|
June 15, 2009
Stefon Jackson spent the last four years re-writing the UTEP and Conference USA record books. Now he's taking aim at another milestone - becoming the first Miner player to be selected in the NBA Draft since 1995. With this year's draft only a week and a half away, Jackson has already worked out for five teams and has a handful of other "job interviews" scheduled for the near future. "I've been traveling a lot," Jackson said on Monday. "I worked out for the Memphis Grizzlies twice, the New Jersey Nets twice, the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston and Cleveland. I might be working out for Oklahoma City this week, and I'm going to the West Coast next week to work out for San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas and Houston." Jackson is UTEP and C-USA's all-time leading scorer with 2,456 points. He also holds school and league records for field goals and free throws made and attempted. ESPN.com rates the Philadelphia native as the 30th-best shooting guard in this year's draft. He is projected as a borderline second round pick. But Jackson is confident that he'll buck the odds and become UTEP's first draftee since George Banks was taken by Miami in the second round in 1995. "My agent says that I will most likely get drafted," Jackson said. "I've heard late first round to middle of the second round, the way I've been working out." If he isn't picked, Jackson said several NBA teams have guaranteed him a spot on their summer league rosters, with the opportunity to make the roster as a free agent. He worked out for his hometown 76ers on Sunday, alongside other college standouts like Lester Hudson (Tennessee-Martin), Eric Maynor (VCU), Jermaine Taylor (UCF) and Jeff Teague (Wake Forest). "The scouts like that I can score," Jackson said. "That's what they're looking for ... a guy who can come off the bench and do some scoring. They want to see me play defense and play some combo guard, to see if I can handle the rock a little bit."
One thing is for certain - Jackson's game continues to be dissected like a fine-toothed comb in these workouts. " You can't hide anything, because [the scouts] are going to bring everything out," he said. "They're going to see everything you can and can't do." 
 
|
|
