Thursday night’s pro basketball draft came and went without a call for Sylacauga native Mickell Gladness.It’s disappointing, but hardly the end of the line.
“It’s just one of those things when you play basketball,” he said Friday. “You’re entering your name in a draft with hundreds of thousands of people.
“It’s really disappointing, of course. But it’s just one part of the journey.”
That journey for the Alabama A&M alum now will turn toward summer league, where Gladness will participate in the hopes of receiving an invitation to an NBA minicamp this fall.
“I’ll hopefully know in the next few days where I’m going,” he said.
The lack of in-state draftees was obvious on Thursday night – only Alabama alum Richard Hendrix, who came out of Tuscaloosa after his junior season, received a call from a pro squad: Golden State drafted Hendrix with the 49th overall pick.
Gladness’ strengths are obvious – standing 6-11, the former Aggie built a reputation as a defensive presence in college, leading the nation in blocked shots as a junior. He even broke David Robinson’s single-game blocked-shot mark in 2007.
His deficiencies are equally obvious: listed at a mere 205 pounds, Gladness’ durability as a pro is in question.
“I know (my weight) is not where it needs to be to work in the NBA,” he said last week. “It worked in college, but the NBA is a different story.
“I’m trying to keep my shot where it is. My offensive game is mainly what I’ve been trying to work on.”
Gladness averaged just over 10 points per game as a senior at A&M, third-best on the squad.
On Friday, the A&M senior – who’s signed with Mark Fleisher of Enter Sports Management Inc. — did say he hasn’t ruled out playing overseas.
“(My agent) mentioned Italy, Holland, some other places,” he said. “Hopefully, the plan would be to go over there for a few years, try to improve my skills, then come back and try again.”
