Pull of NBA increases for Nova's DiVincenzo

DiVincenzo shot the lights out from NBA 3-point range, tied for the best
vertical jump (42 inches) at the event and showed pro-level lateral quickness
and speed with a 10.72-second lane-agility drill and 3.31-second three-quarter
court sprint.

The proving ground, DiVincenzo said, is ongoing and he wasn't ready to
announce a decision about the 2018 NBA Draft. One clear sign he remains truly
undecided in the face of positive buzz and building momentum: he has not
signed with an agent.

"When I go out there, I try to have a chip on my shoulder," he said at the
draft combine in Chicago. "I try to be the hardest worker, try to be the
toughest guy, most physical guy. No. 1 because they're not expecting it. No. 2
because that's how I pride myself to be."

DiVincenzo would be a redshirt junior next season if he returns to Villanova.
He would surely be in the starting lineup for Jay Wright after Mikal Bridges,
a projected lottery pick, and Jalen Brunson left for the NBA. Some NBA
evaluators compare DiVincenzo to former Kentucky and NBA guard Rex Chapman.

"If I stay in the draft (or go back to 'Nova), this whole process been great
and I've been enjoying it," DiVincenzo said. "(Teams) have been trying to
figure out more about me. I'm not very well known. Not before all that
attention in the (NCAA) tournament. ... After (the national championship
game), the outside perspective of me kinda blew up and made (the NBA) a
realization for me."

DiVincenzo, who is 6-foot-5, was known by teammates at Villanova as one of the
team's best dunkers and an explosive all-around athlete. Now that more
observers, including NBA evaluators, are learning about his unique skill set,
DiVincenzo is doing his best to learn precisely how he's rated by pro teams.
His mission last week was to exhibit for scouts that the 31-point outburst in
the national title win over Michigan was not an aberration.

"I view myself as bigger than that one game. I feel like I've only scratched
the surface of what I can be as a player. I'm still growing and learning,"
DiVincenzo said.

If a majority of teams inform DiVincenzo he'll be a first-round draft pick,
it's growing more likely the Wildcats will lose a potential preseason
All-American to the NBA draft. DiVincenzo has until June 11 to declare his
intentions, 10 days before the draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

"Everybody wants to be a first-round pick," he said. "My confidence level is
that I could be a first-round pick."

But DiVincenzo said he will also ask teams how much he might improve his draft
stock -- could he rise to the lottery, for example -- by returning to
Villanova.

"Seeing what teams, how they see me this year," he said, "where they see me,
where they see me next year -- if they feel like an improvement next year is
worth going back to school."

--Field Level Media