Former Arizona Wildcats center Dusan Ristic will work out for the Sacramento Kings on Friday, the team announced.
The 7-footer will be joined by Kansas’ Billy Preston, Saint Mary’s’ Jock Landale, Queens University of Charlotte’s Todd Withers, USC’s Jordan McLaughlin, and North Carolina’s Joel Berry II.
This is Ristic’s first pre-draft workout for an NBA team. Ristic participated in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in April and has been training in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina recently.
Ristic is not projected to be selected in the 2018 NBA Draft, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets invited to NBA Summer League where he will have a chance to compete for a training camp spot.
At worst, Ristic can sign overseas where he will likely be a hot commodity.
Ristic’s development as a player in his four years at Arizona was pretty impressive. He went from averaging 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game as a freshman to 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds as a senior.
Arizona head coach Sean Miller compared his career path to Solomon Hill’s.
“We’ll certainly use him as an example,” Miller said of Ristic in February. “In college athletics and college sports, sometimes that four-year player, that guy who leaves with his degree in the end who’s kind of built his game over a long period of time, is lost. But he’s a big reason that we’ve had the success we’ve had.”
The Kings have picks Nos. 2 and 37 and worked out Rawle Alkins on Wednesday.
Sacramento’s general manager is Vlade Divac who, like Ristic, is a big man from Serbia.
Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire