For D.J. Augustin and Robert McKiver, Thursday's NBA draft holds vastly different meanings and expectations.
Augustin, the 6-foot point guard who played in the national spotlight at the University of Texas, figures to be among the first dozen players taken. There's little doubt about that. He just wants to know where.
So for Augustin, the draft means a trip to New York, where he will be among the 15 or so players invited to sit in the green room and have their every emotional tic, cell phone call and eventual trip to the podium documented by TV cameras.
McKiver, the 6-3 shooting guard from the University of Houston who played in the relative anonymity of Conference USA, hopes he'll hear his name called by an NBA team. And if it is called, McKiver knows it most likely will be in the second round.
For McKiver, Thursday will be spent back home in New Haven, Conn., where he will stay far away from TV sets and Internet draft trackers. Mc- Kiver will instead be alone, with only his thoughts and hopes to occupy his time.
"My mother thinks I'm crazy, but I'm not going to watch it,"
said McKiver of the draft. "If the phone rings, I'll answer it, but I can't watch it. I'm just going to go somewhere, away from everybody, relax and wait for a call."
McKiver, D.J. Augustin and DeAndre Jordan, the 7-foot center from Texas A&M, are the top three Houston-area players on the various draft boards. The Aggies' Joseph Jones, a 6-9 forward with an NBA body but a history of knee problems, could be a second-round pick, too.
Augustin and Jordan are first-round locks. And Augustin isn't concerned about being at the wrong end of the height scale.
"When people talk about my height, it just motivates me to show them that I can play with bigger guys, go in the lane and create for my teammates,"
he said. "That's my job to get everybody involved."
That's why Augustin is climbing the charts. Most projections have the Indiana Pacers taking him at No. 11.
A pass-first guy
"He's a pure point guard, and that's what teams are looking for,"
said Kyle Manary, a former NBA scout who works with John Lucas. "A player like D.J., who is a perfect fit in the pick-and-roll game and is a threat to shoot, puts more pressure on the defense. And he's going to get everybody involved."
"He's a pass-first guy, but someone who can really play the pick-and-roll, and that's what the NBA is all about these days. You look at pure point guards who can play the pick-and-roll, guys like (New Orleans') Chris Paul, (Utah's) Deron Williams and (Phoenix's) Steve Nash, that's what everybody covets."
Still, some remain unconvinced.
"I like D.J. and think he's a first-round talent, but I don't know if I would take him in the lottery,"
said one Eastern Conference general manager. "He doesn't have a quick first step, he doesn't have a particularly quick release (on his jumper) and you have to question if he will be able to defend at this level."
There are even more questions about Jordan, who attended Christian Life Center Academy. He has a lot of assets that NBA teams covet — size, length and athleticism — but draft projections have Jordan going anywhere between No. 8 to Milwaukee, and 27 to the Hornets.
Inexperience showing
"He's big (and) talented,"
said New Jersey general manager Kiki Vandeweghe of Jordan. "Obviously, he hasn't played a lot of basketball."
The same cannot be said of McKiver, who spends every spare minute in the gym, shooting alone or playing pickup ball with former teammates.
He hopes all those hours pay off.
"This is something I've dreamed about since I was a little kid, so it's exciting,"
McKiver said. "But at the same time it's stressful because you really don't know what's going to happen. It's crazy. Exciting, but crazy."
FOUR FROM TEXAS
A look at the NBA draft prospects of four players from the state of Texas:
D.J. Augustin
6-foot point guard, University of Texas
• Projected: Lottery.
• Comment: A rising star because he's a perfect fit in the pick-and-roll game that is all the rage in the NBA.
DeAndre Jordan
7-foot center, Texas A&M
• Projected: Late lottery to mid-first round.
• Comment: Long and athletic, yet he couldn't get consistent minutes for A&M, which set off alarms throughout the NBA.
Robert McKiver
6-3 shooting guard/point guard, University of Houston • Projected: Mid-second round to free agent. • Comment: Has unlimited range on his shot, but must prove he can play the point at the next level.
Joseph Jones
6-9 power forward, Texas A&M
• Projected: Late second round to free agent.
• Comment: Looks like an NBA player, but dwindling production over the course of his career and creaky knees have teams wary.
