CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA — After finishing his college career with a dynamic 31-point performance in a loss to Kentucky, Wichita State's Cleanthony Early is headed to the NBA. Sporting News will speak with Early throughout his 2014 NBA Draft preparations to get a player's perspective on the process.
MORE EARLY: A player's perspective on the Combine
Sporting News: You've been to the Cavs, Heat, Hawks and now the Hornets. Now that you've been through four cities, do you feel like you're going through the same thing every time?
Cleanthony Early: They're all unique in their own way. There are different people there, so with that you might get different types of energy from different types of people. But as far as the drills, they're pretty similar. As far as the 2-on-2, 3-on-3, they're pretty similar. You're coming out of sets and formations and ball screens, no ball screens, no dribbles, whatever they decide to tell you to do. It's pretty much just basketball. It's all the same. You start off with a couple of dribbling drills to get ourselves conditioned and warmed up and things like that, and then you go on to shooting a little bit. And then after that, it's back to the competing, 3-on-3, 2-on-2.
Cleanthony Early (Sporting News)
SN: Do any of the teams do drills that are unique to their organization? I know in the past, Charlotte used to do a hand test ...
CE: To pick up the balls? Yeah, they did that. This was the first team that did something like that, where you had to go down and pick up the ball [with one hand]. In the interviews, they ask some interesting questions, psychological questions.
SN: So what's an example of an interesting question you got somewhere along the way?
CE: If I was a pencil, in a jar full of water, how would I get out?
SN: What was the correct answer?
CE: Let me see what you would say. What would you say?
SN: I would say poke a hole. You come out through the hole, right?
CE: No it's a jar, it's glass.
SN: I'm going to try and knock the glass over and break it I guess?
CE: How are you going to knock the glass over though?
SN: [Laughs] I don't know, I don't have a good answer I guess.
CE: That's a good answer actually, but you would have to start shaking inside the water. But some people — you see how you asked a couple of questions? — they want to see how you think.
SN: You spend maybe 24 hours in every city you visit, so what do you do for the other 22 hours or so when you aren't playing basketball? You're having meetings ...
CE: Yeah, you have meetings, sometimes they take you eat if you get here the day before. Chillin' in the hotel for the rest of the night until the morning time, then work out and then you're probably going to get into the interview. Then you're back on your flight to wherever you need to be, if you've another workout the next day after that.
SN: Who have you been with in the other cities?
CE: I've been with DeAndre [Daniels] like the entire time, so it's been real cool, he's a really good guy. Glenn [Robinson III]. This is my first workout with Glenn. Thanasis [Antetokounmpo]. Melvin [Ejim], but I'd seen those guys at the Combine. I'd worked out with C.J. [Fair] in Cleveland, but I've worked out with Nick Johnson, Russ Smith, Kendall Williams, Xavier Thames, Jordan McRae. I've worked out with a lot of guys.
SN: What about people representing the teams? Did you meet Michael Jordan here today?
CE: I didn't see him. It would've been cool to see him, but to see Patrick [Ewing] here is just awesome.
Welp, didn't get to go to Bojangles while I was here but I met Patrick Ewing so it's cool... 👌
— Cleanthony Early (@Clearly_BallLyf) May 30, 2014SN: Did you have experiences in other cities where you met someone particularly interesting?
CE: Yeah, Pat Riley in Miami. That's always cool. Alonzo Mourning. You get to meet a couple of guys.
SN: How many workouts do you have left at this point?
CE: Four. I've done four, I've got a few days before my next one. It's Boston or something like that. Or San Antonio? I don't know. I just go look in my phone, check my schedule, my agent's going to send it to me. I'm ready to go.