Tre Jones, Daniel Oturu and Zeke Nnaji had summer practices together in Minnesota high school gyms so quiet you could hear their sneakers squeak on the hardwood.
Now those three former AAU teammates will try to make some noise in the next NBA draft.
Throw in McKinley Wright, Freddie Gillespie, Tyrell Terry and a few others from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and Minnesota natives are filling up draft projections.
“We have those close-knit relationships,” Oturu said. “Even if we didn’t play AAU together, we all talk and have a mutual respect for each other. That’s just amazing.