The NBA's Western Conference Southwest division team Memphis Grizzlies carried out their first pre-draft workout on Thursday at the FedEx Forum with prospects the club will consider for the 17^th and 57^th overall draft pick.

After their early exit from the 2016 Playoffs, the Grizzlies are getting ready for the upcoming NBA draft on June 23 that will take place in Barclays Center in New York. Even without an official head coach, the team's player development coaches supervised the work-out session, which featured Octavius Ellis, a former Whitehaven forward and Chinese young center Zhou Qi.

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According toThe Commercial Appeal, NBA aspirants Jimmy Gavin (a 6-3 guard from Winthrop), Patricio Garino (a 6-7 small forward out of George Washington), Trey Lewis (a 6-3 guard from Louisville) and Jalen Jones (a 6-7 swingman from Texas A&M) also participated in the closed pre-draft workout.

Ellis, 23, stands 6-10 and played his college basketball for three years at Cincinnati. He was averaging 9.8 points and 7.5 boards last season for the Bearcats.

Zhou Qi, who hails from Xinxiang, Henan province of China, is the only first-round candidate in the group and is said to have dominated the workout. 

The 7-foot-2-inches tall 20-year-old big man played two seasons for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association. Zhou helped the Flying Tigers reach the semifinal round in the recently concluded 2015-16 season of the league.

Zhou, who is averaging 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots per game, is described as a very skilled player with a high basketball IQ.

"The process is mostly the same (without a head coach)," John Hollinger, who is the Memphis Grizzlies vice president of basketball operations, said. "Obviously, you'd prefer to have a coach around to get their input. Sometimes they see things you don't necessarily see. It's nice to have that voice. But it's pretty similar to what it was the past few years."

TagsZhou Qi, nba draft, NBA, Memphis Grizzlies, cba, Xinjiang Flying tigers