Siegel breaks down Wolfpack duo

Fastbreak on FanNation NBA insider Brett Siegel discusses the impact NC State's Terquavion Smith and Dereon Seabron had at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine.

NBA insider Brett Siegel on Fastbreak on FanNation recent spoke with All-Wolfpack on the draft prospects of NC State's Terquavion Smith and Dereon Seabron. The duo has made a solid impression at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. 

Smith and Seabron both appear in Siegel's mock draft, which you can find here, and you can also follow his work by clicking this link: 

Terquavion Smith shoots over Wendell Moore Jr. on January 15, 2022 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

All-Wolfpack: What was the pre-camp buzz about Smith and Seabron? Was there excitement over one or both of them? 

Siegel: I would say going in, they were known, I wouldn't say that they were generating too much buzz in terms of what they both are now. 

They both had really good weeks at the combine. I've heard a lot of good things about both Smith and Seabron but going in both of them were second-round prospects. 

Smith, I really didn't hear many people talking about him being an elite level draft prospect in terms of flying up draft boards. It was just more of 'he's a young freshman, he's got potential moving forward. Let's see what he could do at the combine.' Now after seeing him, you have people talking about him going as high as 20 of the draft and possibly going right after the lottery. Every team knows him now. He was one of the best performers at the combine this week. I just think that going in, I don't think that there was hype surrounding him. I, I think that they both generated a good amount of interest after how they performed.

All-Wolfpack: Let's start with Seabron. What things stood out to you? 

Siegel: I think it was the aggressiveness on the offensive end. You saw it in the first two scrimmages he played in at the combine. He seemed to have this feel to him that he was so much higher level than the defenders that were guarding him, if that makes sense. He just looked so much more locked in than everyone else where he got the ball and he was like, 'okay, I'm going to put my head down. I'm going to get to the rim and I'm going to score.'

I didn't really see that with other people necessarily at the combine. They had moments, but it seemed like every time Seabron touched the ball, he had a plan. That's what really stood out with me. 

There was no one that could really stop him from attacking the paint and the rim at the combine this week. He was the most impressive score in terms of getting to the rim and playing well above the rim, and he still has plenty of room to grow. 

He definitely caught my attention. He caught other people's attention, and he's going to be somebody during the pre-draft process, I think is going to do well in the individual workouts, for sure. 

Dereon Seabron dribbles at Pittsburgh on February 12, 2022. 

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

All-Wolfpack: How about Smith? The word is he stood out a lot. How did he do it? 

Siegel: I think the thing with Smith is that there was some buzz last year at the combine, and I can speak to this because I spoke to a handful of scouts that kind of started the whole hype train for Bones Hyland. There's been so many comparisons made between Highland and Smith this year, and it's kind of similar in the sense of how much hype they generated, just from one game of the combine. 

Highland last year, he had that really good day, one performance. His agent showed him down and he wound up going in the first round after being mid-second round grade, and we also what he did in the NBA this year. 

Now with Terquavion, it's kind of the same level of hype where he played really well in the first, I think he had like 16 or 17 points. He showed his athleticism and was able to just get to his spots on the floor and be able to knock down a shot from anywhere. He looked confident and comfortable. 

Athleticism was off the charts in terms of what the expectations were. He just looked like an NBA rookie out there on the court compared to other guys who were looking to get drafted. He looked like that he had already been drafted and was preparing for Summer League. 

All-Wolfpack: How common is it for a guy to come from off-the-grid, so to speak, and raise their draft stock significantly at camp? 

Siegel: Normally the guys that are at the combine, everybody who's there knows of them, knows something about them and wants to see something from them. We're talking about the top 50, 60 guys that are going to be in the draft, arguably the top 50 guys or whatnot, but they, they all have something to their game that people want to see. 

When one guy reaches that quota, for example, let's say Player A: we knew he was a really good three-point shooter coming in. Not only does he shoot good from three, but he also put the ball on the ground, got to the basket, every possession and just has all-around control of the offense. That's something that's noteworthy. That's something that starts popping. 

People start talking because you got the Pacers sitting to your right. You have the Lakers sitting to your left and the Clippers are right in front of them. Everybody's close. Everybody's always talking at the event. 

In terms of answering your question of how everything kind of starts going around, if it's a common trend, I'd say within like the last few years, it's really popped off like that, especially last year. You had the Bones Hyland situation where everybody started talking about him, social media influenced it as well. Everybody talking about him on social media, and then he just started flying up draft. It's kind of the same thing this year where you have those few guys that everybody's talking about on social media, people at the combine, really like the measurements and like what they saw of certain guys on the court. That's kind of how all that goes down.

All-Wolfpack: How much does NC State's struggles as a team impact how scouts look at the duo? 

Siegel: For some, they may look at it, but the vast majority of all these NBA guys that are there don't care if the guy won a game in college. It may matter for mentality purposes, like in interviews, when they talk to them about the wins and losses. That stuff may matter, but when they're evaluating the guys on the court, they really don't care a where they're from or what they did in college. 

At the end of the day, there's been plenty of guys that went from college duds to NBA stars and vice versa as well. There's been guys that have done fantastic in college and just didn't pan out in the NBA, so it is just a whole new evaluating process as if these guys have never been seen before. 

All-Wolfpack: What type of system fits their skillsets?

Siegel: That's a good question. I'd say that Smith would do better in a system where he doesn't have to come in and be the lead point guard. I kind of think that's where he's trending in this draft, where you look at the order of the draft and teams that are picking 20 through 30. Most of those teams are teams that have been in the playoffs before teams, so if any of them are looking for an off-ball guard or a combo guard that can come in, and like I said, pick up a, a role similar to Bones Hyland, I think that's kind of what you're looking at with him.

As for Seabron. It's just more of, he's going to be a second-round prospect. At that point it's just a whole talent thing and kind of fitting a mold of what teams are looking for. It's not necessarily that he would fit into a good situation. It's just a matter of a team being like, 'Hey, this guy's here. We like what he could do. This is the kind of mold that we want him in.' 

I think the best example, not necessarily for Seabron, but in terms of that mentality is someone like Herbert Jones last year. He fell to the second round, was a first-round graded prospect, and the Pelicans picked him up, even though they didn't necessarily need a player like him. They carved out a role for him. Now he's one of their core players. 

I think that's kind of what you look at in the second round with these guys. Seabron's outlook? It's just kind of one of those things where right now, I think he's probably going to be a late-second round If he was to stay in the draft, it's pending how the pre-draft process goes for him and how his interviews with teams went. There's definitely interest there and who knows? These guys that go in the second round, someone can be that complete wild guard. You just never know.

Dereon Seabron at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine Camp

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

All-Wolfpack: Do either of these guys have long-term prospects? 

Siegel: I honestly have no idea. When you look at like 10-year vet or something there's not a lot of that in the league. Not just with these prospects, but for any player, spending 10 years in the league, that's a long time when you think about it. Honestly, it's just about fit and the right team that you're on. If you get in the right situation and you can become a star with that team, yes, you're going to be in the league for a while, but if you're constantly bouncing around from team to team, you could still be a good player, but if you're just bouncing around from team to team those opportunities, aren't going to necessarily present themselves to you. 

I think that's the best way to answer the question is that there's not necessarily a clear answer of saying, 'oh yeah, this guy's going to be in the league until like 2035.' I think it's just one of those things that all these guys could be in the league till then. It really depends. Nowadays, especially these young guys, if they can come into the league and make a difference that that's really where they can really make a name for themselves. 

We've seen that with plenty of guys this year. I mentioned Herb Jones and you've got Jose Alvarado as well with the Pelicans. Those are two good, perfect examples right there of coming out of college, nobody kind of really knew what their role would be in the NBA. They played defense, they carved out a role. 

For these guys, it's just all about figuring out what pathway are they going to be? Are they going to be a three-point shooter? Are they going to focus in on defense, maybe a combination of both? Are they a primary ball handler? Are they a facilitator? Are they an off the ball guard, et cetera, et cetera? It's just all about finding what they do best and getting the system for them.

All-Wolfpack: Do you think either or both will return to school?

Siegel: Smith based on this week, I'd say it's a long shot and there's always a chance that he could, but everything I've heard has pointed to him being a first-round prospect. 

At this point, you can say all you want of, 'oh, you want to be in a certain range or you're going to go back,' If you're being guaranteed a first round, you stay in the draft. That's just how it's gone the past few years.

In terms of Seabron, it's just all about how, like I said, how he performs in the pre-draft process and what him and his family ultimately decide. I think that he could be ready to go to the NBA this year. I think he could be ready next year. I think he could be ready down the road, so it just all depends on what he wants and the feedback he's getting really.

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