NBA scout: Injured Michigan star Mitch McGary will 'be picked apart' if he declares for draft (original) (raw)

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Michigan's Mitch McGary averaged 9.5 points and 8.3 rebounds in an injury-plagued, eight-game sophomore campaign before undergoing back surgery. The forward is expected to announce in the coming weeks whether he will test the waters of his NBA draft stock.

(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News)

ANN ARBOR -- Michigan forward Mitch McGary was last seen in uniform, leaping on and off the elevated court at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Now the question persists whether last week's trip to the Elite Eight was his last time in the maize and blue.

For one NBA talent evaluator, McGary could be selected in the 2014 NBA draft "anywhere from late in the first round to late in the second," but that projection hinges on a big, looping question mark.

"If he decides to go, which I don't think he should, people are going to have to do an intense check of his medical background," an NBA Eastern Conference scout told MLive on Tuesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Having only played eight games in 2013-14 before shutting his sophomore season down to undergo back surgery, McGary is expected to announce in the coming weeks whether he will test his NBA draft stock.

If he chooses to declare for the draft, McGary's health will be "picked apart in this process" due to an injury classified only as a lower-back condition, according to the scout.

McGary was a projected first-round pick in the draft following his freshman season. He, alongside teammate Glenn Robinson III, chose to return for a sophomore season.

That plan turned dicey when a back injury sidelined McGary for Michigan's preseason. The injury cost the 6-foot-10, 255-pound forward the first two games of the season before he returned against Iowa State on Nov. 17, 2013 and scored nine points to go with six rebounds in 22 minutes.

He'd play the next seven games, including a 15-point, 14-rebound outing at Duke, before announcing his decision to undergo back surgery on Dec. 27. He finished the year averaging 9.5 points and 8.3 rebounds.

At the time of his announcement, McGary said, "I definitely didn’t want to injure my body more than it needs to be … because I had rehabbed for such a long time and tried to play through it. But overall, I just wanted to get it (surgery) over with and get it in the past and work on my health and get 100 percent again."

McGary's surgery was performed on Jan. 7 at an undisclosed location.

According to the scout, if McGary declares for the draft, NBA teams will "demand to see" McGary's X-rays, interview the doctor who performed his surgery and run him through a gauntlet of medical tests.

"The back is a tricky thing," the scout said. "The back is a whole other deal (compared to other injuries.)"

If McGary enters the draft, he will be examined by individual NBA team doctors when invited for one-on-one workouts with interested teams.

Those workouts, given McGary's long absence from the court and short body of work as a college player, will dictate everything. The scout noted that for McGary to be selected at all, "He'll have to work out and do well in the workouts."

McGary was a preseason All-American after bullying opponents in Michigan's run to the national title game last March.

He scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the third round of the NCAA tournament against VCU; posted 25 and 14 against Kansas in the Sweet 16, and put up 10 and 12 against Syracuse in the national semifinal game.

As of now, that postseason run is all NBA scouts and front-office members have to go by. While that would have been enough for McGary to be selected in last year's first round of the draft, the same can no longer be said.

"Well, you'd want to kick the tires before you bought this car," the scout said.

NBA DRAFT KEY DATES
April 16-19 -- Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (Portsmouth, VA)
April 27 -- NBA Draft Early Entry Eligibility Deadline (11:59 p.m. ET)
May 20 -- 2014 NBA Draft Lottery
June 16 -- NBA Draft Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline (5 p.m. ET)
June 26 -- 2014 NBA Draft

Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com

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