"But what about No. 3?"

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

A lot of interesting storylines in pre-draft camp
June 2, 2003
By Dan Wetzel
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
 

Of the three hotbeds of basketball this week, two are fairly easy to
identify. There ought to be more than a little excitement and quality play
inside the
SBC Center in San Antonio and Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford,
N.J.

But what about No. 3?

 
Try the Moody Bible Institute, a relative obscure college that's home to a
small but state-of-the-art gym on the near Northside of Chicago. That's where
the annual NBA pre-draft camp convenes Tuesday evening, running through
Friday.

For 51 weeks a year, Moody Bible is a tiny Christian school that "exists to
equip and motivate people to advance the cause of Christ through ministries
that educate, edify and evangelize," but this week, it's basically NBA
Central.

The camp will feature not only some of the best NBA wannabes trying to
impress league officials, but the immense star power of those very NBA
officials.
This is where in a little gym, the crowd is made up of the likes of Kevin
McHale, Jerry West, Joe Dumars and everyone else who will be making draft
decisions
later this month.

It is always a fairly entertaining if heart-wrenching week, and while the
faces of the prospects change every year (at least mostly) the storylines
don't.
While most of the top prospects -- indeed most of the first round -- skip the
games and drill sessions out of fear of exposing themselves, there is plenty
of action among the hungry and hopeful.

Here are some of our favorite stories that are likely to repeat themselves
this week.



The senior star fades Probably the saddest thing to see is watching the NBA
dreams of the great four-year college player fade. It's often a famous college
All-American and former prep superstar who has done everything right his
entire life, done the extra drills, lifted the weights and said yes sir, no
sir to
coaches.

But here on the draft camp stage, it's obvious that they just aren't good
enough or big enough or quick enough for a draft process that favors athletic
ability and freak-of-nature size.

This is where the 6-7 college power forward comes to die. Where the 6-2 off
guard can't get it done. Where the 5-11 point guard is written off. You know
the players, you like the players, and yet, you and they know it's over. They
are headed to Europe, the D-League or worse.

The NBA doesn't release the official list of attendees until everyone arrives
Tuesday night, but this year's candidate list includes Boston College's Troy
Bell, UCLA's Jason Kapono and St. John's Marcus Hatten.

All of these guys, and others, could step up and make a name for themselves
(the way Notre Dame's Ryan Humphrey did last year) but the pressure is
intense.
At this point, one bad game can get you written off for good.



The Day 1 superstar It is amazing to watch all of these great basketball
minds overlook every past negative and fall for a player who has a big first
day
of camp. Come out blazing on the first full day Wednesday, and you could move
up draft boards like a shooting star.

This could be called the Jamal Crawford category, because no one did it
better than the one-time Michigan guard. In 2000, Crawford entered the draft
after
just a half season with the Wolverines, with a reputation for immaturity. He
did little to dispel that notion when he incredibly missed his flight to
Chicago and didn't arrive in time for the Tuesday night session.

But when he did get there, he shot 15-for-20 during a 3-point drill, was
measured 6-feet-5 and then showed some adequate point guard skills in a
full-court
scrimmage that night. The place was buzzing about Crawford by nightfall.
After consulting with his agent, the player promptly claimed he pulled a
hamstring, and with a smile on his face, he withdrew from the camp.

The Cavaliers picked him eighth and dealt him to the Bulls. In this, his
third year, he has developed into a decent player (10.7 points per game), but
after that first night, you would have thought he was going to be Magic.



The unknown with a tale This is the best. The NBA is filled with guys who
slipped through all the cracks (think undrafted Ben Wallace), and part of the
charm of the camp is this is the place where the cracks try to come together.
There are always a couple of junior college and small college guys no one has
heard much about but often have a heck of a back story.

Last year, there was Lee Benson, a 6-9, 28-year-old out of Brown Mackie
(Kan.) CC who spent eight years in an Ohio prison. A year before, there was
Jamario
Moon, a sleek wing prospect who failed out of a Mississippi community college
(is this possible?) and got into camp because he made an impressive workout
tape of himself.

The funny part was some of the tape showed him playing on a dirt court
because, he said, his hometown in Coosa County, Ala., didn't have any asphalt.

Invariably, most of these guys don't make it, but they are pretty fun to
listen to. With any luck, Sani Ibrahim of the College of Southern Idaho, James
Lang, a high school senior from Alabama, and Jerome Beasley, a 6-10 guy from
the
University of North Dakota, will have something to say.



The underclassman facing reality This is brutal. Imagine going for a job
interview and after every person, the media is waiting outside ready to ask
things
such as "so, looks like you botched that one question with the senior V.P."
or "the human resources department says you have no chance."

How do you answer this?

Each year, some college underclassmen make mistakes and enter the draft
process too early. Then they have to hear the second-guessing and the
questions
about whether they are headed back to campus. It's tough. But the fans want to
know, so the media comes and asks. Two years ago, both Arizona's Jason Gardner
and Kentucky's Keith Bogans went through this. Both wound up returning to
school and are now back at the camp.

Those two made the right choice -- they got their diplomas and a lifetime of
business contacts with their school's alumni. Others don't act so wisely. Last
June, Michigan State's Marcus Taylor was clearly not going to get drafted --
no one in the entire building thought he was good enough -- yet he remained
steadfast that he was. It was surreal to listen to. He stayed in the draft and
wound up in the CBA.

For Texas Tech's Andre Emmett, St. Joseph's Jameer Nelson, N.C. State's Josh
Powell and Alabama's Mo Williams -- among others -- here's hoping the right
decision is made. If you are good enough to be a first-rounder, then stay in
the
draft. If not, don't be stubborn.



The reality of the NBA exec The proof is generally in the pudding when it
comes to determining how good a NBA president or general manager is. You
either
make good selections or you don't. But this camp is a rare chance to observe
another side of these guys -- dedication and work ethic.

The first inclination that Michael Jordan was going to be a terrible
front-office guy came three years when his Airness showed up at the camp on
the first
night to scout for the Washington Wizards. He hung out in the rafters and
spent most of his time talking with friends and not watching the action. He
then
left early and didn't return the rest of the week. This despite the fact he
lived in suburban Chicago.

In contrast, that same night, then-Lakers honcho Jerry West was planted in a
sideline chair before the games even began. This was the same night the NBA
Finals were set to begin. A lot of scouts and execs skipped out early so they
could watch the game.

The Lakers, of course, were in the Finals, so if anyone had an excuse to
leave, it was West. But he didn't. He stayed to the very end, watching every
last
play of a game featuring a bunch of second-round prospects. Pretty impressive.


Of the 50-some odd players, who compete in the pre-draft camp, only a few
will be first-round picks. Maybe fewer considering this is a year when between
10
and 12 foreign players are expected to be first-rounders, severely limiting
the opportunities of the American college players.

But some will make it. Maybe Kyle Korver will end doubts about his defensive
speed. Maybe Hollis Price will play brilliantly. Maybe Ron Slay will impress
everyone with his inside outside game.

Or maybe they won't.

Either way, it is an entertaining week of basketball. Moody Bible is a long
way from the glamour of the Finals, but with its own predictably unpredictable
nature, you've got to love it live.




TAM