Carlin a hammer throw from 36ers roster
TweetTWO of the players Adelaide NBL coach Joey Wright has drafted for his summer league team at the Worldwide Invitational in Las Vegas should tweak the interest of 36ers fans.
Wright’s No.1 draft selection for the July 12-14 tournament is Kenyon McNeail, a 185cm guard from Lousianna Tech who has been playing in Portugal.
His other notable draftee is 206cm Central District Lions forward Daniel Carlin.
The son of dual-Commonwealth Games hammer-throwing Gold Medallist Sean, Carlin has been playing college ball at Westmont in Santa Barbara, the program which gave Australian basketball Mike Kelly (South East Melbourne, Townsville) and Walt Campbell (South Adelaide Panthers) among others.
The Sixers virtually have settled their Australian content with Adam Gibson, Mitch Creek, Lucas Walker, Anthony Petrie, Daniel Johnson, Brendan Teys, Nathan Sobey and 211cm Matt Hodgson.
But with Hodgson recovering from knee issues, taking a look at Carlin easily could be Wright’s way of sizing up some NBL insurance for his promising big man.
Carlin (above) was a Second Team NAIA All-American, starting all 36 games for Westmont while averaging 13.6ppg at 61.4 per cent and 7.0 rebounds.
McNeail (below) is a quality shooter and would fill the role of one of the import spots Wright has coveted, a combo guard.
McNeail’s agency - W Sport & Media – is confident he can stick for an NBL roster spot, its head of the company’s basketball division, Olaf Borutz saying he was the type the 36ers need.
“I think Kenyon is the perfect fit for Joey’s 36ers because last year it was clear they needed a pure shooter, and Kenyon is a knockdown specialist,” Borutz said.
“In his first professional season in Portugal, he finished second in the league in scoring and would bring his leadership skills and defensive abilities to Adelaide.”
NBL 2015 Grand Final coaches Dean Vickerman (Breakers) and Aaron Fearne (Taipans) also are coaching in the Worldwide Invitational, which coincides with the NBA Summer League and is played in an adjacent venue on the UNLV campus.
From last year’s tournament, 84 per cent of the competing players played professionally in the 2014-15 season so it is definitely a place filled with scouts from leagues around the globe.
Also intriguing on Wright’s roster is 196cm University of Kentucky forward Darnell Dodson.