The time has come after the pre-draft camp when potential NBA draft picks are making the rounds, being put through their paces at team workouts - typically with a handful of other prospects.
California center DeVon Hardin has several workouts lined up over the next couple of weeks. He doesn't figure to be home much, if at all.
If all goes well, he'll play himself into the latter stages of the first round. He did nothing to damage his stock in Orlando, testing well (though he believed he should have done better in the bench press) and playing well.
In the fifth installment of his draft diary for Rivals.com, Hardin tells us where he visited first, which team is next, the big event he just missed on Thursday night and the bigger event he can't wait to witness Sunday.
Where are you and where have you been?
"I'm in New Jersey right now. I'll work out with the Nets Saturday morning."
"My first trip was to Toronto. It was really good. I enjoyed the city. We had some bad weather getting out of D.C. (where Hardin is working out in preparation for the draft), but it was fine when we got there. It was a breath of fresh air."
Who else was at the workout? Give us some impressions of the guys you played with.
"It was (Kansas') Brandon Rush, (Memphis') Chris Douglas-Roberts, (Kansas State's) Bill Walker, Alexis (Ajinca, a 7-1 power forward from France) and I don't know the other guy's name."
"I played against Alexis for the most part. He was the other post guy. He's about 7-2, pretty athletic. I thought I did pretty well. I actually shot the ball pretty well. Overall I felt like the workout was a pretty good showing."
"We actually all were on the court together. I thought everybody did a pretty good job. I was very impressed with Chris Douglas-Roberts and Brandon Rush. It's what you'd expect of guys from those schools. You could see the rivalry in the way those guy were going at it."
"Like I've said, the competition has been pretty consistent. Everyone is good. The first time we played it was me, Rush and Douglas-Roberts together. That got switched up pretty quickly. We were doing pretty well."
Who did you meet from the Raptors?
"Everybody from the head coach to the general manager to everybody in the front office. I really enjoyed meeting the coach, Sam Mitchell. He's quite a character. You couldn't tell half of the time if he was joking or serious. He really enjoyed himself. He said you have to have fun with the game, and that's always been my feeling: You got to have fun. You don't want it to feel like a job. I mean, I know it is a job, but it's something you should have fun doing."
"I came straight from Toronto to New Jersey. I wanted to stay Thursday night. I tried to change my flight because Alicia Keys was playing a concert (at the Air Canada Centre). I think they were having her sound-check while we were getting our meal. That's all I wanted to do, catch a glimpse. My girlfriend will be mad back at home, but I just wanted to see it. Just let me look, and I'll be good. She was playing a concert with Ne-Yo and Jordin Sparks. Ne-Yo, I'm a fan, but he was like 5-2. All I wanted to see was Alicia Keys. Alexis got to stay (Thursday) night and he's working out with me in New Jersey (Saturday). I was sneaking around and popping behind speakers and everything. I heard someone on the piano and I went running out there, but it was just some guy."
What's next?
"It starts Saturday in New Jersey. It's straight from there to Boston. I'm working out for the Celtics on Sunday morning. Luckily I do get to go to my first NBA Finals game on Sunday night. My former teammate Leon Powe is on the Celtics, and he left me a ticket for the game. I'm very thankful for that. I'll be happy to see him play and I'm sure it will be quite an experience."
