NBA Draft: Larry Nance Jr. models game after his dad

His pre-draft workout just ended with the Lakers, and Wyoming senior forward Larry Nance Jr. already sensed his dad would soon feel concerned on how it all went.

“I’m sure I have four missed calls already asking, ‘How did your workout go?'” Nance Jr. said after working out with the Lakers on Friday at their practice facility in El Segundo. “He’s a dad worried about his kid.”

But Nance Jr. is no ordinary dad.

His father, who goes carries the same name as Larry Nance, enjoyed a 13-year NBA career with the Phoenix Suns (1981-88) and Cleveland Cavaliers (1988-1994). During that stretch, Nance became an athletic power forward that scored 15,687 career points, grabbed 7,352 career rebounds and won the 1984 NBA Dunk contest.

Hence, it hardly sounds surprising who Nance Jr. modeled his game after through four seasons at Wyoming where he averaged 11.3 points on 52.1 percent shooting, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.

“The obvious answer would be Dad,” Nance Jr. said. “I definitely stole a few of his moves watching some black and white VHS tapes. But he’s definitely someone I would like to be like.”

So far, Nance Jr. believes he boasts a strong basketball intelligence, a strong motor and a penchant for hustle plays to carve out a niche in the NBA. Nance Jr. also shared how he showed plenty of mental toughness for overcoming a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee as a junior two years ago. So when the grind over endless pre-draft workouts have become overwhelming, Nance Jr’s father often offers perspective.

“All of these workouts, he said it’s going to be tough,” Nance Jr. said. “Toward the end, it’s going to be tough to get motivated and tough to get up for these workouts. But the one thing you control is effort, whether your shot is going in or not going in, you can control how hard you crash the glass or dive on the floor for loose balls. That’s the type of thing that teams notice.”

Teams would also notice if Nance Jr. showed the leaping ability that once became his father’s calling card.

“I think the guy with the vertical test might say yes,” Nance Jr. said. “But don’t tell my dad that.”

The two never played one-on-one, son describing saying father’s “knees are a little beat up.” But Nance Jr. said the two competed in shooting contests “all the time,” arguing that routine contributed toward shooting a 77.1 percent clip from the foul line with the Cowboys.

So who won?

“It’s uncountable. There were thousands upon thousands of games,” Nance Jr. said. “But I have to imagine he’s winning by a little bit. Once he starts to slow down, though, I’ll start to catch up.”

He will have an attentive, worried and supportive dad checking in on every chapter of that process.

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