Dalen Terry says his pre-draft workouts prove he belongs in the lottery and that leaving college early lets him face NBA challenges while young. He emphasizes defensive versatility, efficient scoring, and unselfish play, positioning himself as a glue player who will earn minutes through effort.
So how'd the workout go for you today?
It was good. I showcased what I, what I do. I feel like there's a reason why I was here and I showed why I was here.
What was that?
I'm a basketball player. I'm a good player. Obviously I belong at the top and it's the top. Obviously it was top guys in here and I showed why I'm one of them too.
And what about these other workouts that you're doing? Are you going up against other top guys also? Is that kind of happening? How it's going for you?
Yes, sir. I feel like I'm one of them guys that everybody wants to see and everybody— I'm labeled as a competitor. So you can put me in the gym with anybody and I'm gonna show why I'm here.
What led to your decision to leave early?
I feel like I'm ready. I believe that I'd rather go— I'd rather be in the NBA and go through my struggles and trials and tribulations than being in college and be the star. I feel like a lot of guys want to say that, but I want to go through it while I'm a young kid and get adjusted to the game. And obviously I've been playing basketball all my life too. be an NBA player. I ain't go to— I ain't played basketball since I was 2 to be a college player, you feel me?
So, so with you saying that you, you know, want to get to the NBA and then like have to struggle and adjust to the situation, do you kind of see yourself as like wherever you get drafted you're gonna have to kind of go through that, like not, you know, maybe not getting on the court much as a rookie? Or do you see yourself as somebody who, let's say a team like Portland were to draft you and their, their goal for next year is to make the playoffs next year. Like, they're trying to be competitive and not rebuild. Do you see yourself as somebody who can compete right away and actually contribute on a team that has that goal?
I'm gonna just say this, uh, you can put me in any, any situation, I'm always figuring it out. I feel like all my life I've been going through adversity, and I know in the NBA it's gonna be even more. So if I don't— if I come in and get drafted how high, how low, if I don't play, I'm gonna still be fighting in practice. I'm gonna do what I have to do, and I'm gonna get on the court eventually.
Where would you say you're at in terms of your defensive ability? I think a lot of people look at you, saw you in Arizona, and think defender kind of first and foremost. How do you feel like you're progressing that way?
I feel like I keep progressing. I feel like defending is more than just defending. I feel like it's like competing. I put myself number one as a competitor before anything. So me just wanting to do it is just upper hand on anybody.
So. What kind of tricks are you working on there to figure out how to get points?
Yeah. You shot 50%. Yeah. I mean, you can say, like a lot of people say, I'm not a scorer or nothing, but I feel like I'm a person that goes in, I'm gonna do what is needed for the team. Ben averaged a lot of points. I'm a guy that can play 1, 2, 3, maybe a little bit of 4. So for me to pass, like, I pride myself on passing the ball. Ben, Ben is, I feel like I was the best passer on the team. So me passing the ball to Ben, him scoring, it feel like I just scored 2. So I feel like the 8 points, it didn't really, like, it's not really my average. I feel like I averaged 15. I was accountable for half the points, you know? So I could do whatever is asked for me on the team. And it just happened to be my role was the glue guy, do the little things, pass the ball, rebound, play defense. So I feel like my offensive ability needs to, needs to grow, definitely. Like, don't get me wrong, but I could do, I could do a lot of things. Don't get it twisted.
But your mentality first is to be unselfish too.
Yes, sir. Exactly.
Talk about this adversity. You know, do you enter these workouts, you know, looking at some of those projections, you know, kind of late first round? Does that kind of inspire you at all? You know, lottery pick?
Yeah, definitely inspire me. I feel like there's gonna be a redraft in 10 years and it's gonna change up no matter where I get drafted.
You kind of alluded to this already, but you know, you're in a workout with, with Shaden. He's kind of a top 10 guy. You're a guy who I think is probably trying to Like everyone is, but do you feel like that's an opportunity for you to kind of show what you can do against guys who are already projected to go higher than you?
I feel like every day is an opportunity. Obviously, Shaedon being who he is, he's a great player. They got him projected where they got him projected. They got me projected where I'm projected. And obviously we know what pick Portland got, so.
