Only a few months ago, the terms Dwayne Mitchell and the NBA Draft weren't used in the same sentence.
Now, there's a chance that Mitchell's name could resonate from the podium tonight.
"I've talked to a lot of teams ... the Spurs, Charlotte, recently the Knicks and the Rockets about a week ago," said University of Louisiana basketball coach Robert Lee. "From the people I talked to, I think he has a chance from the middle to the latter part of the second round."
The NBA holds its annual draft of amateur talent tonight, and the New Orleans native and former Ragin' Cajun standout has put himself into the draft picture with a series of strong workouts and camps since completing his senior season at UL.
The 6-foot-5 guard has worked out for at least six NBA clubs since late May - New Jersey, Cleveland, Washington, Houston, Detroit and Chicago. He also took part in both of the NBA's pre-draft camps at Portsmouth, Va., and Orlando, Fla.
In Orlando, Mitchell dazzled the scouts in their testing of physical skills. His no-step vertical jump of 37 1/2 inches was two inches higher than anyone else in the 81-player combine, his maximum vertical leap (41 1/2 inches) was second in the group and his full-court sprint time (3.16 seconds) was eighth.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com