Donte DiVincenzo starred in the 2018 NCAA championship game, when he came off the bench to score 31 points and lead Villanova to victory. The game highlighted DiVincenzo’s athletic ability and shooting ability, two attributes that make him an NBA prospect, but he already had shown that during two seasons at Villanova.
“I think it helped me,” DiVincenzo said of his title-game performance. “But they’ve seen me a lot. They watch me throughout the whole year. They aren’t just basing it off one game. There’s more questions being raised (about) my whole body of work throughout the season.”
DiVincenzo declared for the draft while retaining the option to return to Villanova, and the decision to test the waters appears to have paid off.
DiVincenzo was a standout at the draft combine last week in Chicago. He produced excellent marks in athletic testing and showed off his toughness and competitiveness during five-on-five scrimmages. The only potential negatives were his height (6-4.5 inches in shoes) and wingspan (6-6) measurements.
"I try to be the hardest worker, the toughest guy, (the) most physical guy,” DiVincenzo said after one of the combine scrimmages.
Shooting is DiVincenzo’s NBA-ready offensive skill: More than half of his 391 field-goal attempts last season were 3’s and he made 40 percent of them (85-for-212). DiVincenzo also had good production as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, with nearly half of those plays generated by him leading to scores, per Synergy Sports. Last season DiVincenzo recorded 4.8 assists per 40 minutes vs. 2.7 turnovers.
After DiVincenzo's strong showing the pre-draft process, it's possible he could be selected in the first round. He presumably would be available when the Hawks pick at No. 19 and they also the 30th and 33rd picks. DiVincenzo was among the players the Hawks interviewed at the combine.
DiVincenzo told Yahoo Sports that he expected to remain in the draft. DiVincenzo said after his Hawks workout Thursday that he would make a final decision after his final team workout at Golden State on Sunday.
“I’m talking to coach (Jay) Wright, gathering information where teams see me and where I’m projected,” he said. “The mock drafts are different than what the GMs think.”
