Northern prospects generate intrigue

Five Canadians in top-40 mix, Raptors watching

One of the great truisms of the NBA draft process is that if a player is good, teams and scouts are going to find them.

And if proof was ever needed of that, all it takes is a look at a handful of Canadians who are deep into the weeding-out process that teams hope will separate prospects from suspects heading into next month’s draft.

A high school sensation. Muchhyped collegians. Well-travelled but still quite young “veterans.” Players who accept all challenges while trying to prove themselves, and others who like to create a bit of mystery and intrigue.

And a year after only two Canadians were selected — Joshua Primo by San Antonio with the No. 12 pick, and Dalano Banton to the Raptors at No. 46 — there’s a likelihood that five will hear their names called on June 23 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Shaedon Sharpe of London, Montreal’s Ben Mathurin, Toronto’s Leonard Miller, Mississauga’s Caleb Houstan and Aurora’s Andrew Nembhard have all worked their way to the forefront of draft discussions now that the NBA’s combine is winding up in Chicago.

“There’s a possibility all five go in the first round,” Toronto-based scout Wes Brown said. “I will say all five will get drafted, for sure, and I would even say all five will get drafted in the top 40.”

The interesting part is the

disparate paths they have taken to the same destination.

■ Sharpe, a six-foot-five forward, did not play last season after committing to Kentucky.

■ Mathurin, six-foot-six, came through the NBA Academy Latin America and starred at small forward at the University of Arizona.

■ The 18-year-old Miller, a sixfoot-11 forward, played at Fort Erie International Academy in a postgraduate high school year that allowed him to be eligible for this year’s draft, despite interest from such NCAA powerhouses as Kentucky and Arizona.

■ Houstan, a six-foot-eight forward, spent one season at Michigan after attending Montverde Academy prep school and didn’t even take part in the combine.

■ And Nembhard — a six-foot-five guard who created the most buzz of anyone in Chicago with a 26-point, 11-assist game Friday — spent four years at Gonzaga after Florida.

“Totally different paths,” Brown said. “All five guys have a legit shot in the first round. Two of them will be top-10 picks.”

It’s generally held that both Sharpe — who has attracted attention from Sacramento and Detroit, according to reports — and Mathurin are surefire lottery picks, which would take them well out of any consideration for the Raptors, who don’t own a first-round selection this year.

The intrigue is with the other three.

Houstan’s decision not to take part in any of the combine workouts or meetings could be an indication that a team has already committed to selecting him, although such promises sometimes don’t work out. But it’s the other two, Miller and Nembhard, who should be the most interesting for Raptors fans.

The pre-draft process is still in high gear — Toronto officials were in Chicago to meet with prospects, and are now setting up group workouts for the OVO Athletic Centre — and players’ stocks will rise and fall in the month to come. But there is a possibility that Miller and Nembhard will be available when the Raptors make the 33rd selection.

Nembhard is proving to be the kind of mature, all-around talent who’s able to step in and contribute right away, while Miller — raw, versatile — fits the Raptors’ profile well. Either one would fill a need.

“Nembhard is a guy that can step in from day one and play, and Miller is a guy who, long-term, has star upside,” Brown said. “The Raptors eat/sleep/breathe 6-10 guys (with) 7-2 wingspans that can dribble and pass and shoot … (Miller) fits to a T.”

It’s impossible to predict how the rest of the pre-draft process will play out, and it’s obvious the Raptors will be reacting to what goes on before them in the order — having dealt their first-round pick to San Antonio in the Thad Young trade, while acquiring a better secondrounder.

But for Canadian fans, this draft should be far more intriguing than the last couple, and the local players they are tracking come from myriad backgrounds. None are right and none are wrong, and it does prove that there are many routes to the NBA.