Jazz work out big men, including 7-5 Russian

If his name hasn't been called on June 24 before the Utah Jazz get their first of three picks in the NBA Draft, 7-foot-5 Pavel Podkolzine sees himself in the team's new navy and light blue color scheme.

"If somebody don't get me before," said the 19-year-old Russian, he expects the Jazz "will pick me up."

Podkolzine, who had to withdraw from the 2003 draft when pituitary-gland trouble arose after he'd worked out for the Jazz, is seen by a number of Internet mock drafts as going anywhere from about seventh to the high 20s, meaning he could be there for any of Utah's three picks (14, 16 and 21).

He said injections have helped his medical problems, though he missed playing time last winter with Varese (Italy) due to a broken wrist, and Jazz senior VP of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor said that's what Podkolzine needs most. He has good shooting skills to 15 feet and is relatively "light on his feet," O'Connor said, but he needs to learn basketball sense, passing against double teams and the like.

Podkolzine worked out for the Jazz on Wednesday morning, along with fellow centers Predrag Samardziski (7-1) of Macedonia and 7-1 Indiana University recruit Robert Rothbart of Sacramento, Calif.

Uros Slokar, a 6-11 center from Slovenia, had been expected Wednesday but withdrew his name from the draft and canceled his visit.

Today the Jazz expect to drill 6-10 center Damir Omerhodzic from Croatia, 6-8 freshman forward Kris Humphries from Minnesota, 6-9 senior forward Andre Brown from DePaul and 6-11 Brazilian center Tiago Splitter, who's been playing in Spain. Probably four more players will audition for the Jazz on Saturday.

Of the three players who were in the Zion's Bank Basketball Center on Wednesday, O'Connor said, "They're kids that would have to make a quantum leap to even be in the NBA, and then they've got to get their feet on the ground. They're players that are not NBA-ready yet.

"But," he added, "it's about two years from now. It's about trying to get big guys."

O'Connor wouldn't say whether he would lean toward either Podkolzine or BYU product Rafael Araujo, should both be available at No. 14. "If (Emeka) Okafor is there at 14, we're going to take him," he joked. Okafor, of UConn, is expected to be one of the top two or three picks.

Asked if the Jazz would like to have any of the three working out Wednesday, O'Connor said, "We've got three picks, so I can be evasive and say we'd be comfortable."

O'Connor said the three got quite a good workout against each other, but Samardziski, who got half a workout when he came in early on Tuesday, said he felt much better Wednesday. "I'm used to the air (altitude) better than yesterday," he said.

O'Connor said Podkolzine's pituitary problems are "to a certain extent a concern, but not as much as last year because there's full documentation." The records have been turned over to team doctor Russell Shields to interpret.

Podkolzine has slimmed down to 260 pounds, and O'Connor said his body looks better. O'Connor also saw him play at a big man's camp in Italy a few weeks ago and came back impressed with his progress.

---

E-mail: lham@desnews.com