‘Like plugging me in wherever’: Nassir Little showcases versatility at Hornets workout
After his two-hour workout with the Charlotte Hornets, Nassir Little shared a high-five with Mitch Kupchak, the team’s general manager.
A really high five.
Kupchak, a former star at North Carolina, is 6-foot-9. Little, who left Chapel Hill after his freshman season, is listed at 6-foot-6. But he has a wingspan of more than 7-foot-1. That not only allowed him to slap palms with Kupchak’s elevated hand, but, along with his 220-pound frame, may enable him to defend against bigger and taller NBA players next fall.
That versatility, made possible by his physical foundation, may be Little’s best selling point to NBA franchises.
“Most (executives), their thing is, what position will I play in the NBA?” Little said. “The NBA is just a series of mismatches, so more like a combo-forward? They think I can guard pretty much all positions, so it’s just kind of like plugging me in wherever offensively to create a mismatch.”
Earlier this month, Little measured near the top of most categories for forwards at the NBA Combine in Chicago, including maximum vertical leap (38.5 inches) and three-quarter sprint. His athletic profile is part of the reason Little was the No. 3 national recruit out of high school last year, and it also immediately translated to explosive plays for the Tar Heels.
But athleticism only counts for so much — Little never cracked UNC’s starting lineup. At times, he appeared lost on the court, as if overthinking his every move. And then there’s perhaps the biggest criticism of his game: For a wing player, Little didn’t shoot very well.
He ultimately would average 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for North Carolina, but his 3-point shooting hovered at 27 percent. For as impressive as his reach and size and speed are, questions remain about Little’s true basketball skills.
Which makes workouts like these ever more important.
“I’m going to showcase my ability to hit open shots,” Little said. “I think I shoot the ball way better than I get credit for. My ability to handle the ball and make plays, things like that. Just because at UNC, those positions were already kind of filled in.
“I think in the NBA, I can show my versatility a little bit more.”
When asked at the combine why he struggled more than expected at UNC, Little said that Tar Heels coaches weren’t quite sure how best to utilize him on offense. That, he said, “created a lot of hesitancy, which wasn’t really allowing me to play like myself.”
Little came under fire after those quotes for appearing to criticize UNC coach Roy Williams but has since maintained that his words were taken out of context. On Twitter, Little even responded to a post saying, “Don’t always fall for the clickbait y’all.”
On Friday, Little further addressed his time at UNC and how he’s hoping to improve upon the tape scouts have already seen.
“I shot the ball well in high school. At UNC, it was just an up-and-down season, so it’s just something I’m trying to develop,” Little said. “The mechanics of my shot are pretty perfect. I mean, there’s nothing awry in there. Just trying to get a better feel and make sure it’s not flat.”
Reporters were allowed to watch only the last five minutes of Friday’s workout, when Little and former Virginia Tech star Nickeil Alexander-Walker were running through a drill in which they darted around cones, caught passes from coaches, then turned and shot. Little’s arc seemed noticeably flatter than Alexander-Walker’s.
Mock drafts currently have Little projected to go anywhere from the top 10 to the middle of the first round in the June 20 draft.
As for how he’d fit with Charlotte?
The Hornets and Kupchak specifically said in April that adding rim protection would be a focus this offseason. The team also has hosted workouts with Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke and Maryland big Bruno Fernando, who appear to match more closely with what Charlotte says it needs.
Still, the Hornets’ proclivity for selecting from blue-blood college programs — the team has drafted players from Michigan State and Kentucky in the first round the past two years — means Little remains as an option.
“I think I’d fit in really well,” Little said. “They said they need guys that can attack the basket and finish plays, and I think I do that extremely well.
“That’s the best thing that I do, so if that’s what they need, I think I can come in right away and provide that.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 4:23 PM with the headline "‘Like plugging me in wherever’: Nassir Little showcases versatility at Hornets workout."
