NBA Draft Profile: Notre Dame G Pat Connaughton

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As part of our coverage leading up to the 2015 NBA Draft we will provide profiles of more than 60 prospects, including video interviews with each player, what they're saying leading up to draft day as well as their potential fit on the Bulls.

Dakari Johnson, C, Kentucky

6'5" | 215 lbs. | 22 years old

2014-15 stats:

12.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 46.6 field-goal percentage, 42.3 3-point percentage

Projection:

Late second round/undrafted

Quotable:

“I think the adjective everyone uses is ‘deceptively athletic.’ For me I try to disprove that day in and day out. The funniest things are when you’re in warmup lines, where you’re in a San Antonio Spurs workout and they say, ‘Do a highlight-reel dunk that you want to do.’ After I do it, guys I’m playing with are like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know you could jump like that. I was shocked.’ And it’s not even like an ‘Oh!’ type thing. It’s like a dead-silence type thing. It’s kind of cool. It’s something that I’ve always prided myself on.”

Fit for the Bulls:

Despite helping to lead the Fighting Irish to an ACC Tournament championship and the brink of a Final Four appearance and a wowing performance at the NBA Draft Combine that made everyone realize just how athletic he is, Connaughton might end up not playing basketball at all. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles and still has a career in professional baseball open as an option. But Connaughton could certainly help an NBA team, including the Bulls. He's a solid defender and a great shooter, tickling the twine at a 42.3-percent clip from beyond the 3-point arc this past season. He factored big in the postseason for Notre Dame, scoring 20 points in the ACC Tournament title game against North Carolina and scoring a combined 31 points and grabbing a combined 28 rebounds in the Irish's final three NCAA tournament games. The Bulls are looking to add more to their offensive attack under new head coach Fred Hoiberg, and if Connaughton is around when they pick in the second round — and if he picks the NBA over Major League Baseball — he could be an intriguing option.

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