Recent Penn graduate Ugonna Onyekwe was invited to the prestigious pre-draft camp in Chicago after having dominated the first round of the NCAA tournament and the Portsmouth Invitational.
The London, England native struggled in Chicago, however, scoring just three points in the first two games combined, on zero-for-seven shooting from the field.
"It didn't go as well as I would have hoped," Onyekwe said. "It could have been better."
After the first two scrimmages, it did get better for the two-time Ivy League Player of the Year.
In the third scrimmage, Onyekwe scored seven points on three-of-four shooting and also grabbed three rebounds -- all in just 12 minutes, the least amount of court time he received in the three scrimmages.
Penn coach Fran Dunphy said on March 25 that one problem Onyekwe will face in the NBA is that while he played power forward in college, he likely has to play small forward in the Pros.
"I was playing a position [small forward] I wasn't used to," Onyekwe said. "I didn't stand out as much as I would have liked."
But Onyekwe was not the only player who had a sub-par performance at the Chicago camp.
An ESPN Insider article reported that the players in the first day of scrimmages fell into two categories: "the guys who shot too much and the guys who didn't shoot enough," with Onyekwe falling into the latter category.
Most players were limited to two five-minute shifts each half in the scrimmages; however, there were many drills that gave the players more time to show off their individual skills.
Dunphy also noted that Onyekwe would be a "tremendous player" in the NBA, "if he decides to be a defensive maniac." At the Chicago camp, Onyekwe recorded two blocks, one steal, and eight rebounds in the three games combined.
The Daily News reported that Onyekwe, who has a nine-foot one-inch reach, was one of only six players at the pre-draft camp with a reach over nine feet.
Despite Onyekwe's showing at the pre-draft camp, a Chicago Tribune article reported that the Wharton graduate is projected to be drafted as early as the first round.
For Onyekwe, though, it does not matter where in the draft he is chosen.
"It would be great to be drafted in the first round," he said. "Wherever I'm drafted, though, I'll still have to work hard and improve to make the team."
Despite the hype surrounding Onyekwe -- in addition to the Tribune feature story, England will be broadcasting the NBA draft for the first time ever -- there still remains a chance that he will have to play in Europe rather than in the NBA.
"It would be a disappointment not to be drafted," he said. "The NBA has always been my goal and my dream."
No matter where he plays, though, Onyekwe is committed to the sport of basketball.
"I'll work hard no matter where I go," he said. "[If I'm not drafted,] I'll just wait for my opportunity to come to the NBA."
If Onyekwe is drafted, he will become the first Ivy League player to be drafted since Penn's Jerome Allen was selected in 1995.
