O-Sen:
When Noah Vonleh was 14 years old, his family traveled from Haverhill, Mass., to Orlando for a vacation. Many teenagers would've relished the chance to visit theme parks, but Vonleh first made a polite, but firm, request to his mom. He asked her to find a gym where he could hone his basketball skills.
"His discipline is incredible," says Vin Pastore, who coached Vonleh in AAU ball from the age of 12 until Vonleh started college at Indiana University.
"Noah had a ritual, and the ritual was that he got to the gym every day and he did certain things. Noah didn't believe in days off. It was ingrained in him that if he was going to reach his dream there were no times for days off."
That dream is within sight now — and it could involve returning to Central Florida.
The Orlando Magic will seriously consider using the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft to select Vonleh, a 6-foot-9½ power forward who rebounds well and can stretch the floor with his outside shot. Even though Vonleh is one of the youngest players in this draft class — he won't turn 19 until late August — the coaches who know him best describe him as a relentless worker.
"His passion and dream has been to be an NBA player, and he's one of those people that doesn't just think about it, hope for it, talk about it," Indiana coach Tom Crean says. "I really can't remember one day, literally one day, that he did not come back to the gym, whether it was after practice or whether it was on an off-day."
The more people describe Vonleh, the more his personality and background remind you of Victor Oladipo, the player Orlando selected second overall last June.
The similarities extend beyond their work ethic and their time at Indiana. Although both players grew up in the U.S., their parents emigrated from Africa, and both of their mothers work as nurses. Oladipo even co-hosted Vonleh when Vonleh took a recruiting trip to Indiana.
Vonleh and Oladipo play much different positions, however.
Vonleh possesses a wingspan of 7 feet, 4½ inches and one of the widest hands ever measured at the combine, 11¾ inches. His height and long arms should help him rebound and block shots in the NBA.
"Rebounding is natural for me," Vonleh says. "I handle the ball pretty well for a guy my size. I'm pretty good in the post also. I think that'll translate to the next level, and I'll add some different things to my game as I get there.
"I think a lot of teams see me as a stretch 4. But I want to one day be able to play the 3 in the league, so I'm going to just keep working on my skills and different things to help me get to that point."
Orlando might be compelled to select Vonleh at No. 4 and use its second first-round pick, 12th overall, to select a point guard, because the latter stage of the lottery is thought to have more depth at point guard than at the big-man spots.
Vonleh averaged 11.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game during his lone season at Indiana. As you'd expect with a young player, he gained momentum as the season progressed. Eventually, Crean felt comfortable having Vonleh switch defensively onto guards in pick-and-rolls and on screens.
"That'll certainly be challenged by the quickness and speed at the NBA level, but I think that's something that he's really gaining an ability to do," Crean says.
"The next big step for him will be making others better with the pass, especially off the dribble, and the quick ball movement that goes into it that stands out so much in the NBA when you do it right. Those are areas I think that he'll take the next step in."
Crean's confidence in Vonleh stems, in part, from Vonleh's work ethic.
Vonleh's drive hasn't diminished since he was 14 years old.
Pastore, Vonleh's former AAU coach, recalls how Vonleh would respond to rare bad games as a high-school freshman playing on the varsity.
Vonleh would call Pastore and say, "We need to get back in the gym."
Vonleh always wanted to return to the gym that night, not the next day.
They'd go to the Rockingham Athletic Club in Plaistow, N.H., and work.
"He has a work ethic that is second to nobody," Pastore says. "Since he was a little boy, Noah couldn't get enough of the gym. What's nice about Noah is that [work ethic] has not changed with time."
