Prospects impress O'Connor

Forgive Kevin O'Connor if by this time next week he feels like he was twisted by a tornado.

And blame it instead on the draft.

The NBA Draft, that is.

On Tuesday, O'Connor — the Jazz's senior vice president for basketball operations — was at the club's practice facility to watch a trio of point guard prospects work out.

He seemed impressed with the competitiveness he saw from all three, NCAA 2004 Player of the Year Jameer Nelson of St. Joe's, Duke's Chris Duhon and Brooklyn, N.Y., high school sensation Sebastian Telfair.

"It was really fun to watch guys that want to play basketball, and guys that (had) no chip on their shoulder — guys that just competed," O'Connor said. "You smile when you see those kind of kids, because you know that they're gonna succeed in whatever they do."

Nelson, the best shooter of the bunch, is a projected first-round selection, as is Telfair, the cousin of New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury.

Shortly after the workout, O'Connor traveled to New Jersey, where tonight he will represent the Jazz in the NBA Draft Lottery.

Utah has three picks in the June 24 draft, including a No. 14 selection it hopes to convert into either the first, second or third pick in the draft's opening round by winning the lottery.

While he is in the New York area for tonight's lottery, O'Connor will take time out to watch a couple of the draft's top European prospects work out: Peja Samardziski, a 7-foot-1 center from Serbia and Montenegro, and Damir Omerhodzic, a 6-10 forward from Croatia.

Samardiski, a likely first-round selection, and Omerhodzic, a possible first-rounder, both are represented by Marc Cornstein, who also is the agent for Sasha Pavlovic, the rookie shooting guard who was Utah's first-round selection a year ago.

Then it's back to Utah for O'Connor, who on Friday will watch the Jazz work out more big men — a group likely including BYU's Rafael Araujo and University of Colorado center David Harrison.

Then, over the weekend, O'Connor is off to Europe to scout a big man's camp in Treviso, Italy.

Many of the prospects there will be draft-eligible next year, not this year.

But one who intends to come out this year is Pavel Podkolzine, the 7-5 Serbian giant who worked out in Utah last year before unexpectedly withdrawing his name from the draft board.

The Jazz are expected to take a long, hard look at Podkolzine, who may or may not be available when they pick at No. 14 — assuming, that is, they don't hit the lottery.

BYU's Araujo, meanwhile, is not the only the only local college prospect harboring draft hopes.

According to Tuesday's Cleveland Plain Dealer, University of Utah shooting guard Nick Jacobson will work out for the Cavaliers on Thursday.

Joining Jacobson in Cleveland will be Luke Jackson, the swingman from Oregon regarded as a possible first-round selection.

Jacobson, known for his shooting skills, is generally considered a potential second-round choice in the two-round draft.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com