Chalmers knows he's not calling draft shots
By Pat Rooney, Special to the Rocky
Published June 8, 2008 at 11:43 p.m.
Photo by Ed Zurga/Associated Press
Guard Mario Chalmers, whose last-second shot in regulation helped Kansas beat Memphis in the NCAA Tournament title game in April, worked out Sunday at the Pepsi Center.
Like Keith Smart and Michael Jordan, Mario Chalmers forever will be linked to a magical last-second shot he drained in the NCAA championship game.
Jordan did OK for himself after his late jumper helped give North Carolina the championship in 1982, winning six NBA titles and retiring as perhaps the greatest player the game ever has seen. Smart, though, played in only two NBA games after his baseline jumper lifted Indiana to the national championship in 1987.
So Chalmers knows the monumental shot - his three-pointer at the regulation buzzer against Memphis in the title game April 7 allowed KU to steamroll Memphis in overtime - doesn't guarantee NBA stardom.
Still, that shot is the first thing Chalmers will hear about from fans and his new teammates once he joins an NBA team, a quest that continued Sunday as Chalmers went through a predraft workout for the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.
"(Life) had changed a lot," Chalmers said. "(I) can't go anywhere without being noticed nowadays, but I like it. I just take it and try not to think about it too much. I'm just trying to come out here and don't think about the shot - just play ball.
"I'm asked about it a lot, but I don't think about it until somebody says something to me about it. It brings goose bumps, being in the top names with people like Michael Jordan, JoJo White . . . people that have hit big shots like that. It's good."
Chalmers was one of four guards who worked out Sunday for the Nuggets, the others being Shan Foster of Vanderbilt, Lester Hudson of Tennessee-Martin and Alabama-Birmingham's Robert Vaden.
Despite being scheduled to work out Sunday, North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson didn't attend the session in the wake of his arrest Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C. Lawson, 20, was charged with driving after consuming alcohol, and because Lawson hasn't hired an agent, the episode has clouded his status for the June 26 draft.
In many mock drafts, Lawson already has been matched with the Nuggets, who own the 20th pick and have a glaring need for a point guard. Yet the Nuggets also need outside shooters, and if Lawson opts to return to the Tar Heels, a shooter like Chalmers could make a sound consolation prize.
Chalmers, a 6-foot-1 junior, shot .419 from three-point range during his three seasons with the Jayhawks, posting a career-best .468 mark this past season. Chalmers, the co-Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, said he has been told he should fall somewhere in the second half of the first round of the draft.
Chalmers hasn't hired an agent, but he indicated he had no intention of opting out and returning to Kansas.
"This is a fun process, coming here and working out for all the teams," Chalmers said. "You dream about this growing up, and to actually be here, to actually have a chance to have it right in your hands, is a great opportunity."
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June 9, 2008
8:13 a.m.
Suggest removal
jbowen43 writes:
Can shot and a willing defender. Sounds good. What are the downsides?
June 9, 2008
9:11 a.m.
Suggest removal
jkl writes:
Lawson appears to have all the character attributes the Nuggets are seeking. Suspend the workouts; sign him to a contract immediately before he gets away.