Intriguing Exum mystery in NBA draft

CHICAGO (AP)– The clips that show Dante Exum exploding toward the rim, finishing with a thunderous dunk or contorting his body as he flips in a layup, sure are impressive.

That much is clear. But the 6-foot-6 point guard from Australia is one of the biggest mysteries heading into next month’s NBA draft.

Fans in the US haven’t seen much of him, unlike Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid or Duke’s Jabari Parker, but they’ll be getting a good look soon enough.

Exum arrived Wednesday in Chicago for the draft combine and had already met with Phoenix, Philadelphia and Detroit as of Thursday afternoon. He had four more meetings scheduled, too.

“I guess they all have an idea of what I’m about,” Exum said. “They’ve seen some of the college players play 40-game seasons, and they haven’t seen me a lot. I guess when they’re trying to look at tape, they can’t see a lot of tape of me.”

Exum, who turns 19 this summer, is from Melbourne. His father Cecil played professionally Down Under after teaming with Michael Jordan and James Worthy on North Carolina’s 1982 championship team.

Now, the younger Exum is ready to step onto the stage. Maybe he can nudge his way into the top three, knocking out Parker, Wiggins and Embiid – three players who skipped the festivities this week.