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Tennessee's Ja'Kobi Gillespie stars in first game at NBA Draft Combine

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey05/14/26GrantRamey

Ja’Kobi Gillespie got off to a good start at the NBA Draft Combine on Tuesday, scoring 28 points with five assists and three steals in Game 2 of 5-on-5 play at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Gillespie played 26 minutes off the bench, goin 10-for-17 from the field, 5-for-8 from the 3-point line and 3-for-5 at the foul line. Felix Okpara played 18 minute off the bench in Game 1 at the combine, scoring three points with three rebounds. 

Cameron Carr, the former Tennessee basketball wing and Gillespie’s teammate in the 105-99 win on Tuesday, scored 30 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the 3-point line. Former Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears had 17 points and Kentucky guard Otega Oweh had 20 points.

ESPN projects Ja’Kobi Gillespie to be second-round pick in NBA Draft

Gillespie earlier this week was projected to be the No. 60 overall pick to the Washington Wizards in ESPN’s newest NBA mock draft.

Gillespie averaged 18.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 34.8 minutes per game while starting all 37 games in his one and only season at Tennessee. The Greeneville, Tenn., native started his career with two seasons at Belmont, then transferred to Maryland before his homecoming with the Vols as a senior last season. 

Gillespie’s 28 points on Tuesday picked up where he left off in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 87 points over four games with 21 assists and 11 steals.

His measured height at the combine was 5-11.75. He weighed in at 181.8 pounds and had a wingspan of 6-4 and standing reach of 7-11.5.

Nate Ament at No. 10 overall in ESPN’s NBA mock draft

ESPN’s mock draft has Nate Ament at No. 10 overall to the Milwaukee Bucks and Felix Okpara is projected at No. 54 to the Golden State Warriors. The NBA Draft is set for June 23-24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Ament averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 35 games during his freshman season at Tennessee, despite knee and ankle injuries suffered in late February derailing his late-season run. He started in all 35 games he played and averaged 29.7 minutes per game while shooting 39.9% from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line.  

Okpara averaged 8.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 26.9 minutes per game this season, starting 34 of 35 games. He shot 59.7% from the field, 61.1% on 2-point shots and 63.5% at the foul line. He played two seasons at Ohio State before transferring to Tennessee and anchoring the Vols on defense, serving as the rim protector defensively and a rim runner on offense.