CHICAGO -- Rashad Phillips is finally done with camp. The Detroit guard was MVP in Portsmouth, Va., played well in Phoenix and after three days in Chicago was plenty tired.
"I'm exhausted," he said as he walked out of the Moody Bible Institute.
Phillips scored 15 points and drained 3-of-7 3-pointers Friday. He's an intriguing player because he knows how to score, is exceptionally quick and is a true competitor. But at just 5-foot-9, he is a defensive liability in any pro man-to-man defense where giant point guards will be able to post him up at will.
Phillips, however, absolutely and thoroughly believes he can play in the NBA. He figures he has shown scouts all he can show.
"I've been to three camps and played four years of college basketball," said the two-time Midwestern Collegiate Conference player of the year. "I think I've shown the league I can play. I think I should be a first-round pick. That sounds real good to me."
Phillips is in the mix with 20 players who everyone says is a "late first, early second round" guy. The difference is first-round picks get at least three years of guaranteed money. Second-rounders don't.
"I don't see 29 guys who are better than me," said Phillips, who averaged 22.5 points and 4.1 assists per game for Detroit, where he is the school's all-time leading scorer. "I don't see 29 guys who can do what I can do."
Phillips spent much of the spring in Chicago working out with Tim Grover, best known as Michael Jordan's personal trainer. He has added upper body strength and definition and said he believes he's physically ready for the grind of the NBA despite being just 166 pounds.
He also points out the league's current MVP weighs just 160.
"I'm good enough to play in the NBA," said Phillips. "That's where I will be playing next year."
Bogans still in
It wasn't a breakout week for Kentucky sophomore Keith Bogans, but that hasn't affected his resolve to get into the NBA.
"As of right now I don't have myself going back," said Bogans, who has the option of returning to UK for his junior season. "My dream is I want to be a pro and that is what I am concentrating on right now."
Bogans scored two points in Friday's action, going 1-of-4 from the floor. He also grabbed a rebound and an assist. For the week, Bogans managed just 16 points (5.3 ppg), four boards and three assists. He shot a combined 6-of-19 (31.6 percent).
Scouts have questioned his scoring and shooting ability and wondered whether the 6-5 Virginia native is explosive enough to play off-guard in the NBA. Bogans wasn't bad here, but he wasn't great either.
He says he isn't ruling out a return to Lexington, but won't decide until June 20th, the deadline for players to withdraw their name from the NBA Draft.
"I've got until the 20th, I'm going to hold out to the 20th, why not?" he said. "Three days is not going to decide my basketball future. If (teams) weren't impressed with me here, I will impress them in individual workouts."
Bogans said he has no workouts currently scheduled, but UK coach Tubby Smith told him some teams had contacted the Kentucky basketball office.
Tough time as a tweener
Cal forward Sean Lampley had another solid effort Friday, capping a steady camp that proved he can play the game but did little to lose the "tweener" label that haunts him with scouts. Standing just 6-5½ without shoes, the power man scored 20 on Friday on 7 of 10 shooting. He also grabbed nine rebounds and dished three assists.
As a senior, Lampley averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and shot 50.2 percent from the floor. He was one of the most effective offensive players in the nation.
But the league wants big guys, and for all the talk of him being another Charles Barkley, Lampley will have to prove himself in a camp. For his sake, he might be better off going undrafted and being able to select the right team to try out for than getting slotted into a team that might have no room for him.
"He's a good player," said a Central Division scout, "but he doesn't have a position. I feel for him, but at his height he needs to be a face-up player, hitting 3s and obviously that is not his game."
Lampley didn't take a 3 on Friday.
The fan
Give Zach Marbury credit; There wasn't another camper who wanted to win these entirely unimportant talent showcase games more. The Rhode Island sophomore spent the final minutes of his team's (generically named Team 5) 74-68 victory over Team 4, standing in front of his bench pumping his fist and shouting encouragement to his teammates.
Generally, few players even know the score and sit disinterested when not in the game. Not Marbury.
"I always like to win," said Marbury, who scored six points on 2 of 7 shooting. "I was brought up to win. I didn't want to go 0-3 here."
The win gave Team 5 a 1-2 record. Team 4 fell to 0-3.
"I didn't have a great game today but I wanted to give my players the courage to win," he said. "I was on the sidelines rooting for them."
New Jersey Nets star Stephon Marbury said his younger brother is good enough to play in the league and showed it here in Chicago.
"No question," said Stephon. "He definitely can play. I know he knows how to play and he had an opportunity here to knock on the door. He showed he can be very aggressive, hit the open man, hit the shot. He showcased his skills."
Few scouts were as excited about the younger Marbury who is slated as a late second-round pick at best. But you have to like that team spirit.
Top 17 or bust
Southern California junior forward Sam Clancy is set on what he needs to hear about his draft slot to make a decision whether to return to college or not.
"Top 17," he said. "If I'm in the top 17 then I go, if not, I go back."
Clancy has been good here, but getting to 17 means he wound have to slip past at least one power forward prospect that includes Michigan State's Zach Randolph, Villanova's Michael Bradley or Notre Dame's Troy Murphy. None of those players competed in the predraft camp.
Clancy had 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting Friday, grabbed five boards and had four assists. It was his best performance of a good week of work.
"I have no clue where I am right now," said Clancy, who indicated he will wait for the official NBA report. "If it doesn't happen then next year I figure we'll still have a good team back at SC and I can always improve my status. Next year I'll go higher.
"I'm not worried about going back to school and having a bad year and not being where I was this year," he said. "I know every year I'll get better because I'm going to work hard in the summer."
Ford fairing well
Houston forward Alton Ford showed up in great shape, ripping with muscles and with less body fat. The 6-9 freshman probably did not make a run to the first round however and might return to UH for another season.
"I think I had a pretty good week, I definitely think I moved myself up but I'll wait until I hear what they tell me before I make a decision," said Ford, whose college coach, Ray McCallum, watched intently on Friday. "It's a no-lose situation, I learned a lot this week and if I do go back I'll have a feel for what it takes to make it."
News and notes
- Georgetown forward Lee Scruggs (6-10¼ without shoes) had the longest wingspan in camp at 7-5¾. Without shoes, the tallest players in camp were Kansas center Eric Chenowith and Georgia big man Robb Dryden, both standing 7-1.
- The collective shooting percentage on Day 3 of the camp was 40.7 percent from the floor, 35.5 percent from 3-point territory. The first day they went 39.1 percent from the field and 16.2 percent from deep. Thursday saw players shoot 45.1 percent and 29.8 percent, respectively.
- Arizona's Gilbert Arenas shot it a little better from the outside Friday, draining a couple of jumpers and showing his uncanny ability to slip through screens and move without the ball.
- Texas Christian guard Ryan Carroll was on from deep Friday, bombing in 3s from behind the arc en route to 16 points. In a week during which good shooting was rare, Carroll's smooth stroke was appreciated.
- Michigan State forward Andre Hutson posted a rare double-double, working his way for 17 points and 10 boards.
- The most experienced set of eyes watching the action belong to 90-year-old legendary Detroit Pistons scout Will Robinson. And what did he see on the court Friday? "A lot of stupidity," Robinson laughed.
