One big Hog to another, Kleine says Portis has it

FAYETTEVILLE -- Thirty years after Joe Kleine was selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, another Arkansas big man is expected to be a first-round pick tonight.

Bobby Portis, the Razorbacks' 6-11 SEC player of the year and second-team All-American from Little Rock Hall, is projected to be picked between 13th (Phoenix) to 24th (Cleveland) in the first round depending on which mock draft you believe.

Several mock drafts have Portis going to Atlanta with the 15th pick.

Portis, who declared for the draft after his sophomore season, is among 19 players in New York at the NBA's invitation, a sure sign he's expected to go in the first round.

Kleine, the sixth overall pick by Sacramento in 1985 after starring for the Razorbacks, offers a unique perspective on Portis having played 15 seasons in the NBA and been a college assistant coach at UALR.

"If you saw him as a senior in high school, you saw him as a freshman and sophomore at Arkansas. He got better, and then he got better again," Kleine said. "When you see that, you know the guy's working.

"That's what the NBA is all about. You've got to work, so that was encouraging to me for his future, that you can see he's a worker."

Portis averaged 17.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in 29.9 minutes per game and shot 53.6 percent from the field as a sophomore, including hitting 14 of 30 three-pointers and numerous mid-range jump shots.

"I like his ability to shoot facing the basket out to 17 feet," said Kleine, who, like Portis, is 6-11 and developed a good jump shot in college. "Then he can also play with his back to the basket.

"Because he can do both, Bobby can exploit those mismatches. If they put a little guy on him, he's good enough to beat him in the post. If you put a big guy on him, he can pick and pop and put it on the floor a little bit."

Portis had nine or more rebounds in 21 of 36 games as a sophomore, including 15 against LSU and 14 against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.

"I really like that he's a great rebounder," Kleine said. "I like how he goes after the ball. Nowadays so many guys -- especially big guys -- get disillusioned on what they are.

"They want to shoot the three and stretch this and stretch that. You can tell Bobby doesn't mind getting in there and working. There aren't lot of those guys that want to do that anymore.

"There's a tremendous market in the NBA from the standpoint of being able to get in there and mix it up, rebound and do the dirty work. You can have a tremendous career just by doing that."

Portis, who has been working out in Chicago for several weeks where his agency, Priority Sports, is located, told CBS Sports he traveled to 11 NBA cities for workouts over a 26-day period. The teams he visited were Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Houston, Indiana, Miami, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Utah and Washington.

"I haven't been getting much sleep during the process because I've been so hyped," Portis told CBS Sports. "I think I gave my best in each workout. I didn't have any bad performances."

Phoenix Coach Jeff Hornacek said he was impressed by Portis' all-around game.

"He wasn't afraid, he didn't back off," Hornacek told members of the media in Phoenix. "He really goes after the ball on the boards. When they shoot the ball, he's going to get it.

"I was very impressed with his effort, his knowledge of the game, too. He made some great passes. His overall game really showed he's going to be a good player."

Kleine said when Portis has his back to the basket, he does a a good job going over his left shoulder with his dominant right hand, but needs to improve going over this right shoulder with his left hand.

"He's got to get better with his counter moves and going away from his strengths, but that's the same thing with every young big kid that's coming up," Kleine said. "He'll definitely do that."

Portis talked about playing with an aggressive attitude when he spoke to reporters at the NBA Combine in Chicago.

"I play very angry because when I'm sitting in the locker room before a game, I imagine my opponent slapped my mom," Portis said. "I've created this thing where I get mad so I can go out there and have a productive night."

Portis said at the combine he tries to model his game after Kevin Garnett, a 20-year NBA player who was the No. 5 pick in the 1995 NBA Draft a few months after Portis was born on Feb. 10, 1995.

"I feel I bring that same physicality, that same passion and that same log on my shoulder that he plays with," Portis said of Garnett. "I have a log on my shoulder. Not just a chip on my shoulder -- a log."

Portis said he won't change his work ethic as an NBA player.

"I'm going to be myself from Day 1 and keep doing the things that have gotten me here," he said. "I want a career in the NBA, not just to get there.

"I bring a certain type of physicality to the game, and I bring an intensity to my teammates and I make them better."

Considering Portis turned 20 four months ago, his body and game figure to have a lot of room for growth.

"Nobody ever knows what the ceiling is for a player until he gets into the NBA," Kleine said. "But I think if Bobby plays his cards right, I don't know if he'll be an All-Star, but he can play a long, long time."

Portis told members of the media in Washington he was excited to go to New York for the draft.

"All kids dream about being there and want to shake the commissioner's hand and put the hat on and smile at the cameras," Portis said. "So that's something I want to do, too."

Portis didn't want to reveal to the Washington media members what he'll wear to the draft.

"Then you start leaking it," Portis said. "But I'm going to be a bit spiffy."

Sports on 06/25/2015