Just when I thought it was over… Off to Cleveland! #Blessed

— Juwan Staten (@JuwanStaten3) June 23, 2015

Even if you’re just tuning in, you probably know Juwan Staten most likely won’t be drafted tomorrow night. The reservations the NBA has about his game are clear, and even in this 11th hour evaluators seem to say the same: Great kid, great leader, but no higher than the 50s, if it happens at all.

Yet there’s always hope, and that team in Cleveland has a few connections — and it is worth noting it’s the day before the draft and the Cavaliers made that call. Anyhow, Mike Gansey runs the D-League team, and I’ve spoken to a couple scouts who believe Staten would be a great D-League point guard just to make sure the offenses there run smoothly and the players around him develop properly. (The same scouts think Staten’s best career is spent in Europe, where he’d be a dynamo with the ball.) Of course, there’s also Staten’s link to LeBron James, as well.

Mentioned within that bond is Staten’s appearance at LeBron’s skills academy last year, where he was something of a novelty.

When Staten looked around at the participants in Las Vegas, he realized he was the only player to attend both. He understood it said a lot about his career and his ongoing quest after four years, an unhappy freshman season at his hometown University of Dayton, a season on the sideline after transferring to West Virginia, a sophomore season below his expectations and a spectacular comeback as a junior.

“I just looked at it as another blessing,” the Mountaineers’ senior point guard said. “So many people went to that camp when I was in high school. Some of them have done big things and are in the NBA and some have fallen by the wayside. I felt pretty good about being on the right track and headed in the right direction.”

That direction forks tomorrow night, and should Staten not hear his name called, well, there’s a bit of history attached to that, too.