Celtics Welcome A Pair Of Giants To Pre-Draft Workouts

BOSTON (CBS) -- There's one thing you can't really teach in basketball, and that's size.

The Celtics had plenty of size at their pre-draft workout sessions on Thursday.

The C's welcomed 12 more players to their practice facilities in Waltham on Thursday, once again breaking the crop of prospects into two groups. Both groups featured their own giant: 7-foot-1 Thon Maker in Group 1 and 7-foot-5 Mamadou Ndiaye in Group 2.

"We need size and we'll scour the world for it as a league," Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge said Thursday.

This was the eighth workout for Maker, who is a bit of a man of mystery for NBA teams. He started his high school career in Louisiana and was considered a top prospect for colleges, but moved to Canada to play in Orangeville, Ontario. He graduated in 2015 but was able to stay for an extra year as a post-grad student, making him eligible for the 2016 NBA Draft (though it did take some convincing with the league).

His time in Canada, away from pundits saying he was "the next big thing" for college basketball, was huge for Maker.

"I didn't care too much about being ranked No. 1 or whatever. I just cared about getting better," he told reporters Thursday. "There were times when I moved to Canada that nobody spoke about me. You just have to keep getting better, I did, and that's how I got to this point.

"It helped me realize what I needed to do to keep getting better," the lottery-hopeful said. "I got stronger and played all different positions. I'm able to use those right now."

Maker said he can comfortably guard a three, four or five on defense, though he has to do some more work guarding small forwards after spending last year primarily at center.

"I think I'm ahead defensively because I take pride in getting stops. Offense is catching up fast, but that's because I'm getting a lot of reps in. In these workouts, you get a chance to show both," said Maker. "It's helping me get better. I'm not worried about making mistakes in these workouts, so I'm definitely getting better."

And he's learned something important about himself as he works out against other draft hopefuls.

"I'm pretty good," he said confidently. "I'm blessed to be in this situation so I have to continue to keep working."

As for the other gentle giant the Celtics brought in on Thursday, Ndaiye didn't feel as good about his workout. But the 22-year-old center from Senegal, who averaged 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 37 games for UC Irvine, remains confident his play on the floor and giant stature will lead to his name being called on June 23.

"I don't think I did my best, but it was fun," Ndiaye said of his workout. "I want to show them I can run the floor, hit some jump shots and rebound as well. On defense, I can take care of the paint."

As with many kids on the taller side, Shaquille O'Neal was Ndaiye's favorite player growing up. The first NBA game he attended was a Celtics game when Shaq was wearing green.

"It was a big moment for me," he said with a gigantic smile on his face.

After the workout, Ndaiye got a chance to see the shoes Shaq wore with the Celtics, which were on display in the Hall of Fame room the post-workout interviews took place in.

Here's the full list of prospects the Celtics worked out on Thursday, with the NBA Draft just two weeks away:

Group 1
Alex Caruso - Texas A&M
Juan Hernangomez - Spain
Damian Jones - Vanderbilt
Thon Maker - Australia
Georgios Papagiannis - Greece
Rasheed Sulaimon - Maryland

Group 2
Robert Carter - Maryland
Stefan Jankovic - Hawaii
Shawn Long - Louisiana-Lafayette
Mamadou Ndiaye - UC-Irvine
Nik Slavica - Croatia
Troy Williams - Indiana

The Celtics own eight picks in the upcoming draft, including three in the first round.

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• NBA Draft