a little tweaked so he wasn't 100 percent, but obviously he's got a great physical frame to work with. Needs to get a little stronger in his lower body. He's got big hands, he can step out and shoot it. I think once his legs get a little stronger he's going to be a little quicker off the floor, a little bit more of a shot blocker than he even is already. For him he's got a high ceiling, it's just a matter of trying to bring that out of him for him to reach what he could ultimately get to because I think he's far from a finished product."

http://www.iamatrailblazersfan.com/...cleDisplay/tabid/279/ItemID/1525/Default.aspx

Here's the video from OregonLive.com which also recorded Larry's interview as well as Chad Buchanan's comments with a little more than what was provided on Blazers.com. He says he be shocked if Larry didn't go in the first-round and says he's a potential pick that a team is going to be drooling over and will take a chance on. He says he expects Larry to go in the last half of the first round.

http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonlive/2010/06/trail_blazers_predraft_workout_3.html

 

[BaNgMyPrOgRaM]

I think he has tremendous upside and would want him on my team!

 

[districtballer]

http://blog.oregonlive.com/blazers/2010/06/nba_draft_vcus_larry_sanders_l.html

NBA draft: VCU's Larry Sanders, Louisville's Samardo Samuels highlight Wednesday's workout

Among today's participants were power forward Larry Sanders of VCU, compact and powerful forward Samardo Samuels from Louisville, Cornell center Jeff Foote, Notre Dame big man Luke Harangody, Gonzaga guard Matt Bouldin, and local product Dominic Waters, of Portland State and Grant High School. Sanders and Samuels highlighted what was described as a more physical workout than Tuesday's group.

Both Sanders and Samuels are early-entry candidates. Sanders, according to Blazers' director of college scouting Chad Buchanan, appears to be a lock for a first round selection, while Samuels will likely go somewhere in the top half of the second round.

 

[districtballer]

Samardo Samuels (Louisville) and Larry Sanders with Trailblazers Head Coach Nate McMillan

Larry Sanders and Jeff Foote (Cornell)

 

[districtballer]

http://www.nba.com/blazers/video/2010/06/17/LarrySandersmov-1350833/index.html

Video of Larry's workout as well as being interviewed on the draft process. This was his 11th NBA team that he's worked out for. Some of the video highlights include him with a layup in traffic a dunk on Louisville's Samardo Samuels, as well as a couple of elbow jumpers that he hit. He really is a pretty good interview and the media types seem to like him.