Utes

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and Tyger Campbell added 18 to lift No. 4 UCLA to a 78-71 win over Utah on Thursday night.
&ldquo;Jaime is a big-time player. He&rsquo;s an All-American and a guy that&rsquo;s going to play in the NBA for 10-12 years, so it&rsquo;s not a surprise,&rdquo; UCLA coach Mick Cronin said.
Jaquez, who was UCLA&rsquo;s only effective offensive player in the second half, made a 3-pointer with 1:03 remaining to seal the win just moments after Campbell made a 3 from the corner.
&ldquo;I prepare myself to be in these situations,&rdquo; Jaquez said. &ldquo;My guys have faith in me that I&rsquo;m going to make the right play every time down the stretch.&rdquo;
UCLA (24-4, 15-2 Pac-12) has won seven in a row despite giving up more than 70 points for just the fourth time this season.
&ldquo;The key is number one, taking care of the ball, and two, relying on your defense to get things done, not your offense,&rdquo; Campbell said.
Mike Saunders Jr. came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points for Utah (17-12, 10-8 Pac-12), which has lost three in a row.
&ldquo;Honestly, it felt amazing and it was crazy because I envisioned it,&rdquo; Saunders said. &ldquo;I was just waiting for an opportunity. I feel like my teammates believe in me.&rdquo;
The Utes played without their starting backcourt of Rollie Worster and Gabe Madsen, who are both injured. Utah finally started making 3-pointers in the second half and cut the Bruins lead to 62-59 after Wilguens Exacte and Saunders hit from beyond the arc.
But Jaquez came up with baskets when the Bruins needed them most.
&ldquo;The game was never in jeopardy,&rdquo; Cronin said, despite Utah&rsquo;s late runs. &ldquo;When you have Jaime and Tyger, it&rsquo;s easy to be confident.&rdquo;
Utah held the Bruins without a field goal for more than six minutes in the middle of the second half, highlighted by a couple of thunderous blocks from Branden Carlson and Keba Keita.
&ldquo;It was a heck of an effort. We&rsquo;re not into moral victories but really, really proud of the way they played today,&rdquo; Utah coach Craig Smith said.
Saunders, who only had three points in all of conference play coming into the game, brought a new element of speed to the Utes but made some mistakes characteristic of seldom-used players.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to learn. They were some things tonight he&rsquo;s got to do better, but he really sparked us on the offensive end,&rdquo; Smith said.
UCLA&rsquo;s 15-2 mark through 17 Pac-12 games marks the program&rsquo;s best conference start since the 2007-08 Final Four team with Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook.
Jaquez thinks this team can go even further.
&ldquo;National championship. That&rsquo;s what we got in mind,&rdquo; Jacquez said.
Tyger Campbell scored 10 of his points in the first half and helped manufacture open shots for his teammates while the Bruins held the Utes to 33 percent and 0-for-10 from 3-point range to take a 43-31 lead at halftime.
BIG PICTURE
UCLA: The Bruins took what the Utes gave them, so they consistently scored from the mid-range. Even with their scoring drought, the Bruins took care of the ball with only six turnovers, marking the 27th of 28 games this season they have less giveaways than their opponent.
Utah: The Utes made it difficult at times for the Bruins with a determined effort on the boards and a lot of hustle, but the Utes couldn&rsquo;t shoot. Without their guards, Saunders was a pleasant surprise, but it didn&rsquo;t matter because UCLA shot so well early and held Carlson in check.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
UCLA has been in the Top 10 for the last month and further upward mobility will probably depend on one of the top three losing this weekend.
UP NEXT
UCLA: At Colorado on Sunday.
Utah: Hosts Southern Cal on Saturday.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and Tyger Campbell added 18 to lift the No. 4 Bruins to a 78-71 win.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. leads No. 4 UCLA to 78-71 win over Utah

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Makai Ashton-Langford had 21 points and seven rebounds, hitting a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in overtime to clinch a win Wednesday night for Boston College over No. 21 Virginia Tech 70-65.
Devin McGlockton added 18 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles (7-6, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won back-to-back games to snap a four-game losing streak. It was Boston College&rsquo;s first win over a ranked team since 2020, making it the first for second-year coach Earl Grant.
Sean Pedulla and Justyn Mutts had 18 points apiece for Virginia Tech (11-2, 1-1), which had won six in a row.
NO. 1 PURDUE 74, NEW ORLEANS 53
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Redshirt freshman Trey Kaufman-Renn scored a season-best 24 points to lead Purdue past New Orleans.
Kaufman-Renn hit 8 of 10 shots and 8 of 10 free throws for the Boilermakers (12-0). The only other Boilermaker in double figures was Mason Gillis with 11 points.
The Boilermakers played without 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, who was sidelined by illness.
Jordan Johnson scored 17 points to lead the Privateers (3-8), who have lost five of their last six games. Tyson Jackson had 14 for New Orleans.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 83, MCNEESE ST. 44
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Ja&rsquo;Vier Francis scored a career-high 23 points and had 13 rebounds as Houston routed McNeese State.
Emanuel Sharp added 18 points while going 6 of 9 on 3-pointers for the Cougars (12-1), and Marcus Sasser hit 5 of 10 from long range and scored 17 points. The pair combined to shoot 9 of 14 on 3s in the first half.
Roberts Berze scored 13 points and Christian Shumate added 10 for McNeese State (3-10). The Cowboys lost their fourth straight game.
NO. 7 TEXAS 100, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 72
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Freshman Arterio Morris scored a season-best 25 points in just 18 minutes in Texas&rsquo; victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.
Timmy Allen and Marcus Carr scored 17 apiece for the Longhorns (10-1), whose 100 points were a season-high and their most since a 105-59 victory against Northwestern State on Nov. 10, 2017.
Jordan Brown, a 6-foot-11 forward, led Louisiana-Lafayette (10-2) with 20 points.
NO. 8 TENNESSEE 86, AUSTIN PEAY 44
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 20 points to lead Tennessee to a victory over Austin Peay.
Santiago Vescovi had 18 points, shooting 5 for 5 on 3-pointers, and Jonas Aidoo set a career high with 10 points and matched his career best with nine rebounds as the Volunteers (10-2) cruised in their final tune-up before the start of Southeastern Conference play next week.
The Governors (6-7) were led by Sean Durugordon and Elijah Hutchins-Everett with 11 points each.
NO. 10 ARKANSAS 85, UNC-ASHEVILLE 51
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Graham scored a season-high 16 points and Arkansas breezed past UNC-Asheville.
Graham, who hadn&rsquo;t played more than 11 minutes in a game this season, logged 19 minutes and shot 8 of 10 from the field as the Razorbacks (11-1) shot 53.3% overall.
Arkansas was missing standout freshman Nick Smith Jr.
Taijon Jones led UNC-Asheville (8-5) with 14 points and Jamon Battle scored 10.
NO. 13 UCLA 81, UC DAVIS 54
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Clark had 18 points and 11 rebounds as UCLA returned from a productive East Coast trip to earn a victory over UC Davis.
Tyger Campbell scored 17 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 as the Bruins (11-2) won their eighth consecutive game.
Elijah Pepper scored 16 points for the Aggies (7-5), just under his 20-point average per game. Robby Beasley added 14 points and Ty Johnson had 13 points for UC Davis.
NO. 19 KENTUCKY 88, FLORIDA A&amp;M 68
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace scored a career-high 27 points to help Kentucky beat Florida A&amp;M.
Wallace scored the first seven points of the second half for the Wildcats (8-3) as they took a 69-48 lead. The Rattlers (2-8) answered with a 14-0 run, cutting the deficit to seven points on Jaylen Bates&rsquo; 3-pointer. Wallace steadied Kentucky with a jumper and an assist on Antonio Reeves&rsquo; dunk.
Bates led the Rattlers with 21 points and Dimingus Stevens added 13 points.
NO. 20 TCU 75, UTAH 71
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Emanuel Miller had 21 points and seven rebounds and TCU beat Utah.
Mike Miles added 18 points for the Horned Frogs (10-1), and center Eddie Lampkin had 10 rebounds in his return from a back injury.
Gabe Madsen made seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points &mdash; both career highs &mdash; for Utah (9-4). Marco Anthony added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Branden Carlson had 14 points and eight rebounds. The Utes have lost two in a row.
NO. 23 AUBURN 84, WASHINGTON 61
SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Jaylin Williams scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half, Johni Broome also scored 18, and Auburn ran away in the second half for a win over Washington.
Chris Moore added 12 points and Wendell Green Jr. added 11 for Auburn (10-2), which shot 21 of 29 (72.4%) in the second half and led by as many as 27.
Keion Brooks Jr. led Washington (9-4) with 15 points and Koren Johnson scored 12.
SAN FRANCISCO 97, NO. 25 ARIZONA ST. 60
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Khalil Shabazz scored 26 points and San Francisco routed Arizona State to end the Sun Devils&rsquo; nine game winning streak.
The Sun Devils had entered the AP Top 25 poll on Monday for the first time since their No. 23 ranking on Dec. 7, 2020.
The Dons opened the game on a 24-2 run, had a 27-point advantage at the break and a 47-point lead with about six minutes left.
Isaiah Hawthorne added 19 points for San Francisco (10-4). Tyrell Roberts scored 14 points.
DJ Horne and Duke Brennan scored 12 points apiece for Arizona State (11-2).

A recap of Wednesday night's men's college basketball slate includes the upset-minded Eagles taking down the Hokies.

Boston College beats No. 21 Virginia Tech 70-65 in overtime

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Marcus Carr scored 19 points and made two free throws with 10 seconds left as No. 2 Texas held off No. 7 Creighton&rsquo;s furious late-game rally and beat the Bluejays 72-67 on Thursday night.
Texas led by 11 points in the second half, but Creighton got within three points a few times in the final minutes.
Tyrese Hunter scored 15 points for Texas (6-0), which got its second win over a top 10 opponent in its new arena. The Longhorns beat then-No. 2 Gonzaga on Nov. 16.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Creighton (6-2), and Ryan Nembhard scored 17 points. The Bluejays were 4 of 27 on 3-pointers, but found a late shooting touch in the final seconds to stay close.
UTAH 81, NO. 4 ARIZONA 66
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Branden Carlson scored 22 points and Utah handed No. 4 Arizona its first loss of the season in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Carlson went 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Rollie Worster had 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Utes (6-2), and Gabe Madsen and Ben Carlson scored 11 points apiece.
Oumar Ballo led Arizona (6-1) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Azuolas Tubelis added 20 points for the Wildcats, who trailed wire to wire and didn&rsquo;t resemble the high-flying team that won the Maui Invitational.
The Utes forced 11 turnovers in the first half that they converted into 15 points.
NO. 8 UCONN 74, OKLAHOMA STATE 64
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored a career-high 26 points to lead UConn past Oklahoma State in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
Adama Sanogo added 20 points and Andre Jackson scored 11 for the Huskies (9-0).
It was the smallest margin of victory for UConn so far this season. The Huskies&rsquo; next closest was an 82-67 win over then-No. 18 Alabama last Friday at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon.
Kalib Boone scored 15 points to lead the Cowboys (5-3). Avery Anderson III added 14.
NO. 9 KANSAS 91, SETON HALL 65
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Kevin McCullar Jr. returned from an injury to score 17 points and grab 10 rebounds, Jalen Wilson added 15 points and 13 boards, and Kansas rolled past Seton Hall in the big East-Big 12 Battle.
KJ Adams had 11 points, DaJuan Harris Jr. had 10 with seven assists and Ernest Udeh Jr. also scored 10 for the Jayhawks (8-1), who now have more than a week off before visiting bitter rival Missouri for the first time in a decade next Saturday.
Kadary Richmond had 17 points but also turned the ball over seven times for the Pirates (4-4), who were 4 of 19 from the 3-point arc in losing their third straight game. Tyrese Samuel added 16 points.
NO. 21 UCLA 80, STANFORD 66
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 27 points to help UCLA open up Pac-12 play with a win over Stanford.
The Bruins (6-2, 1-0 Pac-12) have won three straight after dropping back-to-back games to No. 6 Baylor and No. 16 Illinois in Las Vegas.
Tyger Campbell had 17 points and was two assists shy of a double-double, while Amari Bailey scored a season high-tying 19 points.
The Cardinal (3-5, 0-1) outscored the Bruins 37-30 in the second half, starting with three straight baskets within 90 seconds from Spencer Jones, who set a season high and led the team with 18 points.&nbsp;

A recap of Thursday night men's college hoops includes a close battle between two top-10 teams in Texas and Creighton.

Carr scores 19 as No. 2 Texas outlasts No. 7 Creighton 72-67

BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock presents a series that will peel back the curtain from his time as a sports agent, giving a glimpse at some of his personal experiences working in the sports agency business for over a decade.
In the second entry of the series, Babcock outlines his summer internship at high-powered sports agency Wasserman Media Group before the 2006 NBA Draft. 
When I was 22 years old, I was an intern at Wasserman Media Group's sports agency in Los Angeles, California. The internship not only had me doing typical intern-type tasks, but most importantly to me (because I had ambitions of being a coach), it had me working on the court daily with the company's newest clients &mdash; Shelden Williams, Brandon Roy, JJ Redick (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-105-young-man-the-three" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who guested on The Dunker Spot this week</a>), Jordan Farmar and Joel Freeland &mdash; as they prepared for the 2006 NBA Draft. It was an exciting summer!
At that time, I was admittedly horrible with basic tasks in the office that were typical responsibilities asked of interns. Besides being a ball boy, working basketball camps and helping out at the NBA Draft Combine a few times, I had never had a real job before, as I'd always been busy being a basketball player. Anyway, my low-point while at Wasserman as an intern was being made responsible to send basketballs via FedEx for the agency's players and designated coaches to use at a pro-day workout in Florida that NBA scouts would attend.
I sent the basketballs out just fine. However, I sent them "ground," and they didn't arrive until days after the workout had happened. Greg Lawrence, who was in charge of managing the interns at Wasserman, had every reason to let me have it on that one, but fortunately for me, he didn't &mdash; thanks, Greg! In all honesty, I had some growing up to do. Luckily I did, eventually.
Despite my challenges in the office, I was right at home on the court, which was the main reason I was there from my perspective. I assisted Dave Joerger in working out and preparing all of Wasserman's new clients for the NBA pre-draft process. (Joerger was a D-League head coach at the time and eventually became the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings. He's currently an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers).
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Former NBA player and current Wasserman agent BJ Armstrong (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-41-episode-40-bj-armstrong" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who was recently a guest on The Rex Chapman Show</a>) also worked with the players occasionally. Darren Erman volunteered to help us with the workouts as well. (Erman, a corporate lawyer at the time, went on to have a successful career as an NBA assistant coach, and he is currently an assistant coach for the New York Knicks). An impressive group of coaches &mdash; I was lucky to have had the opportunity to work with them.
I worked on the court with the coaches and players a lot, but I spent a lot of quality time with the players off the court too. We routinely had lunches and dinners, and watched NBA playoff games together. I became close with Shelden, "B-Roy," and JJ; I got along with Jordan Farmar too, but because he had already lived in L.A. &mdash; being from there and attending UCLA &mdash; he wasn't around as much as the other guys, so I didn't get to know him quite as well. But, all in all, we had a great group of guys, and we had a good time together.
After 15 seasons in the NBA, JJ concluded a successful career and is now a rising star in the media. But in 2006, his fame was at its peak. A star at Duke, JJ generated a ton of media attention and was even on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was treated like a rock star anywhere he would goShelden (JJ's teammate at Duke) once told me that fans would regularly avoid getting autographs from him and his teammates if JJ had already signed the item. Supposedly, if anyone else would sign the memorabilia, it would decrease the value. Think about that for a minute. Shelden was a consensus first-team All-American and one of the top NBA prospects in the country while at Duke!
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2019-12-12-at-10-01-03-am_lg.png" alt="" width="405" height="536" />
While in Los Angeles, JJ and I had a couple of nights out on the town (with the approval of his agents and my bosses, of course). One night, we went to an exclusive nightclub in Hollywood. We stood in a long line just like ordinary people; me, who was not famous, and JJ, who looked like the typical college frat boy. After standing in a hopeless line, I decided to talk to the bouncer to see if I could somehow get us in; I told him I was with JJ Redick. Within moments, we were taken into the club and seated at a table next to reality TV star Kristin Cavallari and former boxer and heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Hanging with JJ was a lot of fun.
After a month or so of us establishing a steady daily routine with the players, agent Thad Foucher let Coach Joerger and I know that he had a client named Joel Freeland from England who would be joining our workouts. Thad decided to have Joel enter his name in that year's draft. We needed to get him polished up for a showcase workout that we would be hosting the following week &mdash; every team in the NBA would be in attendance.
Every player we worked with up to that point was well-known. Joel was from England and played for a small team in Spain, so he was virtually unknown by NBA folks. However, at 6-foot-10, Joel was athletic and skilled for a player his size. After working with him, Coach Joerger and I agreed that he was a worthy prospect. Thad knew this already, of course; he wouldn't have signed him otherwise. We thought Joel might make a big splash at the showcase workout, and he did.
Following the workout in front of the entire NBA, Thad called me into his office and explained that Joel's draft stock had suddenly erupted, and he had more teams wanting to bring him into workout than days left until the draft. Therefore, he needed to be aggressive in organizing his schedule. It was the first time Joel had visited the United States, so Thad asked me to accompany him as he traveled around the country visiting different NBA teams. I essentially served as Joel's manager from that point until draft night. I remember vividly walking out of Thad's office to call my dad to tell him the good news. I was so excited to get that opportunity.
Before I knew it, Joel and I were off to Portland for his first team workout with the Trail Blazers. Joel and I shared a hotel room, and the team gave him per diem to cover his dinner. We ate at the hotel that night and had breakfast there the following day. While Joel was at the Blazers' practice facility for his workout, I stayed at the hotel killing time because the team didn't allow me to attend. Following his workout, we flew back to L.A. for one day so Joel could work out for the Lakers. Altogether, the trip to Portland was pretty uneventful for me. However, our journey was just getting started. Our next stop was Phoenix.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
When we landed in Phoenix, we were greeted by a car service: a gentleman in a black suit and tie with a fancy black car. He took us to the hotel, where Joel and I were given our own rooms at The Ritz Carlton. I felt like I was big time. Upon settling into our hotel rooms, the Suns' director of player personnel at the time (and current executive vice president of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans), David Griffin, called to invite Joel and I to dinner at a steakhouse within walking distance from the hotel. He also asked me to attend the workout the next day. I must say that I am very appreciative of the first-class treatment David and the Suns gave me considering I was just a young guy trying to find my place in the business. "Griff" is undoubtedly a class act.
After a terrific trip to Phoenix, Joel and I continued our hectic travel, making stops in Houston, Dallas and Memphis. Aside from the Suns, no other teams allowed me to attend the workouts. Although it was perhaps a bit overzealous, it didn't stop me from trying.
While we were in Memphis, I casually walked into the practice gym with Joel and quietly took a seat, hoping no one would take too much notice of me where I could watch the workout. Shortly after I sat down, Ryan West, a scout with the Grizzlies and the son of the general manager and Hall-of-Fame player Jerry West, told me he wasn't sure if I'd be able to stay for the workout, but that he'd check.
Ryan and I were friends, and his dad and my uncle Pete had a close relationship, so I thought maybe I'd get the Griff/Suns treatment. The next thing I knew, Jerry was making his way toward me. My heart began to race; it wasn't that big of a deal to me whether I watched the workout or not, but the fact that "The Logo" was about to speak to me &mdash; that was a big deal!
As he approached me, he stuck out his hand and introduced himself; a really classy man with such an incredible presence. I'm not even entirely sure what I did or said. I'm not even sure if I responded at all initially. Ironically, I choked when meeting "Mr. Clutch." Anyway, the rest of our brief conversation went something like this:
Jerry West: Matt, would you like to watch the workout?
Me: Yes, I would like to, but it's not that big of a deal if it's an issue.
Jerry West: Do you speak to your father? (My dad worked for another NBA team).
Me: Well, of course, I do but...
(And before I could finish&hellip;)
Jerry West: It's nice to meet you, but we will have to ask you to wait for Joel in the locker room.
And that was my experience meeting Jerry West.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/aldridge_roy_freeland_lg.jpg" alt="" width="390" height="585" />
Following the Memphis trip, we made our way to New York so Joel could work out for the Knicks the morning of the NBA Draft. Because I planned to pursue coaching jobs for the following season, the NBA Draft was when my internship would wrap up, as I prepared to attend Summer League in Las Vegas to hunt for coaching opportunities in July.&nbsp;
So just like that, my time with Wasserman was suddenly coming to an end &mdash; but first, we needed to see how the draft unfolded.
Although I was just an intern who had only known these players for a few months, we collectively put some real work together and created a bond. I cared about those players &mdash; I was invested. I especially cared for Joel, who quickly became like a little brother to me during our travels together as he chased his dream to play in the NBA.
So, our moment of truth was upon us. NBA Commissioner David Stern approached the podium, and the NBA Draft began. I anxiously watched, waiting to hear our guys' names called. Here's how it played out:
<ul>
<li>Shelden Williams &mdash; drafted No. 5 overall by the Atlanta Hawks</li>
<li>Brandon Roy &mdash; drafted No. 6 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves and traded to the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li>JJ Redick drafted No. 11 overall by the Orlando Magic</li>
<li>Jordan Farmer drafted No. 26 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li>Joel Freeland drafted No. 30 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
</ul>
All of our players were selected in the first round (yes, even my "little brother," Joel Freeland)! I couldn't have been happier for all of the guys, especially for Joel, who played in the NBA for several years and had an incredibly successful career overseas.
The night of the 2006 NBA Draft, Shelden Williams, Brandon Roy, JJ Redick, Jordan Farmar, Joel Freeland, their families, the Wasserman agents and I celebrated the fruits of our labor. It was undoubtedly a great night and a terrific summer, which I will never forget.&nbsp;
Little did I know at that time that it was just the beginning of my involvement in the sports-agency business.
Stay tuned for the next entry of this series: "My past life as a sports agent: The 2006 NBA Draft." 
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/my-past-life-as-a-sports-agent-going-to-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the last entry of this series</a>: "My past life as a sports agent: "Going to California."
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.babcockhoops.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BabcockHoops.com</a>.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. Order online now!

Matt Babcock recounts his summer internship at high-powered sports agency Wasserman Media Group before the 2006 NBA Draft.

My past life as a sports agent: The 2006 NBA Draft

&ldquo;The path is pretty easy to lay out. Devin Booker makes his first All-NBA team as the second-best 2 in the league; Chris Paul is healthy and gives the Suns some added playmaking and shot creation in the half-court. Stellar defensive play from Mikal Bridges, with DeAndre Ayton (finally) putting it all together for extended stretches. Add in serviceable vets to fill in gaps, and a top-four seed doesn&rsquo;t look too crazy.&rdquo;
That was me recently riffing on the possibility of the Suns <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-2020-2021-season-preview-pacific-division-golden-state-warriors-la-clippers-los-angeles-lakers-phoenix-suns-sacramento-kings-lebron-james-kawhi-leonard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hosting a first-round playoff series</a>. With their core four playing well and veterans chipping in to help, I thought they could nab the fourth seed in a best-case scenario.
There&rsquo;s always an injury-based caveat that goes into these types of projections, and it&rsquo;s generally not a good idea to make declarations based on a seven-game sample.&nbsp;
Screw it, though: I think I sold the Suns a little short.
They&rsquo;ve jumped out to a 5-2 record, tying them with the Los Angeles teams for the best record in the West so far. Early numbers can be wonky, but it&rsquo;s worth noting that the Suns are tied for fourth in net rating (plus-7.3), third in defense (103.4 defensive rating), and their offense (110.7) is less than a point per possession off from placing them in the top 10 (Boston/Brooklyn at 111.6). The Suns flirting with a top-10 offense despite their star backcourt shooting a combined 20-of-59 (33.9 percent) from deep is a testament to how much room they have to improve.
THE DEFENSE IS REAL
Oh, buddy, this unit is a joy to watch.&nbsp;
This is an active group. A smart group. A versatile group. They&rsquo;ve trended slightly conservative in terms of scheme, preferring to drop their bigs in pick-and-roll and trusting their on-ball defenders to fight over. When you have a guy like Chris Paul at the point of attack, you can make that bet.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/cp3-ayton-pnr-defense-drop.gif" alt="" width="575" height="AUTO" />
That&rsquo;s a 35-year-old Paul preparing to ICE the screen, fighting over, then hopping back to his left as Donovan Mitchell attempts to cross over. Paul then chases Mitchell into DeAndre Ayton, who stonewalls what&rsquo;s left of this possession.
To that point, Ayton has been a safe haven on the interior. He has the size to meet guys at the rim in a drop scheme, and is also mobile enough to play higher up to take away more fruitful pull-ups. He also moves well enough laterally to switch onto perimeter players in a pinch. Watching Ayton pick up snaking ball-handlers has been an underrated pleasure of the season.
Speaking of snaking ball-handlers, can we just appreciate the menace that is Mikal Bridges? His arms are as endless as his motor. He&rsquo;s a lanky lad, but it allows him to slither through screens and stay attached to his prey. Bridges has also gotten strong enough to fight through bigger picks. Even in the event that he gets hung up, he has the length to make recovery plays that shouldn&rsquo;t be possible.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/bridges-ayton-pnr-defense.gif" alt="" width="575" height="AUTO" />
It&rsquo;s a similar possession to Paul&rsquo;s. Bridges attempts to ICE the screen to send Brandon Ingram to the baseline. Ingram snakes around the initial pick, then runs Bridges into a second body-bump from Steven Adams. Ayton is there to meet Ingram in the air, and Bridges makes the tight-area interception.
Challenging the Bridges-Ayton combo hasn&rsquo;t been a fruitful endeavor. A quick stat, via a source with access to Second Spectrum tracking data: Enemy offenses are generating a shade over 0.7 points per possession on trips that feature a pick-and-roll defended by those two.&nbsp;
Bridges is absurd. Ayton is really good. Paul is still kickin&rsquo; in his mid 30s. Jae Crowder, the new addition, is a plus defender even if he can&rsquo;t hang with the twitchiest of ball-handlers. The weak spot in the starting lineup is still Devin Booker. Not only is he competing at a higher level on that end of the floor, you can&rsquo;t really isolate him because of how well the Suns dig-and-recover or flat-out switch to keep themselves out of uncomfortable rotations.
THE STARS ARE STILL SHINING
Even with middling efficiency on jumpers so far, the Suns are still getting quality production from Booker and Paul.
Paul has been directing traffic like you&rsquo;d expect. He&rsquo;s been the trigger man for off-ball plays for Booker, a smart off-ball mover when the action shifts around him, and he remains one of the sauciest dudes we&rsquo;ve ever seen against drop coverage.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/chris-paul-sauce.gif" alt="" width="575" height="AUTO" />
As alluded to earlier, Paul has struggled with his jumper so far this season. Per Synergy, Paul has only converted 36 percent of his off-the-dribble looks. He&rsquo;s converting 40.9 percent of his shots between 10-16 feet per Basketball-Reference, a clear outlier considering he&rsquo;s canned 50.1 percent of those shots over the past eight seasons.&nbsp;
Conversely, Booker has had to do less offensively. He&rsquo;s only tossing up 16 shots a night, down from 18.3 last season. Half of his two-point shots have been assisted so far this year. That&rsquo;s way up from his 41.6 percent clip last season -- hello, Ricky Rubio&rsquo;s influence! -- and that was waaay up from the 29.5 percent clip the year before that.&nbsp;
The Suns have been feeding Booker in the mid-post via quick-hitters off of screens, which have allowed him to get up efficient looks without a ton of work. A year after converting 51.9 percent of his shots coming off a screen on hefty volume, Booker is off to a 6-of-11 start (54.5 percent), per Synergy.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/unnamedff.gif" alt="" width="575" height="AUTO" />
If you&rsquo;re counting at home -- or at work, or the grocery store, or anywhere -- that&rsquo;s four steps from Booker as he makes that diagonal cut to receive the pass, then a pivot, dribble, and fadeaway. He receives the ball with 18 on the shot clock, and the ball is going through the net as the clock hits 15.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s room for some positive regression, if you will, for Booker. He has been the NBA&rsquo;s Carson Wentz so far; nobody has accumulated more turnovers than Booker&rsquo;s 37, and only Nikola Jokic is averaging more on a per-game basis.&nbsp;
The infuriating-yet-comforting thing about Booker&rsquo;s turnovers is that they&rsquo;ve been mostly self-inflicted. According to <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/player?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason">PBP Stats</a>, Booker has been called for three travel violations so far this season after only being guilty of the crime seven times all of last season. There has been some handsy-ness curling off of screens or just as he begins his drives, leading to offensive foul calls. He&rsquo;s also found himself in tough positions via jump-passing, looking for last-second relief outlets after digging himself into holes after drives.
If you want to put a number to it: of the 41 players that have committed at least 15 turnovers so far this season, Booker&rsquo;s live-ball turnover percentage (the rate of turnovers that don&rsquo;t lead to an inbound) of 37.8 is the third-lowest of the group. He isn&rsquo;t putting his team in compromising situations in regards to transition opportunities. Assuming he irons out those kinks, he and the Suns will be fine.
The odd thing about the Paul-Booker backcourt so far is that, statistically, they haven&rsquo;t <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612756&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=101108,1626164">played that well together</a>. The Suns are actually getting outscored when Paul and Booker share the floor, and have prospered both ways in the one-on, one-off minutes. Part of that is just the sample; they&rsquo;re still figuring out how to play together.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s also worth noting that the latter portion -- Paul-only and Booker-only lineups performing well -- is part of the reason why the Paul move was a good one. Having 48 minutes of high-level creation, even if that creation comes in different ways and at different speeds, is a luxury that only a handful of teams have.
BRIDGES, ON THE OTHER END
While Bridges&rsquo; calling card is on defense, it&rsquo;s hard not to be excited about his offensive growth. He&rsquo;s knocking down threes at an insane level (46.3 percent on 5.9 attempts). That&rsquo;s going to regress at some point, but stabilizing as a 37 or 38 percent three-point shooter would be huge for him.&nbsp;
What&rsquo;s really enticing is Bridges&rsquo; newfound aggression with the ball in his hands. While he isn&rsquo;t tasked with creating, he&rsquo;s done a better job of feasting off of the chaos created from others. Decisiveness was an issue for Bridges earlier in his career. That guy -- the one that was hesitant to fire against pressure, or would let driving windows close as he thought about his next move -- seems to be long gone.&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/unnamedj.gif" alt="" width="575" height="AUTO" />
He&rsquo;s shown hints of pick-and-roll craft, snaking around picks and flowing into pull-ups. He isn&rsquo;t effective at it yet, but it&rsquo;s nice to see him put those reps on tape.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/bridges-pick-and-roll.gif" alt="" width="575" height="AUTO" />
At bare minimum, Bridges is someone who will knock down open looks, fly and finish in transition, and beat ball-watching defenders with smart cuts. If he&rsquo;s able to show more growth with the ball in his hands, we&rsquo;ll be looking at one of the best wings in the league.
THE CAM PAYNE CAMPAIGN (AND OTHER BENCH GUYS, I GUESS)
Raise your hand if you thought Cam Payne could turn his NBA career around after earlier &ldquo;meh&rdquo; stints in Oklahoma City, Cleveland and Chicago.
Alright, decent amount of hands.
How many of you thought Payne would continue his hot stretch from the bubble, and stake his claim as one of the more underrated backup point guards in the league?
Cool, cool. Don&rsquo;t really believe some of you, but cool.
Let&rsquo;s try this: Raise your hand if you expected Payne to drain 47 percent of his triples, keep the pick-and-roll machine running (59th percentile as the ball-handler, passes included, per Synergy) as a secondary option, and help stabilize units to the point where the Suns are darn-near 24 points per 100 possessions <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/vs/advanced/#!?TeamID=1610612756&amp;VsPlayerID=1626166">better with him on the floor</a>?
Liars, the lot of you.
It may be a bridge too far -- Bridges, if you will -- to make a fringe Sixth-Man-of-the-Year case for Payne, but he&rsquo;s legitimately been good. He&rsquo;s finding cracks around the perimeter to generate clean catch-and-shoot opportunities for himself. On the ball, he&rsquo;s utilizing hang dribbles and some Normal-3-on-2K21 hesitations to waltz into pull-up opportunities.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/unnamedmm.gif" alt="" width="575" height="AUTO" />
Payne isn&rsquo;t the only one providing value off the bench. Cameron Johnson is building off of his sneaky-good rookie campaign, knocking down nearly 40 percent of his threes on over six attempts per contest. Dario Saric is stretching defenses thin with his shooting ability (38.5 percent from three) and firing slick passes on occasion.
The Suns can go offense or defense with their other backup guard. Langston Galloway is a solid off-ball guard who can shoot or get downhill against a bent defense. Jevon Carter is an absolute dog as a point-of-attack defender, though he hasn&rsquo;t been able to provide enough value at just about anything pertaining to offense to warrant consistent minutes.
You don&rsquo;t want to make &ldquo;this-team-is-a-contender&rdquo; declarations after seven games. In terms of the roster construction, the Suns still have questions to answer about their backup 5 spot. Saric isn&rsquo;t a true rim protector. Their rookie Jalen Smith needs time to grow. Damian Jones just&hellip; isn&rsquo;t very good.&nbsp;
With that said, the Suns may be closer to the West&rsquo;s elite class than we collectively thought coming into the year. The defense is elite. The offense is pretty close to elite status despite the top guns not performing to their level. Add in growth from the young pieces and contributions from the vets in place, and this team may be ready to contend sooner than anticipated.

The Phoenix Suns may be closer to the West's elite class than we collectively thought coming into the year, writes Nekias Duncan.