Cavaliers

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jeremy Roach scored 16 first-half points to help seventh-ranked Duke open Jon Scheyer&rsquo;s coaching tenure with a 71-44 win over Jacksonville on Monday night.
Freshman Mark Mitchell had a team-high 18 points for the Blue Devils, who used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to blow the game open.
It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Scheyer taking over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. Duke has 11 new players, including the nation&rsquo;s No. 1-ranked recruiting class and two power-conference transfers. The Blue Devils didn&rsquo;t have top freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead for this one as they recover from preseason injuries.
Mike Marsh scored 15 points to lead the Dolphins, who shot 34% and missed 18 of 19 3-pointers before making two meaningless 3s late.
NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 69, UNC WILMINGTON 56
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Love and RJ Davis scored 17 points apiece and North Carolina began a season of grand expectations by pulling away from UNC Wilmington.
Armando Bacot added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels, who were perhaps most impressive at the defensive end. UNCW shot 29.8% from the field.
The Tar Heels, who were the NCAA Tournament runner-up in April, began the new season with the top ranking for the first time in seven years. It&rsquo;s a record 10th time that North Carolina has been ranked No. 1 to start a season &mdash; one more than rival Duke.
Trazarien White scored 19 points for UNCW, which faced a top-ranked team for the first time in program history.
NO. 2 GONZAGA 104, NORTH FLORIDA 63
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 points, Julian Strawther added 16 and No. 2 Gonzaga used a big first-half run to beat North Florida in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Anton Watson had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals for Gonzaga, which won its 68th consecutive home game, the nation&rsquo;s longest such streak.
Carter Hendricksen scored 16 points, Jadyn Parker 13 and Jose Placer 12 for North Florida, a veteran-laden team from the Atlantic Sun Conference that returned its top four scorers from last season.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 83, NORTHERN COLORADO 36
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 21 points, J&rsquo;Wan Roberts added 12 points and six rebounds, and Houston opened the season by beating Northern Colorado.
Sasser, a preseason All-American, scored 11 points in the first half. He finished 7 of 14 from the field and made 4 of 8 3-pointers. The senior guard missed the second half of last season and all of Houston&rsquo;s run to the Elite Eight with a toe injury.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson won his 700th career game and 200th with the Cougars.
Matt Johnson II, Riley Abercrombie and Caleb Shaw each scored eight points for the Bears.
NO. 4 KENTUCKY 95, HOWARD 63
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Antonio Reeves scored 22 points, CJ Fredrick had 20 and Kentucky beat Howard with All-American Oscar Tshiebwe and two other players sidelined.
Tshiebwe had a procedure last month on his right knee. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler (right leg) and sophomore forward Daimion Collins (personal reasons) were also out, but the Wildcats still shot 55% against the overmatched Bison.
Jacob Toppin and freshman Cason Wallace each added 15 points for Kentucky.
Kobe Dickson scored 17 points and Elijah Hawkins had 14 for Howard, which shot 34%.
NO. 5 KANSAS 89, OMAHA 64
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Gradey Dick added 23 points in his debut, and Kansas began defense of its national championship without suspended coach Bill Self by routing Omaha.
Bobby Pettiford Jr. added 13 points, Dajuan Harris had 11 points and eight assists, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 10 for the Jayhawks, who broke open a close game in the second half with two big runs.
Self served the first of a four-game punishment along with assistant Kurtis Townsend as part of the fallout from a 2017 federal investigation into college basketball corruption.
Jaeden Marshall scored 13 points and Luke Jungers had 12 for the Mavericks.
NO. 5 BAYLOR 117, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 53
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures as Baylor won the opener of its 20th season with coach Scott Drew.
Flagler, a preseason All-Big 12 pick who also was the Bears&rsquo; leading scorer last season, also had eight assists and one of his four 3-pointers started a 24-0 run midway through the first half.
LJ Cryer had 16 points and Dale Bonner, another returning guard, had 14.
Alvin Stredic scored 14 points and Terry Collins 10 for Mississippi Valley State in its first game for new coach George Ivory.
NO. 9 CREIGHTON 72, ST. THOMAS 60
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Baylor Scheierman made back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second half to give Creighton the lead for good.
Arthur Kaluma scored 17 points, Trey Alexander had 12 and Scheierman added 11 as the Bluejays won their 25th opener in 26 years.
St. Thomas, a Summit League member beginning its second season in Division I, gave the Bluejays all they could handle until the last few minutes. Andrew Rohde had 15 points to lead the Tommies.
NO. 10 ARKANSAS 76, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 58
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Trevon Brazile had 21 points and 12 rebounds in his debut as Arkansas won its season opener.
Brazile, a sophomore transfer from Missouri, scored six straight points during an 11-0 run early in the second half that gave Arkansas a 16-point lead with 15 minutes left.
Wichita State transfer Ricky Council led the Razorbacks with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Grant Nelson and Boden Skunberg had 17 points apiece to lead North Dakota State.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 75, TENNESSEE TECH 43
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Tyreke Key came off the bench to score 17 points and Tennessee beat Tennessee Tech in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Key, an Indiana State transfer, connected on 4 of 8 3-pointers to ignite a sluggish Volunteer offense. Zakai Zeigler scored all but two of his 12 points in the second half.
Brett Thompson led the Golden Eagles with 15 points.
NO. 12 TEXAS 72, UTEP 57
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Tyrese Hunter scored 18 points to lead Texas past UTEP in the debut of its new arena.
Hunter, a transfer from Iowa State, was 6-of-8 shooting and added five rebounds. Ze&rsquo;Ri Onyema led UTEP with 10 points.
Texas this season moved to the $375 million Moody Center on the edge of campus, leaving behind the old Frank Erwin Center after 45 years.
NO. 13 INDIANA 88, MOREHEAD STATE 53
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis and freshman Malik Reneau each scored 15 points, helping Indiana beat Morehead State in the season opener for both teams.
The Hoosiers have won all six matchups in the series and are 26-0 all-time against Ohio Valley Conference foes.
Mark Freeman led the Eagles with 14 points, and Drew Thelwell had 11 for the OVC favorites.
NO. 14 TCU 73, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to finally put TCU ahead to stay against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which built an early 20-point lead in the season opener for both teams.
Miles, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, hit from deep beyond the top of the key for a 71-68 lead.
Emanuel Miller had 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and Miles finished with 15 points for the Horned Frogs. They returned all five starters and five other scholarship players after winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 1987.
Shaun Doss had 25 points with four of Arkansas-Pine Bluff&rsquo;s 13 3-pointers.
NO. 15 AUBURN 70, GEORGE MASON 52
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. scored 16 points while K.D. Johnson and Johni Broome each had 12 to lead Auburn to a season-opening win over George Mason.
The Tigers weren&rsquo;t really challenged much in their first game since losing NBA first-round draft picks Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.
Ronald Polite III led George Mason with 10 points, and Victor Bailey Jr. had nine.
NO. 16 VILLANOVA 81, LA SALLE 68
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Daniels scored 24 points to make coach Kyle Neptune a winner in his Villanova debut.
Neptune replaced Hall of Famer Jay Wright, who retired in the offseason. The Wildcats returned three starters (a fourth, Justin Moore, was injured) from the team that lost a national semifinal game to Kansas. Eric Dixon added 20 points for Villanova.
Daniels made his first five 3-pointers and the Wildcats used an early 10-0 run to put away their city rival and spoiled 74-year-old coach Fran Dunphy&rsquo;s return to the bench.
Josh Nickelberry scored 22 points to lead the Explorers.
NO. 17 ARIZONA 117, NICHOLLS STATE 75
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis scored 23 points and Arizona went on a massive opening run to begin its second season under coach Tommy Lloyd with a rout.
Ballo scored 18 points, helping Arizona set a school record with 71.7% shooting from the floor against the reigning Southland Conference regular-season champions. The Wildcats opened the game with a 30-4 run.
Micah Thomas led Nicholls State with 20 points.
NO. 18 VIRGINIA 73, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 61
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman sparked a 15-2 second-half run, and Virginia beat North Carolina Central after blowing a 16-point first-half lead.
Armaan Franklin led Virginia with 21 points in the season opener for both teams, and Francisco Caffaro had 10.
Justin Wright scored 20 and Eric Boone had 18 for the Eagles, who used a 12-0 run just after halftime to go ahead. But Clark hit a 3 and Beekman followed with a steal and a breakaway.
NO. 19 SAN DIEGO STATE 80, CAL STATE FULLERTON 57
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Darrion Trammell hit three 3-pointers during a 29-10 run to open the second half and finished with 18 points as San Diego State beat Cal State Fullerton.
Fellow newcomer Jaedon LeDee and Lamont Butler scored 11 points apiece and Nathan Mensah had 10 for the Aztecs, who won their 10th straight season opener and their 17th in 18 seasons.
Vincent Lee scored 11 and Jalen Harris 10 for the Titans, the defending Big West Conference champions.
NO. 20 ALABAMA 75, LONGWOOD 54
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Brandon Miller had 14 points and 13 rebounds in his debut as Alabama beat Longwood.
Fellow freshman Rylan Griffen also scored 14 for the Crimson Tide, and point guard Mark Sears had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Jaden Bradley added 11 points and six boards.
Alabama held Longwood to 27% shooting and blocked nine shots. Michael Christmas led Longwood with 12 points.
NO. 21 OREGON 80, FLORIDA A&amp;M 45
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; N&rsquo;Faly Dante had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Oregon opened with an easy win over Florida A&amp;M.
Keeshawn Barthelemy added 13 points for the Ducks, ranked to start the season for the ninth straight year. Will Richardson scored 11.
Jordan Tillmon and Jordan Chatman had eight points apiece for the Rattlers, who have 11 new players. Florida A&amp;M coach Robert McCullum was on Oregon coach Dana Altman&rsquo;s staff from 2014-17.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN 75, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 56
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Dickinson had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Jett Howard added 21 points in Michigan&rsquo;s season-opening win.
After Purdue Fort Wayne opened an 8-4 lead, Michigan went on a 20-0 run to take control.
Quinton Morton-Robertson scored 15 points and Bobby Planutis added 13 for the Mastodons.
NO. 23 ILLINOIS 87, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points and Coleman Hawkins had 23 points and 12 rebounds as Illinois cruised past Eastern Illinois.
Dain Dainja added 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Illini, who outrebounded the Panthers 53-30 in the opener for both teams.
Kinyon Hodges scored 14 points and Yaakema Rose added 10 for Eastern Illinois.
NO. 24 DAYTON 73, LINDENWOOD 46
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Mustapha Amzil scored 14 points, DaRon Holmes II and R.J. Blakney each had 13 and Dayton beat Lindenwood in a sluggish opener for both teams.
Dayton was without injured point guard Malachi Smith and didn&rsquo;t play particularly well until late, but it had a large margin for error against Lindenwood, which was playing its first game after moving up to Division I.
Chris Childs had 15 points for the Lions, who shot 33% from the field.
NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 73, NORTHWESTERN STATE 49
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; Daniel Batcho had 12 points and 10 rebounds as Texas Tech rolled past Northwestern State in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Texas Tech broke it open late in the first half and led 42-23 at halftime.
Isaac Haney led Northwestern State with 16 points.

It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Jon Scheyer taking over Duke's program.

Roach leads No. 7 Duke past Jacksonville in Scheyer’s debut

Five years after the NBA Global Academy opened its doors, Australian swingman <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/big-board/players/joshua-giddey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Josh Giddey</a> is set to become the first graduate selected in an NBA Draft on Thursday night.
&ldquo;I give a lot of credit to the NBA Academy,&rdquo; Giddey said at his pre-draft media availability. &ldquo;They got me in there at an early age, when I personally thought that I didn&rsquo;t have a big future in basketball. They got me in and they believed in me when I didn&rsquo;t necessarily believe in myself. I was there for 18 months and they worked with me every day, so I give &lsquo;em a lot of credit.&nbsp;
&ldquo;They developed me and pushed me in the right direction and set me up to where I am today, essentially. So, the NBA Academy was big for me. It allowed for me to go overseas and get the exposure that I wouldn&rsquo;t have gotten if I stayed back home in Melbourne. It&rsquo;s a big honor and it makes me pretty happy to be the first NBA-Academy player to be drafted.&rdquo;
Chris Ebersole, the NBA's senior director of international basketball operations, worked closely with Giddey during his time at the NBA Academy and Basketball Without Borders (BWB), and he's watched as the son of two professional basketball players went from an off-the-radar prospect to a top-10 projected pick in rapid fashion.
Ebersole knew Giddey from an early age through Marty Clarke and members of the Academy's coaching staff. (Clarke was actually teammates with Giddey's father, Warrick, in the NBL.) Having shown promise at BWB Asia, Giddey found his way to the Academy in 2018.&nbsp;
When Giddey arrived in Canberra, Australia, he was around 6-foot-5 with a good amount of potential. When he left, he was a 6-foot-8 sensation who was highly coveted by NBA decision-makers. Even Ebersole couldn&rsquo;t predict that his ascent would happen this fast.
&ldquo;To be completely honest, I don't think any of us had potential lottery pick in the 2021 draft in our sights for Josh at the outset,&rdquo; Ebersole told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview.
To be fair, Giddey didn't see this coming either.
&ldquo;Up until I moved to the Academy, I was a good player, but nothing special,&rdquo; Giddey <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nbl-adelaide-36ers-josh-giddey-good-chance-ill-be-declaring-for-2021-nba-draft-prospects-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told our Matt Babcock back in March</a>. &ldquo;I was challenged every day by my teammates and my coaches, and at times, I struggled early on and didn't enjoy myself. But as I grew into it, I fell in love with wanting to get better, and my coaches never took it easy on me &ndash; and that was a massive part of my development.&rdquo;
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Giddey didn&rsquo;t make an Australian junior national team until he played for the U18 club. But as he grew literally, Giddey also grew skillfully. Between sprouting three inches to 6-foot-8, developing his perimeter skills, improving as a playmaker and asserting himself as a lead ball-handler, it was clear that his ceiling was rising as a player -- and that was before any draft buzz.
&ldquo;I think from that point [of making the U-18 squad], that was maybe when a switch sort of went off that he had a chance to be special in basketball,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;I think it's always been a dream for him, but the fact that he went through some of that adversity at a young age and the disappointment of not making some of those teams probably fueled him. And by the time he was 18, he was not only making a state team, but he was excelling on it and leading those teams.
&ldquo;In basketball terms, in relative terms, you could sort of label him as a late-bloomer in terms of how quickly his stock has risen. I think a lot of those traits have been there the whole time, but a lot of times it's confidence, it's putting it all together on the court, and I think that's the part that's really blossomed.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not just his size that stood out, either.
&ldquo;Beyond that, he's also developed his game, and that part is really the key. There are not a lot of 6-foot-8 people out there who are able to do what Josh can do on the court,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;I mean the size certainly helps, but the development of his game in terms of growing into such a rare level of passer and leader of an offense on the court, I think that's the part that catches most people's attention &ndash; just how advanced he is in those areas of his game.&rdquo;
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The Academy traveled to different tournaments and took on varying levels of competition. Ebersole recalls the 2020 Torneo Junior Ciutat L&rsquo;Hospitalet, a tournament that featured the top junior teams around Europe. Giddey <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/au/nba/news/australias-josh-giddey-mvp-nba-global-academy-fc-barcelona-2020-torneo-junior-ciutat-de-lhospitalet/10xt6unne3wrg1b6j6ljrut7yc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led the Academy to a win in Spain over the local FC Barcelona club</a> and earned MVP honors after averaging 11.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
Giddey saved his best performance for last, contributing 15 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in the tournament final.
&ldquo;He was never fazed,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;He elevated his game... He makes those jaw-dropping plays look routine. Just an interesting part of his game is that he's able to make passes that no one else on the court, or watching the games, could see [coming]. And so, he'll make a pass and you're almost wondering where the ball is going, and it'll end up in the hand of his teammate right under the hoop. He does that multiple times a game (laughs). He can throw all different types of passes with both hands from any angle, and so he actually ends up making these extraordinary plays look very routine in his game.&nbsp;
&ldquo;There have been countless examples of that just watching him, whether it's games at some of our events [in the] States or overseas; you see him make those types of passes and you just kinda look at each other on the sidelines and you sorta shake your head. It's so advanced, it's so rare to see a player of his age with that understanding of all the moving pieces on the court.&rdquo;
Just two months later, instead of coming to the United States to prepare for the NBA via college or the G League Ignite, Giddey elected to sign with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League as a part of its Next Stars program (just like LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton). It turned out to be a brilliant choice, as Giddey boosted his stock even further.
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With the 36ers, Giddey won the NBL Rookie of the Year Award. He averaged the most assists in the league (7.6), and led Adelaide in rebounds per game (7.3). Giddey also scored the fourth-most points per game (10.9) on the team, while playing the second-most minutes per contest (32.1). The 18-year-old also became the youngest player in NBL history to record a triple-double (taking the record from LaMelo). Then, he did it again the very next night, making him <a href="https://nbl.com.au/news/night-of-sixers-celebrations-against-bullets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the only Australian to have triple-doubles in consecutive games</a>.
&ldquo;Obviously, his time in the NBL [was] a huge factor in developing his confidence,&rdquo; Ebersole said. "He was handed the keys in a lot of ways when he got to Adelaide. The fact that he was able to translate all those skills in a league of that caliber... the NBL is a league of grown men and really talented players. For him to go in and showcase his skills at that level and translate them so quickly at that level, I think, is a huge boost for his confidence. I think at each level, he's able to now realize that he can impact these games and he's not out of place and he can hold his own.&rdquo;
"Great kid, very nice," Giddey's 36ers teammate and former NBA pro Brandon Paul told BasketballNews.com. "I think he's more mature than his years the way he carries himself on and off the court, and he's just someone who's got a crazy ceiling."
Giddey&rsquo;s stint with the 36ers ended on May 16, when both parties agreed to allow him to begin preparing for the 2021 NBA Draft. He carried over the momentum from the NBL into this summer, joining the Australian team&rsquo;s pre-Olympic training camp as one of 24 invitees and giving him a chance to play with some fellow Aussies whom he'd looked up to. Many NBA scouts and executives were in attendance to observe the practices and exhibitions.
&ldquo;He's definitely garnering significant attention throughout this whole process,&rdquo; said Ebersole, who was present with Giddey in Las Vegas. &ldquo;And of course with his time in Adelaide in the NBL &ndash; although there was maybe some limitation on how many scouts could get there to see him just given some of the restrictions on travel &ndash; it was clear the buzz around him was picking up during that time frame... I think he's gotten somewhat used to it.&rdquo;
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Even though the Boomers left Giddey off their Olympic roster, they did name him as a replacement player and the experience was beneficial.
&ldquo;It was fun. Obviously, it sucks I didn&rsquo;t make that team, but I still got to be around the guys and be able to train and compete against them every day right up until they left,&rdquo; Giddey said. "So for me, it was great because I got to compete against guys like [Matthew Dellavedova], Patty Mills, Joe Ingles &ndash; and then learn and train against them every day. So it was such a beneficial kinda month, two months for me, being able to learn from those guys.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And then, it&rsquo;s such a good environment to me. I think for me going forward, it&rsquo;s gonna be critical to get this early taste of it because hopefully [in] the next 12-15 years, I&rsquo;m gonna have a long career playing with the national team.&rdquo;
Ebersole is a California native, and he describes Giddey's personality as similar to his own: laid-back and self-deprecating. He says that Giddey is always fun to be around and has great leadership qualities. He can lead by example, but he's also a good communicator with both teammates and coaches alike.
"I've seen him interact with people and [he's] always very welcoming, even when he's being hounded," Paul added.
Ebersole assures that Giddey is a &ldquo;hooper at heart.&rdquo; As for his off-court interests, the young Aussie is a sneakerhead.&nbsp;
When asked what kind of team or situation would be conducive to Giddey thriving as a rookie, Ebersole confidently said &ldquo;anywhere.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I don't think there's necessarily one team or type of team that sticks out,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;I think he does have such a versatile game that he'll be able to have an impact anywhere he goes... He's sort of proven that he can be that primary ball-handler, lead operator out of the pick-and-roll. But if he goes to a team where he's asked to play off the ball and go into some of those secondary actions, I think he's fully capable of doing that as well. When he was with our Academy, he played both roles at different points, so I think he's fully capable offensively playing either role.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Defensively, I think that's one part of his game that people may be questioning. But I think he actually has a chance, just given his size, to be a multi-positional defender too and be able to guard multiple positions. He's versatile on both sides of the ball, and that's gonna allow him to thrive [in] whatever situation that may be. I think he's got a good chance &ndash; whether it's the primary guy or the secondary ball-handler &ndash; to impact offenses and keep the ball moving, which is his number one NBA skill at this point.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"I love passing the ball and he loved shooting the ball" 🇦🇺 <a href="https://twitter.com/joshgiddey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@joshgiddey</a> on his friendship with <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Adelaide36ers</a> guard and fellow NBA Academy alumni <a href="https://twitter.com/Mojaveee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mojaveee</a> and how they continue to push each other. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GiddeyUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GiddeyUp</a> Watch the 2021 NBA Draft, July 30 on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> and NBA League Pass. <a href="https://t.co/IyEf9UQiyt">pic.twitter.com/IyEf9UQiyt</a>
&mdash; NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_AU/status/1419103123092623360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Ebersole acknowledges that he's impressed with how Giddey has handled the pre-draft process and the hype surrounding him. The 18-year-old has approached it with humility, staying grounded and true to himself while &ldquo;keeping those blinders on.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I don't think it's easy for a young person to have this amount of pressure and success and expectation placed upon them in such a short amount of time, especially in Josh's case &ndash; where only a few years ago, he was not on anyone's radar in terms of the NBA-draft potential,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;[It] speaks to the type of worker he is, the type of focus he has.
"And that, of course, bodes well for his future &ndash; because once he gets to the NBA, that noise only grows. The fact that he's been able to sort of stay on course through all of this and not get side-tracked or distracted, I think, speaks to that character he has.&rdquo;
In a day&rsquo;s time, Giddey will hear his name called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It's a dream come true for him to be drafted, and I think even for him growing up, this was obviously a dream, but only in the last two years has it really accelerated and evolved into reality,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;I think for him, it's somewhat surreal &ndash; but I know he's really excited and probably somewhat anxious to figure out where he's going to end up, as is the case, I think, with every prospect in the draft. But I think he's just beyond excited to finally realize his dream.&rdquo;
And the moment that Silver utters those words, Ebersole will not only be happy for Giddey, but for those who will come after him in the NBA Global Academy.
&ldquo;We're definitely proud of him, obviously. To have our first graduate to be drafted be somebody like Josh &ndash; who's a selfless player, who has just a great approach to the game and approach to life &ndash; I think it makes it that much more special,&rdquo; Ebersole said. "I think it opens the doors to future breakthroughs.
"Our first draft pick in the 2021 draft will likely be Josh, and then you turn around and look at the door that&rsquo;s gonna open. In 2022, we expect to have multiple draft picks coming out of the NBA Academy program. We've now had NBA-Academy alumni in each of the first two years of the G League Ignite program (Princepal Singh and Dyson Daniels) and expect that to continue to grow... It's going to inspire future generations. There's a generation of young Australian players who are looking up to Dyson Daniels, young Argentinian players looking up to Francisco [Caffaro], young Indian players looking up to Princepal Singh. All of these individual successes are great in their own right, but they also open up the possibilities to so many others, so that's the part that really gets us excited. It's much bigger than any one player.&rdquo;
Giddey echoes those sentiments, and is honored to be a part of a global movement in basketball that is only getting stronger.
&ldquo;On the international scale, you see how big the game&rsquo;s growing worldwide, outside of America. I think it&rsquo;s good for players all around the world because they can look at role models in their countries and see how well they&rsquo;re doing, and it allows the next generation to come through," Giddey said. "So, it&rsquo;s exciting times for basketball all around the world. And I think it&rsquo;s evident now, with countries beating the States &ndash; when 10 years ago, it was America just dominating on a world stage. So, it&rsquo;s really good to see.&rdquo;
BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock has Josh Giddey projected to go No. 7 overall to the Golden State Warriors in his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest 2021 NBA Mock Draft</a>.

Spencer Davies chats with NBA international basketball ops director Chris Ebersole, who witnessed Josh Giddey's meteoric rise firsthand.