No, the NBA Draft Combine -- which takes place annually in Chicago on March 12-17 -- does not carry the same fanfare as the NFL's pre-selection event might. But nonetheless, getting invited is a privilege; one that two former Syracuse players will be participating in next week.
According to the list published by Sports Illustrated yesterday, SU's Rakeem Christmas and Chris McCullough are both invited to the event to show off their respective skill sets for pro scouts. You can check out MassLive's article, which includes additional details about which players will be participating in specific elements of the Combine.
Plenty of big names will not be in attendance. In particular, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor or Emmanuel Mudiay are all not included (and likely opted out). But that means even more opportunity for a player like Christmas to grab the attention of teams looking to add a big man. McCullough, while invited, won't be working out since he's still recovering from his injury this past season with the Orange.
The senior Christmas and freshman McCullough were two of 12 total ACC players to grab coveted invites. Joining them on the list: Justin Anderson (Virginia), Pat Connaughton (Notre Dame), Quinn Cook (Duke), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Montrezl Harrell (Louisville), Tyus Jones (Duke), Terry Rozier (Lousiville), J.P. Tokoto (North Carolina) and Justise Winslow (Duke).
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Best of luck to Christmas (and McCullough) both next week and beyond. The two former Orange players are looking to respectively become the eighth and ninth SU players currently in the NBA, along with Carmelo Anthony (New York), Michael Carter-Williams (Milwaukee), Tyler Ennis (Milwaukee), Jerami Grant (Philadelphia), Arinze Onuaku (Minnesota) and Dion Waiters (Oklahoma City).