LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Quick hitters for Friday from the pre-draft camp:
• North Carolina's
Ty Lawson didn't play on Thursday because of a hip pointer. Lawson may not have to play again and still could go in the first round.
• UCLA's
Kevin Love said he has been told that Minnesota likes him at No. 3. He said he could see himself going that high.
• IUPUI coach Ron Hunter said junior
George Hill just wanted the experience of being at the pre-draft camp. But after a few days, Hill wasn't able to stand out enough to where it makes sense for him to stay in the draft.
• Hunter said he's up to over 200,000 donated shoes for his trip to Africa. He'll take them there in July as part of his campaign for Samaritan's Feet, which puts shoes on those who don't have them around the globe.
• Former NBA assistant Brian James, who has done work for ESPN, could possibly land on Johnny Dawkins' staff at Stanford.
• Love said the Bruins could still win the national title without him next season.
• UCLA junior Luc Richard Mbah a Moute hasn't stood out enough to warrant staying in the draft. He still may, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of buzz around him.
• One of the best stories at the camp has been
Mike Taylor, a former Iowa State guard who is trying to become the first D-League player drafted. Taylor played for the Idaho Stampede last season and never went through the draft. The majority of D-League players go through the draft and end up in the D-League. But there was enough support for Taylor to be at the camp, so he was brought in this week. He hasn't disappointed with his active play at both ends of the court. He should be a solid second-round pick.
• A number of NBA personnel are wondering why John Riek was invited. The 7-foot-2 IMG Academy center got injured Tuesday and didn't play again. A number of NBA personnel said he needs to go play somewhere significant before he'd be ready.
• Expect Texas guard
A.J. Abrams to go back to school since he couldn't land an invite to the draft camp.
• UAB coach Mike Davis expects
Robert Vaden to work out for the next two weeks, but said he's still confident that Vaden will return to the Blazers for his senior year.
• North Carolina's
Danny Green tweaked his ankle on Thursday but was still hopeful that he can show enough of his game to stay in the draft.
• UMass senior
Gary Forbes scored 30 points Thursday night, and if nothing else, got himself noticed for a possible second-round selection and certainly for some more workouts.
• Nebraska coach Doc Sadler was upset about the Big 12's 10-2 faculty-rep ruling against the Huskers. Recruit Robert Sallie can't play for Nebraska because he broke Big 12 rule 6.2 that states if a player enrolls at an institution part-or full-time, he has to have met NCAA requirements. Sallie did take classes in August 2006, but he wasn't cleared by the NCAA while being enrolled as a part-time student. He then left in the fall and went to San Francisco City College and became the California community college Player of the Year last season. Sadler was hoping that the 6-foot-5 Sallie would get a waiver since he never played at Nebraska and didn't spend a full semester there. But the faculty reps in the Big 12 didn't see it the same way. Sallie is now free to transfer to any other institution outside of the Big 12.
Andy Katz
