Maryland basketball forward Landon Milbourne is among the invitees to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which opened yesterday and runs through April 10. If Milbourne has any chance, any chance whatsoever, of making the NBA, he will probably have to get pretty bonkers during this tournament, which is viewed as THE proving ground for college seniors hoping to play professionally.
In my post from a few weeks ago about Greivis Vasquez’ NBA prospects, I posited that he, too, would need a good showing in Portsmouth. Turns out that won’t be necessary, evidently. See, the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament is a lot like college football’s Senior Bowl…if you’re a top prospect, it’s not crucial or perhaps even advisable that you attend. I wouldn’t have lumped Vasquez in with the Sherron Collinses and Damion Jameses and the other senior players who clear don’t need an event like this — not because he’s not a great player, but because his place in the NBA and/or the draft seems so uncertain. But apparently that’s where he is. It will be VERY interesting to see what happens with him on draft day.
Meanwhile, in Portsmouth Landon Milbourne is playing for the prestigious Sales Systems Ltd. team…yes, THAT Sales Systems Ltd. It’s not Ltd. for nothing. He’s joined by some familiar faces, including Georgia Tech’s Zach Peacock, Wake Forest’s Ish Smith, and perhaps his most intriguing teammate, slasher Reggie Holmes, the MEAC player of the year and leading scorer in Morgan State history. According to the university’s news release, Holmes would be the first Morgan State Bear in the NBA since Marvin “The Human Eraser” Webster in the mid-70s.
The Human Eraser! Why can’t we follow Bill Simmons’ suggestion and institute a nickname recycling policy? WHY?!?! In the meantime, I need to start incorporating this more into my daily life. Greivis “The Human Hot Sauce” Vasquez! Kevin “The Human Rocket Launcher” Durant! Waldo “The Human Adding Machine” Smith! Susan “The Human Stomach Pump” O’Malley! Ah, great. The Human Eraser died last year at age 56.
OK, great, so back to Landon Milbourne. He’ll need to play out of his mind in Portsmouth, and then pop a lot of eyeballs at the NBA combine as well if he wants to break in to the league. This profile is a pretty solid summary of his strengths and weaknesses, but in a nutshell, he’s a great athlete who can hit shots and play multiple positions, but isn’t what you’d call a playmaker, as we all know. He’s capable of the “WOW” moment…he just doesn’t, you know, do it a lot. Also, he’s not big enough to stop NBA small forwards or quick enough to guard guards. He’s really gonna have to thread the needle here if he wants to make the league. Portsmouth can make a big impact, for better and for otherwise. Good luck, Landon.
(Photo credit: RealClearSports.com)
