Report: Cavs Coach ‘Couldn’t Contain Excitement’ as Darius Garland Didn’t Miss for ‘5 or 6 Minutes’

One reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to use the fifth overall pick in the draft to choose Vanderbilt University guard Darius Garland was his shooting ability.

A new report indicates that during a private workout with the Cavaliers, Garland dazzled members of the organization with his touch, including new head coach John Beilein.

Joe Vardon of The Athletic noted how Garland didn’t miss over an extended period of time, which had an impact on Beilein and the team’s subsequent interview with the prospect:

“According to several people who were at Jackson’s gym that day, Garland didn’t miss a shot for five or six minutes. By the end of the display, new Cavs coach John Beilein couldn’t contain his excitement, his encouragement. He was vocal, cheering on Garland as shot after shot traveled to the bucket. Beilein, general manager Koby Altman and the huge contingent of Cavs deep thinkers there interviewed the 19-year-old after the workout, and the discussion was influenced by what they saw on the court.”

The shots themselves weren’t simply from one stationary spot, but spanned a wide range and from different distances on the court.

On Friday, Beilein gave an indication of just how impressed he was by exaggerating the distance of his shots beyond the arc:

“He was shooting from back in Nashville and we were in California,”

Garland felt compelled to deliver the amazing performance with key personnel from the Cavaliers’ organization in attendance:

“It really meant a lot to me when the whole staff came out, I know that they’re really interested. I knew I had to come out and put on a show for them.

“I was pretty deep out, I think.”

Despite having only played five games at Vanderbilt before having season-ending knee surgery, Garland had given NBA scouts a glimpse of that shooting ability in that short period of time. On all shots from the field, he connected at a rate of 53.2 percent, while his success from beyond the arc came close to matching that effort at 47.8 percent.

The Cavaliers drafted Garland, even though their top pick in last year’s draft, Collin Sexton, is also a guard. The hope is that the young duo can develop into one of the top backcourts in the NBA, with one of the comparisons being the Portland Trail Blazers’ pair of guards, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.