June 27, 2007

No turning back now for Titans' Brown
By JANIS CARR

When Bobby Brown tested the NBA market as a junior last year, he had the option of returning to Cal State Fullerton. This time, he doesn't appear to need any fallback plans.

According to many NBA mock drafts, Brown could be a second-round pick in Thursday's NBA Draft.

NBADraftpress.com projected the point guard going as high as No. 45 (to the Clippers), while NBADraft.net, which compared him to Atlanta Hawks point guard Speedy Claxton, wrote that Brown could be headed to Portland as the No. 53 pick.

Brown, who's 6-foot-1, proved in college that he has the ability to pull up for three-pointers at any time; he set the Cal State Fullerton career record for three-pointers in 2006-07. But that reportedly didn't sit well at the NBA predraft camp, where scouts and general managers were looking for playmaking skills.

"The general managers would like him to be more of a point guard, and Bobby showed in the Orlando camp that he is a prolific scorer," NBA director of scouting Marty Blake said. "He needs to concentrate on his point-guard skills.

"He has the ability to play in the NBA, but he has to package the whole thing. At the camp, it was more of an 'I' scenario than a 'team' scenario, and Bobby looked to score. ... He won't be a first-rounder, but somebody will take him, and if not, then he goes to the D-League and works on his skills. He has all the skills to play in the NBA, he's right there."

Brown also set the school career scoring record this past season, eclipsing Leon Wood with 1,879 points. A first-team All-Big West Conference selection, Brown was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, which is presented to the nation's best point guard.

Brown, who did not return phone calls, said in a predraft interview with AOL.com that he believes he can fit into any system but prefers an up-tempo style, such as the one the Phoenix Suns utilize.

Brown added that his athletic ability should enable him to handle the role of scorer and playmaker.

"Once I get there," he said, "I'll be surrounded by players that can score and finish pretty good, so it will be easier for me to showcase those skills."

NOTE

Maryland's D.J. Strawberry (Mater Dei High) also has been projected to be drafted anywhere from the low first round to the low second. Strawberry is regarded as an NBA-caliber defender.

"That's what I pride myself on, making it hard on other people like Kobe Bryant in the league," Strawberry said in Tuesday's Philadelphia Inquirer. "I want to get my chance for making their nights as long as possible. And I think I can do that in this league."