Hansbrough, others to work out Monday for Utah Jazz

University of North Carolina product Tyler Hansbrough headlines a list of 12 NBA hopefuls the Jazz on Friday said will be working out for them Monday.

Also auditioning Monday, as expected, will be former Utah State forward Gary Wilkinson.

The Jazz evidently hope Hansbrough will fall to them at No. 20 overall in the June 25 NBA Draft. But the high-energy senior power forward from the national champion Tar Heels apparently thinks he could be long gone by then.

In fact, Hansbrough suggested after a recent workout for Charlotte that he feels he has "a chance to go a little higher" than when the Bobcats pick at No. 12. And he seemingly has little regard for his naysayers, including online mock-draft authors who have him pegged as a late first-round or even second-round prospect.

"Well, yeah, it does motivate me a little bit," Hansbrough told Charlotte radio station WFNZ 610-AM. "Still, at the same time, I kind of laugh at it. I mean, these are probably a bunch of guys that sit in their basements and probably just write out mock drafts and do this and do that.

"They haven't followed me for four years, and they haven't seen exactly what I've done, or they wouldn't be saying all that stuff."

If Hansbrough doesn't drop to the Jazz, ESPN.com's Chad Ford wrote earlier this week, the team will "likely be deciding between James Johnson, Sam Young and Toney Douglas."

Young is a swingman from the University of Pittsburgh, Johnson is a power forward from Wake Forest and Douglas is a defensive-minded combo guard from Florida State.

Wilkinson, meanwhile, is a pro prospect — but he hasn't cracked Ford's ESPN list of this year's top 100 draft prospects.

He also was scheduled to work out late this week for both Golden State and Sacramento.

Wilkinson and Hansbrough will work out in different sessions Monday, when the Jazz host their first day of auditions this offseason.

Hansbrough is scheduled to go Monday morning with Villanova forward Dante Cunningham, Pitt guard LeVance Fields, Southern Cal forward Taj Gibson, Arizona forward Jeff Pendergraph and Boston College guard Tyrese Rice.

Pendergraph and Gibson are considered the only other first-round prospects among those six, according to Ford.

Wilkinson will go Monday afternoon with Wisconsin forward Marcus Landry, Georgia Tech forward Gani Lawal, Washington State guard Taylor Rochestie, Baylor forward Kevin Rogers and North Dakota State guard Ben Woodside.

Draft-specialist Ford taps Lawal as the only the one among those six with a shot at going in the first round.

Meanwhile, Jazz starting shooting guard Ronnie Brewer is a candidate to be among 24 youngsters who take part next month in a USA Basketball mini-camp at Las Vegas. Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin already has been named as an assistant for the camp, which will help identify prospects for future Team USA senior national and Olympic clubs.

E-MAIL: tbuckley@desnews.com