Pat Connaughton Broke Out a 44-Inch Vertical Leap at the NBA Combine
By Mike Cardillo
Pat Connaughton, last seen playing at Notre Dame in the Elite Eight of this year’s NCAA, took part in the NBA Draft combine Thursday in Chicago where he broke out a 44-inch vertical jump, which places him in the top five all time per NBA Draft Express.
The 6-foot-5 forward told MassLive that he doesn’t think many people realize how high he can jump:
"“I think the adjective everyone uses is ‘deceptively athletic,'” Connaughton said Thursday at the combine. “For me, I try to disprove that day-in and day-out. The funniest things are when you’re in warmup lines, or you’re in a San Antonio Spurs workout, and they say, ‘Do a highlight reel dunk that you want to do.’ After I do it, guys, kids, people I’m playing with, they’re like, ‘Wow. I didn’t know you could jump like that. I was shocked.’ It’s not even like an, ‘Ohhh,’ type thing. It’s a dead silence type thing. And it’s kind of cool. It’s something I’ve always prided myself on.”"
Connaughton was also drafted last year by the Baltimore Orioles as a pitcher, but he is focusing on basketball for the moment.
[Vine via @CJZero/TheCauldron]