NBA Draft: PIT Preview
The first and only postseason draft camp for seniors, the Portsmouth Invitational (PIT), kicks off today.

Typically the ugly stepsister of the more upscale Nike Desert Classic and Chicago Pre-Draft Camp, the PIT has gained more importance this year when the Desert Classic folded.

It wasn't always that way for the PIT This was the tournament in which players like Dennis Rodman, John Stockton, Charles Oakley and Dennis Rodman were discovered. Still, last year, only one player among the 64 invitees was even drafted, but this year several first-round prospects and a dozen or so second-round prospects will be plying their wares for scouts and NBA executives.

"It's the best crop they've ever had ever," said the NBA's longtime director of scouting, Marty Blake, a fixture at the event for the past 30 years. "A lot of players who would have waited until Phoenix are coming to Portsmouth. Every [NBA] team will be there. People are coming from all over the world. It's a great event. It always has been."

Of course, not every top senior will be there. Western Kentucky's Chris Marcus, Gonzaga's Dan Dickau, Maryland's Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter, UCLA's Dan Gadzuric, Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince, USC's Sam Clancy, Cincinnati's Steve Logan and Tennessee's Vincent Yarbrough all declined invitations.

Oregon's Freddie Jones accepted an invitation but had to pull out Tuesday after injuring his knee in a dunk contest, sources told Insider. The injury isn't considered serious, but he's being held out as a precaution. Temple's Lynn Greer also had to pull out with an injury suffered in the N.I.T.

Still, plenty of solid prospects will be there. Players at the camp with a chance of being drafted in the first round include Jason Jennings, Arkansas State; Darius Songaila, Wake Forest; Ryan Humphrey, Notre Dame; Randy Holcomb, San Diego State; and Luke Recker, Iowa.

Players who have good shot of getting drafted in the second round include: Aaron McGhee, Oklahoma; Matt Barnes, UCLA; Marvin O'Connor, St. Joseph's; Preston Shumpert, Syracuse; Rasual Butler, Lasalle; Maurice Baker, Oklahoma State; Kevin Lyde, Temple; John Salmons, Miami; Jerry Green, Cal-Irvine; Josh Davis, Wyoming; Kelly Wise, Memphis; Jason Capel, UNC; Altron Jackson, South Florida; Reggie Evans, Iowa; Kevin Braswell, Georgetown; Anthony Grundy, NC State; David Bluthenthal, USC; Jobey Thomas, Charlotte; Chris Christoffersen, Oregon; Andy Ellis, Texas Tech; Clarence Gilbert, Missouri; Ronald Murray, Shaw.

Many top seniors skip the event because having a great tournament at the PIT only really gets you an invitation to Chicago. Still, it's a chance for many of these guys to get on a team's radar screen. Expect most of the top seniors who didn't play here, along with the top performers at the PIT, to show up again in Chicago in June along with a slew of underclassmen who are testing their draft stock.

Draft Rumors: Jacbosen in; Wilcox, Gooden still mulling future


Insider first reported last week that Stanford's Casey Jacobsen, frustrated with coach Mike Montgomery's offense and hungry to get into the NBA, would explore his option but won't hire an agent.

Jacobsen confirmed the report Wednesday to the San Jose Mercury News. "I'm going to take my shot. I have nothing to lose," he said. "I'm proud that I've set myself up in a win-win situation. It's not that I don't like Stanford, or that I don't want to come back. It's about seeing if it's the right time to move on. It's always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA, and more so the last couple years."

Jacobsen said he's confident that by June 19th (the deadline for underclassmen to pull out of the draft) he'll know where he stands.

"I've been told by several people that I've talked to that by June 19, after the workouts, you know where you're going to fall. It's not an exact number, but you basically know. And if you don't know, that means you should go back to school." . . .

Maryland's Chris Wilcox said he's undecided about whether he should declare for the draft.

"It just depends on if I am ready or not," he told the Washington Post. "If I am ready, I am going to go. If not, I am going to be here. I want to talk to my mom and then talk to Coach [Gary Williams] and all that, and then whatever happens, happens.

"I don't know [what is best]. I am still trying to work on some things, and hopefully if I do, then I will move to the next level. If not, I will be here next year."

Williams said he thinks Wilcox may be better off returning to school.

"That's what happens. That's the way it is now," Williams said. "As soon as a player gets good in college, people start trying to judge where he will go in the draft and that type of thing. You have to deal with it. In Chris' situation, I am sure he would be drafted this year, but at the same time, if he stayed another year, he could be top three or four." . . .

Kansas star Drew Gooden is wrestling with the same decision. "I don't know. I'm not in a rush to make any decision," Gooden told the Lawrence Journal World. "I'll take some time, but I should have something within two weeks."

Gooden said the fact KU fell short of winning a national championship would make him more determined to win a title his senior season.

"It's a big factor now in my decision as far as staying another year," Gooden said. "Knowing what I want to accomplish, it's going to make the decision a little bit tougher. I will get together with coach [Roy Williams] and my family and we'll have something soon." . . .

High school phenom Lenny Cooke denied reports that he left high school to begin preparing for the NBA draft.

"That's not true," Cooke told the N.Y. Post "I might go to the draft, but I also still might go to college."

Cooke added that he was attending Flint Central High in Michigan and that he was going to class. He also said he planned on getting the SAT score necessary to qualify for the NCAA. St. John's has always been high on his list.

"I'm going to graduate in three weeks," Cooke said. "Then I'll decide what to do." . . .

Finally, the Washington Post did a nice piece on Juan Dixon's status in the draft. They talked to several NBA GM's on the record who said they liked Dixon and thought he'd be an NBA prospect.

"If there were any doubts regarding his ability to compete at the highest level, they were erased by the tournament and punctuated in that one might be drafting an automatic all-NBA defensive player," Orlando Magic general manager John Gabriel said.

"It doesn't matter if he is a little on the thin side or between positions. I wasn't overanalyzing him during the tournament, because I know where I had him -- and it was pretty high. If anyone had any doubts from the regular season whether he was a guard or an off-guard, to NBA folks he's a guard that can play. That's all that matters."