Kings invite six more prospects to pre-draft workout

Originally published on SacramentoPress.com on June 18, 2010

The Sacramento Kings brought in six more prospects for a pre-draft workout at their practice facility Friday.

University of Oklahoma's Tiny Gallon, University of Connecticut's Stanley Robinson, Arizona's Nic Wise, Baylor's Tweety Carter, Boise State's Ike Okoye, and St. Mary's Omar Samhan were all in attendance to show the Kings' coaches and scouts what they could bring to the team.

Of the six prospects in attendance, Robinson is projected to be drafted the highest: somewhere in the middle of the first round.

Robinson averaged 14.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1 assist per game during his senior year at Connecticut. He largely played small forward during his tenure there, but feels he can come in and play any position that is necessary, while bringing his intensity to the court.

“I'd just do whatever the coach tells me to do, what ever position,” said Robinson, “I'm hungry, aggressive, and I do everything.”

Robinson believes that his style of play can best be compared to current NBA star Gerald Wallace.

“I feel like I can fill up the stat sheets; I can score, rebound, whatever it takes,” says Robinson.

Carter is another prospect who brings a reputation of being a leader. In his senior year, he averaged 15.0 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game, on his way to leading his the Baylor Bears to an Elite Eight appearance against Duke.

“I can be that guy that can come in and always bring in energy," he said. "Everytime you step on the court, you got to have fun.”

Another intriguing prospect and California favorite in attendance was Samhan. He became a crowd favorite during March's NCAA Championship Tournament with strong performances against Richmond and Villanova.

In the tournament, Samhan dropped 29 points and 12 rebounds against Richmond, and then followed that performance with 34 points and 7 rebounds against a strong Villanova team.

Samhan believes that if there is one value that differentiates himself from other big men in the draft, it is his desire to succeed more than others.

“I think I want it more," he said. "I lost 60 pounds. I think that's good evidence right there. If nothing else, a lot of bigs don't work very hard. So I think that's part of wanting it more, I wanted to work really hard to get the job done.”

Samhan was born and raised in the San Francisco bay area, so he feels right at home in Sacramento.

“Growing up in Northern California, the Warriors haven't been great, but the Kings have had some success especially when I was younger. It was funny when I was driving up, I was looking at Arco Arena. I used to come here when I was a little kid, so it's great to be here working out for the Kings.”

For the prospects that do get drafted, their long journey to the NBA ends on June 24, during the 2010 NBA Draft.  For the rest, they will have to work hard to get signed by an NBA team as an undrafted free agent.