ESPN Andy Katz Blog

Testing the draft process, truly testing it without a pseudo agent or even the comfort of friends traveling with you, can be a lonely venture.

Cal sophomore Ryan Anderson is one of the few who is truly going about this in the way it was supposed to be: no agent advisor that ultimately leads to an agent rep.

Anderson has been figuring out his schedule and on Sunday night found himself alone in Indianapolis in advance of a workout for the Indiana Pacers Monday. So he headed to the movies to catch Adam Sandler's "You Don't Mess With the Zohan."

"I went by myself, it was OK, I just needed something to take the time up since it was my day off," Anderson said by phone from his Indianapolis hotel room. During the conversation he received a phone call from the Pacers to check the day's schedule to make sure he was on time for the next day.

So far Anderson said he has been to Orlando, Toronto, Boston, Denver and Indiana. He's in the midst of a four-city, four-day run of workouts that will take him from Indiana to Cleveland to Philadelphia and to New Jersey by week's end. He has a day off before heading to San Francisco for a group-team workout over the weekend.

And he's talking to other teams about workouts after Monday if he decides to stay in the draft past the deadline.

The decision to stay in the draft won't come easy. Anderson said he is "hearing that I'm in the 17-30 range." He admits that's a tough range to be in since he could possibly slip into the second round. If you're possibly No. 30 then the first pick in the second round at No. 31 isn't a reach at all. He said teams have been positive after each workout, telling him that they believe he's a first-round pick. But he hasn't gotten a commitment yet and he knows he won't by Monday's deadline.

"It's something that I need to weigh because I know it's going to be hard for teams to guarantee me anything right now to stay in the draft," Anderson said. "I've been hearing good information. That's what I'm hearing and it's heading me in a good decision toward a decision but I'm no where near finalizing yet."

When asked to put down the pros of each side for him he said the No. 1 thing for staying in the draft was: "I wouldn't have to go through this process next year and it's always been a dream of mine to be in the NBA. If it goes positively, even if I go in the second round and hopefully get guaranteed money, I'll get a chance to go somewhere and play. I'm feeling prepared to go there."

The pros for going back to Cal are tantalizing too. There was a coaching change with Anderson's coach Ben Braun getting fired. He landed at Rice and the Bears got former Stanford and Golden State Warriors coach Mike Montgomery. Montgomery didn't get the Warriors to the playoffs during his tenure but no one can dispute that Montgomery has been one of the most underrated college coaches the past 20 years, resurrecting Stanford's program and turning the Cardinal into a national team that competes for Pac-10 titles and multiple wins in the NCAA tournament.

"The pro is that Montgomery came in and we can look forward to winning more games and more attention coming to Cal," said Anderson, who declined an invitation to the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando. "I hear that my draft stock could rise in next year's draft. They say that ever year that the draft isn't as strong. That's what makes it so tough. I'm trying to get as much information as possible."

If the 6-foot-10 Anderson (21.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg) does return to Cal then the Bears are a legitimate top three Pac-10 team. Without him and the Bears will likely improve on last season's six Pac-10 wins but may fall short of the NCAA tournament.

Final nuggets

• Reports out of Connecticut papers this week say that Stanley Robinson could be the next UConn player to be asked to leave if he doesn't adhere to his responsibilities on campus. If this happens then it makes me go back to a conversation with coach Jim Calhoun last fall. He said he was determined to show that the Huskies didn't evaluate incorrectly after missing the postseason in 2006-07. Well, if Robinson is gone then that freshmen class would only have two players left -- Jerome Dyson and Hasheem Thabeet. Dyson got into trouble last season and was suspended for 30 days due to failing a drug test. But he is back in the good graces for now. Gone from that class is Doug Wiggins (transferred to UMass), Curtis Kelly (transfer still pending) and now possibly Robinson. The crazy thing is that even without Robinson the Huskies are a legitimate top 10 team for next season. Thabeet, Jeff Adrien and a healthy A.J. Price (ACL injury) as well as a stellar recruiting class (again hyped but we'll see if it pans out better) make this squad a formidable team.

• North Carolina guard Ty Lawson did work out for the Washington Wizards Monday but a Wizards official said Lawson sprained his ankle at the end of practice. Lawson is expected to make it to Denver to workout again for the Nuggets after missing that workout over the weekend. So, it's still looks like he's going to stay in the draft.

• UCLA junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had a solid workout in Milwaukee and like many others it's going to be a tough call as to whether or not he goes back to school. Mbah a Moute shot the ball well for the Bucks but he isn't likely to get any kind of guarantee before Monday.

• Miami is loading up its schedule as it prepares to be a preseason top 15 team. The Hurricanes are in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands against likely Connecticut in the semifinals (after playing Southern Miss) and then could face Wisconsin on the final day. The Hurricanes host Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and Kentucky is now a possibility for a road game in Lexington. Kentucky may be rebuilding (one top backcourt player back in Jodie Meeks and a recovering Patrick Patterson from offseason surgery) but it's still a road game at Rupp Arena which is never easy.

• Yet another reason why players who think they may be in the first round may not be is the addition of a few more foreigners. ESPN.com's Chad Ford has been reporting that Alexis Ajinca and Serge Ibaka could be first-round picks in his mock drafts. I continue to hear the same thing from a number of NBA teams. That would bring the count to 34 possible first-round players who weren't playing in Orlando two weeks ago. That doesn't mean Lawson or Carolina's Wayne Ellington won't make the first round, but it does make it harder. And the consensus seems to be that Lawson could be the only player from Orlando that could crack the first round. It also means there are some players who are staying in the draft who are almost certainly going to drop to the second round. The player who may be the most humbled is USC freshman forward Davon Jefferson. He is not going to be a first-round pick from all indications and may drop way down in the second (and maybe not even get drafted) after declaring and signing with an agent.