Most accomplished player Pacers saw Thursday? Jarvis Threatt

Through every pre-draft workout at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Indiana Pacers have offered statistical sheets on the players to the media. Take for instance Thursday's crop that featured former IndyStar Mr. Basketball Trey Lyles – the overview listed his numbers through 36 games played his freshman year at Kentucky. The same was true for SEC Player of the Year Bobby Portis, who had two columns of achievements to mark his two-year career at Arkansas.

When handed the same stat sheet, Jarvis Threatt looked under his name and laughed. His space was left blank, the only empty stat sheet among the six players who worked out. The anonymous 6-foot-2 point guard who hears his name regularly mispronounced (it's like three with a 'T' on the end) and sees his game disregarded understands, but wants to prove why he should be noticed.

"I would say I'm very overlooked in certain cases," Threatt said after the workout. "Very overlooked, underrated but (when) I step on the court, I don't feel like that."

Make no mistake, Thursday's workout was a big one due to the head-to-head showdown between the pair of 6-10 frontcourt players, Lyles and Portis. Through the end of the session, the two, familiar with one another from their SEC matchups, took turns trying to best the other with interior moves and finishes. However, though he may have been playing in the shadow of these bigs and his bio read as if he were hiding in the Witness Protection Program, the 22-year-old Threatt was the most accomplished of the six players on the Pacers' practice court.

Last year, Threatt started 13 of 36 games for the NBA D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers and averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 assists and attempted 5.8 free throws a night. Those numbers only begin to tell the story of why this puzzle of a point guard turned to professional basketball in the first place.

Threatt played three years at the University of Delaware and was named the CAA Conference Tournament MVP in 2014 as he guided the Blue Hens to the NCAA tournament his junior season. In the summer before his senior year, the team dismissed Threatt for "violations of team rules." Threatt decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and turn pro, beginning a curious and convoluted path from Greece to Hidalgo, Texas, to attempting to become only the seventh D-Leaguer to be drafted into the NBA.

"I already had a year playing professional (basketball)," Threatt said. "If anything, I look at it as (other draft prospects) got a lot to learn what I've already got a step on. But as far as player rankings and the names and quote-unquote hype, I don't have that. It's more motivation every time I step on the floor."

Threatt expects to work out with 10 to 12 NBA teams before the June 25 draft. And he doesn't need to guess what those executives will want to talk about.

"Every interview that I've had, Delaware has come up and rightfully so," Threatt recalled. "There's a reason to pause and you want to know if this kid has learned, has he moved on, has he matured."

Threatt does not hesitate with details: "I tell them specifics because I think a part of maturing is being honest. It's so past me. It's so in the past. I've moved on with my life."

Those off-the-court issues – Threatt even missed multiple games during his breakout junior year for other mishaps – derailed his traditional basketball journey. Now a year later, Threatt looks back at the time as a sobering launch into adulthood.

"Just handling myself as a pro and understanding that you have something that you love almost taken away from you," Threatt said. "The situation I went through where basketball, school, everything was taken away from me. Then to get back and be given a second chance, you have a different respect for it. I don't take any day for granted anytime I step on the court and play basketball."

After Delaware, Threatt signed with a team in Greece but made it only through training camp because ownership folded. Without a paycheck, he landed back in the states and was drafted by the Vipers. Several NBA-caliber players moved in and out of the lineup – including Glen Rice Jr., who was drafted out of the D-League in 2013 – so Threatt spent the early part of the season on the bench. However, Nevada Smith, who coached Threatt last season, noticed his continuous improvement, and he finally took over the starting spot for the final 13 games of the season.

"Normally guys kind of fade, but he kept working," Smith said. "As a kid, he's awesome. He worked really hard, we never had any issue with him."

Smith thinks his former point guard has two specific skills that could land him in the NBA. Threatt looks every bit of 6-2, or less, but his vertical leap — evidenced by his 2015 D-League Dunk Contest championship — makes him an elite athlete. And Threatt may get knocked for his shooting percentage (45 percent from the floor, 28.9 percent from 3) but he can drive, score and draw fouls.

"It was a real roller coaster ride for him," Smith said of Threatt's first year in the D-League. "(But) his skill level went up. Just the experience in playing with NBA guys was probably the biggest thing he took away."

So even though nothing appeared under his name on the stat sheet, of all the 30 players the Pacers have brought in so far, Threatt has the only résumé that shines with professional basketball. More than name recognition, Threatt leans on his experience.

"Every time I step on the floor, it's all about proving myself. ... I just want to prove myself to the coaches and scouts," Threatt said. "What I did in the D-League, the talent (there), it speaks for itself."

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.