INDIANAPOLIS (WTRV) -- This week's NBA Draft marks the unofficial start of the NBA season. With it, multiple Indiana natives are hoping to get their own start on their professional careers.
"It's every kid's dream to be able to prepare for that phone call and hear their name called," former Louisville guard and Pike grad Ryan Conwell said. "I just worked so hard, and I'm just thankful for the people around me that helped me get to this point."
"It's a surreal feeling being a kid that was a little under-recruited throughout his whole high school college career and then making it to, I guess, the big stage, so it's definitely cool," former Miami (OH) and Carmel star Peter Suder said.
Purdue All-American guard Braden Smith is ready to prove himself in the Association, despite all the conversation about his height. The Westfield native is confident he has what it takes.
"I always knew I'd be able to play," Smith said. "I feel like I'm smart enough to play. I have the IQ to play. I can pass, I can score, I can do all those things for any team out here that needs that. For me it's just when and where and how.
Their time spent playing in the Basketball State -- whether that be high school or college -- has made them ready for the next level.
"I really think Indiana basketball is some of the best basketball in the country," Conwell said.
"It's a basketball state, and sometimes you play in the biggest gyms in the country in high school, and they're packed out for sectionals, regionals, semi state. So it just prepares you for those kinds of moments," Suder said.
"At Purdue, we were consistently top five in the country, so we played against a lot of great players, great teams," former Purdue forward and Sellersburg native Trey Kaufman-Renn said. "Just playing in big time environments against big time players prepares you."
For Conwell, he's taken a lot from his relationship with fellow Pike grad and former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague.
"Jeff has definitely been an inspiration and role model for me, even since I was young," Conwell said. "Just being able to chat with him as I grew out of high school and college, he definitely gave me some wise words of advice, and I'm really thankful that he's been there to support me."
Representing their Indiana communities on the big stage would also mean a lot.
"It would be unbelievable," Smith said. "Just having that community around me, like I've been really fortunate and really lucky to be around a great group of people in my Westfield area, when I was at Purdue… Obviously, I'd be very proud to be able to represent Westfield."
The NBA Draft begins on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Live coverage of the first round can be watched on WRTV-ABC in the Indianapolis area.
