Basketball prospects continue to descend upon Rip City for workouts with the Portland Trail Blazers, all in preparation for the NBA Draft on June 25-26.
Although the Blazers own the No. 11 overall pick at the draft, the group of six prospects who stopped by Tuesday consisted of possible/likely second-rounders, two-way contract possibilities and Summer League/G League candidates. The workout featured Auburn senior center Dylan Cardwell; Tennessee senior guard Jahmai Mashack; USC senior guard Chibuzo Agbo; Utah senior guard Gabe Madsen; Texas senior forward Arthur Kaluma; and 21-year-old forward Alex Toohey from the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League.
The 6-foot-9 Australian forward was the most heralded prospect from the bunch. In the leviathan of analysis that is The Athletic’s 2025 NBA Draft Guide from expert Sam Vecenie (subscription required), Vecenie ranked Toohey as the No. 37 prospect on his big board. That put Toohey in Vecenie’s tier of priority two-way signings, just below the tier of second-round guarantee swings. (Kaluma, Cardwell, and Mashack also appeared in Vecenie’s rankings at Nos. 95, 61, and 59, respectively).
Over 32 games this past season in the NBL, Toohey averaged 11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.8 blocks and 23.5 minutes per game while shooting 46.5% from the field and 34% on 3-pointers. Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor tabbed Toohey as the No. 46 prospect on his big board, describing the prospect as a versatile player but inconsistent scorer.
Toohey is a jack-of-all-trades Australian forward who grinds on defense and loves to dish the ball around. But his scoring comes and goes with his streaky jumper since he’s not someone who generates many of his own shots.
Tuesday’s workout with the Blazers marked Toohey’s 14th of the pre-draft process. Afterward, he spoke with media about how the process has been going, aspects of his game and what he’s trying to show teams.
Toohey on what he’s trying to show during pre-draft workouts:
“Competitiveness is the first one. You want to have players on your team that want to win everything, not just on the court but want to find a way to get better each day. So I think competitiveness, physicality on defense and then shooting. I think there are some big ones that they’re looking at.”
On how many pre-draft workouts he’s done so far:
“This is my 14th. [Reporters verbalize some astonishment] Getting through ‘em.”
On how many he has left:
“Three definitely and then possibly a few more.”
On what feedback he’s gotten from teams throughout the process:
“I think it’s been positive, for sure. I think they like the IQ. Playing in a physical league like the NBL, I think they realize that I’m used to that and playing at a high tempo. Shooting is definitely an area of importance. Obviously, you’re gonna play with superstars in this league and you’re gonna get a lot of open shots, so being ready to knock them down and knock them down consistently. So I think shooting is an area I’m working on, but I’m feeling good with the ball in my hands and playing off the ball as well.”
Kaluma and Mashack also spoke with reporters following Tuesday’s workout. You can listen to their interviews below: