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Originally Published: May 28, 2009

Down year

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By Scott Powers
For ESPNChicago.com
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For the past 15 years, you could bet on two certainties in the NBA draft.

For one, the Los Angeles Clippers would ruin some poor kid's future by selecting him. Two, a Chicago-area product would have his name called in the first round.

In 2009, both streaks might come to an end.

Only time will tell whether Blake Griffin is good enough to reverse the Clippers' jinx. He should at least be better than their previous No. 1 pick: Michael Olowokandi.

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Mitchell Layton/Getty ImagesJerel McNeal is likely to be the highest pick among players from Chicago-area high schools, but will he go in Round 1?

As for the Chicago streak, it doesn't look good. For the first time since 1993, it's very likely that no one from the Chicago area will be taken in the opening round of the NBA draft. It's a streak that began with David Stern announcing that the Washington Bullets had picked Vocational Career Academy graduate Juwan Howard in 1994 and apparently will end with Stern announcing the selection of JaVale McGee (Hales Franciscan) to the Washington Wizards in 2008. (See complete list from 1994 to 2008 below.)

Only one local player was even invited to the two-day NBA pre-draft combine, which opens today at Attack Athletics on Chicago's West Side. Former Hillcrest all-state guard Jerel McNeal, a probable second-round pick, will be that lone representative.

Patrick Beverley (Marshall) and Jeremy Pargo (Robeson) are also draft prospects, but weren't invited to the camp. Both could land anywhere from the second round to undrafted on June 25. DePaul sophomore Mac Koshwal (Julian, Boys To Men Academy) also has declared for the draft, but he is likely to return to school.

On the day before the start of the camp, we turned to Mike Procopio for views on the local players' chances in the draft. Who is Mike Procopio? Let Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's former trainer, answer that.

"I'm probably the third person who watches the most game tape," Grover said. "The first is Mike Procopio, Kobe is second, and I'm third."

Procopio is the director of basketball operations at Attack Athletics and a former Boston Celtics scout. Derrick Brown, Chase Budinger, Stephen Curry, Paul Harris, James Harden, Jordan Hill and Jonny Flynn have been among the guys Procopio has worked out with in the past month preparing for the draft.

Procopio on 6-3 guard McNeal: "He's just a tough kid. He's a kid who teams would want on their roster. He just has good instincts about him. His basketball IQ is high. There were better players than him in the Big East, but when you get him in a five-on-five situation, he just knows how to make basketball plays.

"The concern about him is what position is he, really? He lacks size for a 2-guard. He really needs to play point guard, but he really isn't a point guard. That's probably the biggest obstacle for him."

On 6-1 guard Beverley: "I think people forget he played in the Ukraine and was playing a decent level of basketball. Sometimes it's a beauty pageant. They want to see Dick Vitale screaming your name. The old-school scouts like to see you score 22 points in the SEC. He's coming from left field having to leave college and go to Europe. If I'm a GM or scout, I'm thinking he played with 30-year-old men at a decent level of basketball, and I respect that.

"He has a chance. If the draft doesn't go his way, if I'm a team, I would bring him on for my summer league team. I just think he's talented enough to take a chance on him. He's too talented not to least have an opportunity to play in this league."

On 6-2 guard Pargo: "With especially Jeremy being such a good player from Gonzaga, it won't affect him too much not being invited. He was at the pre-draft camp last year, so they may not want someone two years in a row. It might not look good. I wouldn't take it too hard. That's what the team workouts are for. What choice do they have? They have to keep going to workouts and beat guys at their position. There are guys who are not invited to pre-draft camp and still do well."