Phoenix Suns: Draft Workouts Day 3 Recap
For Day 3 of Phoenix Suns draft workouts, the team got a good glimpse at quite a few older, four-year players. Duke’s Quinn Cook, BYU’s Tyler Haws, Xavier’s Matt Stainbrook, Penn State’s D.J. Newbill and Georgia’s Marcus Thornton all participated as four-year players, while Florida State’s Aaron Thomas rounded out the group as a junior.
For more Suns draft workouts coverage:
Day 1: Askia Booker, Branden Dawson, Kendall Gray, Tyler Harvey, Le’Bryan Nash and Chris Walker
Day 2: Gerald Beverly, Aaron Harrison, Kevin Pangos, Jordan Sibert, Kenneth Smith and Seth Tuttle
Cook, a 6’2″ combo guard coming off an NCAA championship at Duke, was the headliner for the day. Projected as a late second round pick/undrafted prospect, Cook could be on a number of teams’ draft boards for his playmaking ability, solid three-point shooting and championship experience under coach Mike Krzyzewski.
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“I think the seniors, we’re ready,” Cook said. “We’ve played four years of college basketball under top programs and it’s helped us a lot, maturing off the court and stuff like that. I think our bodies are more ready to compete at this level and I definitely benefitted from being there four years under Coach K.”
In his senior year with the Blue Devils, Cook averaged 15.3 points per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent from downtown on an impressive 6.6 attempts per game. He’ll most likely be banking his NBA career on his ability to make that shot consistently.
In one three-point shooting drill, Cook went around the perimeter (from the corner to the extended elbow, to the top of the key, to the other extended elbow, to the other corner) and went 11-for-20 from three-point range:
As you’ll notice from the video, when Cook sets his feet with a little one-two hop step right after he catches the ball, he’s usually on the money. The only problem is, that extra moment it takes to set his feet, not to mention the speed of his release, might be a hindrance to actually getting his shot off at the next level.
Cook will need to work on setting his feet quicker in catch-and-shoot situations from three-point range. Obviously this is just one shooting drill that came near the end of the workout, so you can only put so much stock in the video above. But you’ll notice that he starts to slow down and drag his feet near the end of the drill as he gets a little gassed and that can’t happen at the next level.
However, Cook believes his defense and his vocal leadership (which was on full display when it was Tyler Haws’ turn in the drill, constantly encouraging his workout partner as he rebounded for him) will make him an asset. Cook envisions himself as a point guard, which means he’ll need to work on his ball handling.
“I think I’ll be a point guard, but I can play both, defend both, I did it all last year,” he said. “I want to be a point guard, but if coaches need me to come off the ball, I can do that as well.”
In what Suns assistant general manager Pat Connelly called “the most physical of all the workouts so far,” Xavier center Matt Stainbrook was the biggest standout in a more literal sense. At 6’10”, 283 pounds, Stainbrook had a good 41 pounds on the second-heaviest prospect of Day 3.
He finished at the tail end of the pack for the Suns’ three-minute conditioning drill, but he never stopped hustling, he knocked down some midrange jumpers in the shooting drills, and let’s be honest: nobody’s drafting Matt Stainbrook for his mobility anyway.
“I think he really knows how to play,” Connelly said. “He’s not really the most vertical athlete, you’ll probably say that, but when he does get the ball on the block, he really knows how to use his body, he has good touch, he’s a good passer, so I think his feel and his size are his advantage.”
Stainbrook, who was an Uber driver as recently as a few weeks ago, has had to make an adjustment to focusing solely on basketball. He said his best week serving as an Uber driver earned him $800, but if he somehow works his way onto an NBA team, he’ll be making a whole lot more than that.
“You know what, I knew that was going to be asked,” he said. “I have not Ubered in a couple of weeks. Once the whole training out in Boston process started, I said I’m gonna focus on basketball so I’m not too worried about that. I think that’s in the past now.”
Stainbrook projects as a second round pick or undrafted player, but he believes he can help an NBA team even if he’s not actually on the court in games.
“I’m pretty realistic in thinking that I’m a guy who’s going to play hard all the time,” he said. “If I’m not playing on the court in games, I’m going to try to play my hardest in practice. I’m a coach’s player, I’m a guy where if you tell me you need me to do something I’m gonna do it. I’m not going to take practices off, I’m not going to take plays off, I can push guys to their potential. No matter what team I end up with here or overseas or whatever, I’m just trying to make them better any way that I can.”
Tyler Haws, the oldest player on the court at age 24, is a 6’5″ guard from BYU who spent two years on his mission in the Philippines. His “older” age hurts his draft stock, but Haws certainly seemed prepared for Phoenix’s three-minute conditioning drill, nearly setting a new record.
“I was trying to get to 30 (lengths of the court), but that’s a tough drill at the end of a tough workout,” he said. “I think I tied a record, so I feel good about that.”
Haws is also projected as a second round pick/undrafted prospect.
Between his positive mentality, his midrange game and his impressive conditioning, he’s ready for the challenge of trying to work his way onto an NBA roster.
“I feel like those two years that I took off and served a mission in the Philippines is really gonna provide me some strength off the court and just mentally,” he said. “This is a mental grind this spring and summer, but I feel ready for it and my body feels great. I am two years older but I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life and ready to take this challenge on.”
Haws also said he’s been working on his shooting range to prove he’s capable of knocking down NBA three-pointers.
Check back tomorrow for more Phoenix Suns draft workout coverage!