Djurisic’s game caught Syracuse’s Judah Mintz off guard a bit. Mintz, who could be another potential candidate to be nabbed by Charlotte in the second round, was part of the six-man group dripped in sweat after their crash course through the Hornets’ drills.
“Going against him is easier than playing with him,” Mintz said. “You don’t really know what guys like to do. I really didn’t know what Nikola liked. I thought he was a big when I first got here. Then he started shooting, then he started doing pick-and-rolls. So, it’s a little difficult finding out how to play with guys during a 50-minute, 70-minute stretch. But it’s fun and you get better as a player.”
Mintz, a 6-foot-3, 172-pound combo guard, fared well in his lone season in upstate New York under the tutelage of now-retired longtime coach Jim Boeheim. Named to the ACC’s all-freshman team, he was eighth in the conference at 16.3 points per game, fifth in assists (4.6) and finished tops with 59 steals. He also proved he can get to the free-throw line consistently, ranking third in the league with 139 makes.
There were some question marks about whether Mintz will keep his name in the draft beyond Wednesday’s 11:59 p.m. deadline for upperclassmen to withdraw and maintain college eligibility. But it doesn’t sound like Mintz is considering going back to suit up for the Orange again, instead relishing the chance to showcase himself in front of the Hornets’ talent evaluators.
“I’ve got a few days to make a clear-cut decision,” Mintz said. “I really feel like my freshman year kind of spoke for itself. Obviously, it got me in this position right now. I can compete, I can hang around these dudes, especially at the combine, being able to play and prove my worth has been great for me.
“It’s a crazy opportunity. Everybody has a dream to be here. So, for me to actually get here and play in front of people like that is just a dream come true.”
