June 06--Several draft boards have Taurean Prince going in the first round of the NBA draft and several of them have pegged him as going to the Clippers.
On Monday, Prince had a pre-draft workout with the Clippers and it was his time to shine and to show what the 6-foot-8, 220-pound small forward out of Baylor is all about.
But because these are only mock drafts, Prince said he doesn't pay attention to the chatter.
"I just focus on where I'm going and who's going to be there with me and just doing what I can do and perform at the best of my abilities in front of the coaches," Prince said.
Prince is a four-year college athlete who is viewed as a player who can defend multiple positions in the NBA.
The Clippers have the 25th pick in the first round and the 33rd pick in the second round.
Prince was asked if he sees himself as a first-round pick.
"Of course," Prince responded. "Most definitely."
All of the players the Clippers worked out were seniors.
They all say that could only help them going into the draft.
"That's an advantage," said Iowa State forward Georges Niang, who will be working out for the Lakers later this week. "I've been blessed to play against some of the best talent night in and night out, so that really shows the maturity to my game, and off the court. A team would be getting a guy that knows what is needed from him day in and day out, how to bring it every day, really that can contribute and help teams win right away."
Isaiah Cousins, a 6-foot-4 guard out of Oklahoma, also said he's working out for the Lakers later this week.
Niang had a chance to work out with his college teammate, Jameel McKay, with the Clippers.
McKay, a 6-foot-9 power forward, said it helped both of them because they know the other's game so well.
"To be with him again, it was fun," McKay said. "We're familiar with each other, so he hit me with a couple of spots that he knows I like, and I didn't have a hard time adjusting to him at all."
For guard Tre Demps, basketball has been in his blood since he was a kid.
His dad, Dell Demps, is the general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans and he played for four teams in the NBA.
Tre Demps, a 6-foot-2 point guard out of Northwestern University who was among six players to work out for the Clippers, recalled watching players work out for the Spurs when he was growing up in San Antonio.
That gave him an indication of how the process works.
"I grew up just loving the process, this particular process," Demps said. "The thing I learned from [those players] was just when things go bad at a point in the workout, just keep going. You still got more left. You still got another drill. There's always the next play."
