Jazz audition bigs, take second look at O'Bryant

By many accounts, Bradley center Patrick O'Bryant could be long gone by the time the Jazz pick at No. 14 overall in Wednesday's NBA Draft.

Then again, he may just be available.

That's the umbrella of intrigue hovering over O'Bryant during his second audition in Utah, a Saturday-morning session in which he also worked out with fellow 7-footer and fellow repeat visitor Mouhamed Saer Sene of Senegal.

"They kind of like what I did the first time and wanted to solidify it," O'Bryant, who played for ex-Jazz guard Jim Les at Bradley, said when asked why he was working out for a team with the 14th selection when it's possible he's a top-10 pick. "I don't know. You know, you never really know what's going through these guys' minds — but I'm just hoping that they like me enough."

On a Saturday that was all about bigs for the Jazz, O'Bryant and Sene were joined by 7-foot Oleksiy Pecherov, a Ukrainian who plays for Paris Basket Racing in France, and 6-9 J.P. Batista, a Gonzaga product from Brazil who also played at Western Nebraska and Barton County (Kan.) Community College.

Like the highly regarded Sene and O'Bryant, UConn's Hilton Armstrong — who worked out with those two May 29 in Utah — is a possible center pick for the Jazz if they opt to go big rather than take a shooting guard at 14.

Pecherov is a likely first-round choice as well, and Batista could be a second-round pick for Utah, which also owns selections at No. 46 and 47.

REDICK IN TOWN: It's believed the Jazz quietly brought another prospect they are closely scrutinizing, consensus national player of the year J.J. Redick of Duke, into town for a second personal interview Friday.

Redick, who has a bad back that may require surgery, did not work out. But it seems safe to assume the shooting guard was grilled about his arrest earlier this month for alleged drunken driving.

Late last week, basketball operations senior vice president Kevin O'Connor said Redick remains "a prime consideration" for the Jazz as a possible pick at 14.

The Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award winner first worked out May 30 in Utah.

FOUR MORE: The Jazz will work out four shooting-guard prospects today: Michigan State's Maurice Ager, who also is back for a second audition; Rodney Carney, a swingman from the University of Memphis; Thabo Sefolosha, who was born in Switzerland and has been playing in Italy; and Viktor Keirou, who plays in his native Russia.

Carney is yet another possible pick for the Jazz at No. 14, if he's not gone by then. Sefolosha is a probable first-round pick, and Ager could go in the first round too.

The Jazz had tentatively planned on having another potential pick at 14, shooting guard Ronnie Brewer of Arkansas, in this morning as well. He, however, is no longer scheduled to come today.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com