Malachi Richardson and Michael Gbinije were both in attendance at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago on Thursday, but only Gbinije participated in game action. Richardson opted not to play in the 5-on-5 portion of the event due to a back injury, he told ESPN’s Andy Katz on the broadcast.

In the scrimmage, Gbinije played for the blue team, one of four teams and one that also had Iowa State’s Georges Niang, Gonzaga’s Kyle Wiltjer and Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes on the roster.

Gbinije played 27 minutes and shot 4-of-8 from the field, including a 2-for-4 mark from beyond the arc. He also hit three of his four foul shots to finish with 13 points. The former Syracuse point guard, who played both the point and 2-guard in the scrimmage, also chipped in three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

He is projected to be taken in the second round by a handful of mock drafts, and Thursday’s performance would likely boost his stock, if anything.

Richardson, who has yet to sign with an agent, also told Katz that he’s 50-50 on the decision to stay in the draft or return to school and he wants to make sure he makes the right decision for both him and his family.

In the measurable department, Richardson’s 10.56-second lane-agility drill ranked fourth of the 34 players who had completed the drill on Thursday. Gbinije slotted in 12th with a time of 11 seconds.

Gbinije’s three-quarter sprint time of 3.12 seconds was tops in the group of 35, while Richardson recorded a time of 3.33 seconds, which ranked 24th. In the standing vertical leap, Gbinije and Richardson ranked ninth and 10th respectively out of a group of 34 with Gbinije posting a mark of 33.5 inches and Richardson jumping 33 inches.

The combine goes until Sunday, and underclassmen without an agent like Richardson will have until May 25 to decide whether they will return to school or keep their name in the draft.

Published on May 12, 2016 at 6:40 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman