Dorian Finney-Smith's ability to guard multiple positions and step out and hit 3s could give him a chance in Thursday's NBA Draft.
NBA Draft: Doe-Doe Hopes to Get a Shot
Thursday, June 23, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Dorian Finney-Smith led the Gators in scoring and rebounding during the 2015-16 season.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2013-14 Florida basketball team won 30 straight games and became the first in Southeastern Conference history to complete a league season 18-0 and sweep to three more victories in its postseason tournament on the way to the Final Four.
That Gators squad, to date, had zero NBA draft picks.
Dorian Finney-Smith represents the next chance to change that Thursday night, but he figures to have a long wait on his hands. At best.
"I've done all I can do," Finney-Smith said after a recent workout at the UF hoops facility. "Now, all that stuff is out of my hands."
Finney-Smith, the 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward who led the Gators at 14.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game on his way to becoming the only transfer in program history to surpass 1,000 career points (1,220), is projected as a fringe draft pick. Among the top NBA Draft sites, only DraftExpress.com forecasts "Doe-Doe" getting selected. It has Finney-Smith to the Memphis Grizzlies with the 57th overall choice in the 60-pick field.
After an impressive performance at the combine in Portsmouth, Va. — in his hometown and before a handful of family and friends — that included leading all participants in no-step vertical jump (38 inches) and max vertical (41.5 inches), Finney-Smith took a handful of trips for private workouts at NBA sites, including Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, Minnesota, San Antonio and Toronto. Along the way, he more than held his own and in some instances out-performed similarly rated small forwards such as DeAndre Bembry, Michael Gbinije (Syracuse), Sheldon McClellan (Miami) and James Webb III (Boise State).
"They pretty much all said I worked out good, but I think they tell everybody that," Finney-Smith said. "Mostly, I had solid workouts, but you also can't control if you make a shot. You can control effort and that's what I tried to do."
Teams looking for a guy who can guard multiple positions, grab rebounds and step out and shoot the 3 (he hit 38.3 percent as a senior) just might take a look at Finney-Smith.
"He can do a lot of things well," UF coach Mike White said. "His versatility should help."
And then there was this assessment from another coach who knows Finney-Smith and the NBA well.
"I think Doe-Doe's got a chance," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said.
That's all he wants.
That Gators squad, to date, had zero NBA draft picks. Dorian Finney-Smith represents the next chance to change that Thursday night, but he figures to have a long wait on his hands. At best.
"I've done all I can do," Finney-Smith said after a recent workout at the UF hoops facility. "Now, all that stuff is out of my hands."
Finney-Smith, the 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward who led the Gators at 14.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game on his way to becoming the only transfer in program history to surpass 1,000 career points (1,220), is projected as a fringe draft pick. Among the top NBA Draft sites, only DraftExpress.com forecasts "Doe-Doe" getting selected. It has Finney-Smith to the Memphis Grizzlies with the 57th overall choice in the 60-pick field.
After an impressive performance at the combine in Portsmouth, Va. — in his hometown and before a handful of family and friends — that included leading all participants in no-step vertical jump (38 inches) and max vertical (41.5 inches), Finney-Smith took a handful of trips for private workouts at NBA sites, including Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, Minnesota, San Antonio and Toronto. Along the way, he more than held his own and in some instances out-performed similarly rated small forwards such as DeAndre Bembry, Michael Gbinije (Syracuse), Sheldon McClellan (Miami) and James Webb III (Boise State).
"They pretty much all said I worked out good, but I think they tell everybody that," Finney-Smith said. "Mostly, I had solid workouts, but you also can't control if you make a shot. You can control effort and that's what I tried to do."
Teams looking for a guy who can guard multiple positions, grab rebounds and step out and shoot the 3 (he hit 38.3 percent as a senior) just might take a look at Finney-Smith.
"He can do a lot of things well," UF coach Mike White said. "His versatility should help."
And then there was this assessment from another coach who knows Finney-Smith and the NBA well.
"I think Doe-Doe's got a chance," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said.
That's all he wants.
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