DALLAS – Baylor coach Scott Drew handed out extra kudos to the Dallas Mavericks for reaching out last summer and taking a chance on Bears center Johnathan Motley.
Drew coached Motley during his four years with the Bears and saw him blossom from being a slender kid to a powerful manchild who won the prestigious Karl Malone Award last season for being the best power forward in college basketball. For Motley, winning that coveted award automatically placed him very high on the draft boards of a lot of NBA front office personnel.
And that includes the draft board owned by the Mavs and ran by the team’s general manager, Donnie Nelson.