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Attention has turned to where NBL Next Star and French phenom, Alex Sarr, will land in the 2024 NBA Draft.
26 Jun
NBL.com.au Writers
Alex Sarr is remaining cool, calm and collected on draft day eve, not worried about if he will be selected at pick one by Atlanta or pick two by Washington, which is where most mocks drafts have him slotted.
“I can’t control where I end up, I just think wherever I end up, I’ll impact winning,” Sarr said.
“I mean, of course, as a competitor, but for me, it is more important to be drafted. At the end of the day that is what’s most important and you have just got to be grateful for that.
“It’s exciting, the draft is around the corner and I’m just really, really pumped right now.”
The 19-year-old, who has caught the attention of the basketball world, has put his whole trust into the team behind him to let the pieces fall into place.
“I have a great team around me, (agent) Bill Duffy and WME and they have already been through all of this and I trust them. I’m not going to get into the specifics of where I worked out and where I didn’t, but I have been doing my best in my workouts and that’s all I control,” Sarr said in New York on Thursday.
If he gets picked with one of the first two selections, Sarr will become the highest selected NBL player, surpassing LaMelo Ball who was pick three in 2020.
Praising the NBL for moulding the dream pathway to the main stage, the Wildcats’ forward recommended the league to young up-and-coming athletes.
“It’s a really physical league, and you have to be ready for that, but if you feel you’re ready for a professional game, the NBL is a no-brainer best decision,” Sarr said.
Perth General Manager of Basketball, Danny Mills, praised the seven-footer for his buy-in during his time with the ‘Cats.
“They’ve got to come in here and earn it because it is a professional environment and I think that’s where Alex excelled,” Mills said via Fox Sports.
“He bought into that. He didn’t come down being promised anything and earned everything he got with us, which ended up with him being a key part of our rotation in a really competitive team this year.”
The first round of the NBA Draft will take place at 10am AEST on Thursday June 27, while the second round will take place at 6am AEST on Friday June 28. Both rounds will be broadcast on ESPN.
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