CHICAGO — It was a play that had little bearing on the game, let alone the scoreboard, and would never make a highlight tape. But since it happened at the NBA Combine, with coaches and executives and scouts lining the court, it mattered to at least one pair of discerning eyes.
Bruno Fernando caught the ball behind the three-point line, took two dribbles before faking a hand off to a guard, then zipped a pass to a teammate, just beyond the reach of a defender. He finished the play by setting a ball screen.
“That’s the kind of simple stuff he has to do with consistency,” said a Western Conference scout while watching Fernando, a 6-foot-10 forward who just finished his freshman season at Maryland, play in a five-on-five scrimmage at the combine Thursday.