The NBA Draft Combine has started in Chicago where UVa star Joe Harris is trying to impress scouts ahead of the NBA Draft.
During ESPN’s televised portion of the combine Thursday, Harris received some praise from analysts Jay Williams and Chad Ford. Williams praised Harris’ range and ability to hit the mid-range shot as well as his basketball IQ, saying that “he’s a guy that understands where to be at the right time.” Ford, meanwhile, said Harris would be a really good second round pick and maybe even a late first round pick because of his experience. Ford is a little uncertain of Harris’ fluidity with his hips to be able to defend NBA shooting guards, but did note that Harris defends and that’s “a feather in his cap.”
Harris, who checked in at just under 6’5″ without shoes, measured with a 6’6″ wing span and 6.2% body fat. He’s drawing the attention of other reporters seeing him in action too. Camron Smith, a Chicago reporter, Tweeted that “Joe Harris is the best shooter of the players that have participated so far. Shoulders square, hips are aligned and his release is smooth.” Smith also noted that Harris, Iowa’s Devyn Marble, and UNC’s PJ Hairston had separated themselves in their group during drills.
The NBA Draft is Thursday, June 26.
ACC Championship Sites
The ACC’s ongoing spring meetings continue to produce news this week. The league announced the 2014-2015 championship locations Thursday. Virginia will serve as the host for the ACC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 31 at Panorama Farms. UVa is the host site for the ACC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament from April 23-26 at Klockner Stadium.
The ACC also announced that that ACC Baseball Championship will be held at Durham Bulls Athletic Park through 2018. The ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament will remain in Greensboro through 2022.
See all the championship sites here.
Pik Shows Leadership at UVa
UVa rower Emily Pik is a co-captain on the women’s rowing team and a member of the first undergraduate graduating class at Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. In other words, she’s honed her leadership skills day in and day out at Virginia.
This feature from the UVA Today online site highlights Pik’s time at Virginia. Here’s a great quote from that article:
“Emily embodies all that we hope to see in our Batten students,” said Jill Rockwell, Batten’s senior assistant dean for student and career services. “She is intelligent, and has, quite literally, taken every opportunity to be a selfless leader: on the crew team, in her classes, within the Batten School, the greater UVa and Charlottesville communities and even in the commonwealth, through her work in the governor’s office.”
The rowing team competes at the ACC Championships on Friday and Saturday at Clemson. Read more here.
Nine Players To Join Women’s Soccer
The Virginia women’s soccer team will welcome nine newcomers to the fold this fall. Seven freshmen and two transfers will join 15 returnees from last year’s team that went 24-1-1 and reached the College Cup (Final Four).
“We are extremely excited about our 2014 recruiting class,” coach Steve Swanson said in a news release. “We obviously graduated a large and very experienced senior class, so our challenge was to bring in a class that had quantity, quality, and character. We believe this year’s class has all ingredients to be extremely successful here at Virginia, both on and off the field.”
Read about the nine incoming players here.
Tweet of the Day
#UVa WR Tim Smith will tryout with the @Seahawks as part of their rookie minicamp
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) May 14, 2014
Hoo-Tube Video of the Day
The Virginia tennis teams enter the Sweet 16 this week. Let’s look back at the NCAA Tournament win for the UVa men from 2013!
