Jazz to look at UVSC's Price

A local college product will work out today for the Jazz.

And, no, it's not Andrew Bogut.

Rather, Utah Valley State College product Ronnie Price is among four NBA Draft hopefuls scheduled to audition for Jazz brass this morning.

Price, a 6-foot-2 guard from Texas, averaged 24.3 points per game while the Wolverines were playing a full NCAA Division I schedule this past season.

He will be joined today by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's Eddie Basden, a 6-foot-5 swingman who was Conference USA's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year; North Carolina State's Julius Hodge, a 6-7 swingman who was the Atlantic Coast Conference's Player of the Year two seasons ago; and Josh Gross, a 6-5 small forward from UNC-Greensboro.

All four are seniors.

Another group of four seniors are scheduled to work out for the Jazz on Thursday morning: 6-7 Providence small forward Ryan Gomes, 6-9 Clemson power forward Sharrod Ford, 6-7 Cincinnati power forward Jason Maxiell and 6-8 UCLA swingman Dijon Thompson.

Hodge and Gomes are projected by multiple Internet sites as potential late first-round draft choices, but the others — including Price, who started his career at Nicholls (La.) State before transferring to UVSC — are considered by most draft prognosticators to be second-round hopefuls at best.

The Jazz own two first-round picks and three second-round selections in the June 28 draft.

Depending on the outcome of Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery, Utah's top selection could be as a high as No. 1 overall or as low as No. 7. Their other first-round pick, originally owned by Dallas, is No. 27 overall.

Bogut, the consensus national player of the year from the University of Utah, is widely regarded as a likely top-three pick who could go as high as No. 1.