Oh, what could've been on Tobacco Road ... but the Livingston-Deng era never happened at Duke. AP

NEW YORK -- Ten things I think I saw from the floor of the NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night:

1. Duking it out

Perhaps 'tis the truest sign of the prep and international era of the draft that there were just two college coaches in the green room: Wisconsin's Bo Ryan graciously accompanied Devin Harris, who left the Badgers after his junior season, while the always chipper Phil Martelli sat alongside Jameer Nelson, a four-year senior.

Mike Krzyzewski, I'd venture to guess, wanted to stay as far away from MSG as possible. And no one expected him to be there, either. Sitting somewhere in front of a TV screen, though, Coach K had to be wincing when the No. 4 pick was called. The wiry Shaun Livingston rose from his table clutching a Clippers hat and paused on the way to the podium to slap hands with none other than Luol Deng, who would be taken by Phoenix at No. 7. There, for a moment, what was supposed to be Duke present (Deng) and Duke future (Livingston) was on display ... as Duke past.

Deng had served as Livingston's recruiting host when the Peoria, Ill., point guard made his visit to Duke last season.

"I'm really happy for Shaun, and for me to get up and give him that dab, it showed how much I care about him and how close we are," Deng told SI.com at the end of the night. "And one of the reasons he was going to go to Duke was because of our friendship.

"I thought Shaun and I would be in the same place [this year]," Deng said. "I just didn't expect it to be in the green room."

Livingston reflected in a similar tone on his exchange with Deng: "Luol's my man. He recruited me. He was my tour guide," he said. "It is different, though [that we didn't end up at Duke]. But we're just both trying to make the best of our abilities."

2. Like sardines, they were

The only thing more hilarious than seeing Manute Bol trying to fit his dressed-up, 7-foot-7 frame into a regular stadium seat in the Garden theater ... was seeing 7-6 Shawn Bradley trying to do the same thing -- in the seat directly in front of Bol.

I mean, really, who arranged the seating chart? (And where was Gheorghe Muresan during all of this?) It was a major logistical error. I practically needed a sherpa to navigate the steps up toward the press room, what with 15 feet of Bol and Bradley's arms and legs stretching into the aisle of the section directly behind the green room. I decided to offer my opinion to the (sitting) trees.

Bradley did not see it as a problem: "Manute's the only guy who can sit behind me and still see," he said.

Touché.

Bradley didn't have official business at the draft -- he was in town and decided to stop by to relive a few good memories. (He also called Antawn Jamison to say he cared about him, and was going to miss him, after Jamison was shipped to the Wizards.) Bol, meanwhile, was at the draft with Deng's party. Both players are from the Sudan, and Bol is responsible for teaching Deng's brothers how to play basketball.

3. Bernie's coup

Emeka Okafor will take his basketball -- and sartorial -- skills to Charlotte next season. Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

A quick message to Lionel Chalmers, pick No. 33: I hope you're worth it. You had a great tournament run at Xavier and I'd prefer not to heap a load of undue pressure on a second-rounder. ... But do you realize that when it boils down, you're the player the Clippers got in return for trading the No. 2 pick to Charlotte and acquiring Livingston instead of Emeka Okafor?

None of this is Chalmers' fault -- it's the Clippers who are to blame. Instead of coming out of draft day with the most polished center available -- the best player in the draft, Okafor -- the Clips voluntarily emerged with a rail-thin, 18-year-old point guard in Livingston, and yet another point guard in Chalmers, who is 23.

Meanwhile, Charlotte GM Bernie Bickerstaff came out looking like a genius, locking up an intelligent, mature post player in Okafor who can become the face of the Bobcats' fledgling franchise. All Bickerstaff had to give up was ... Chalmers. A second-round pick. Genius.

4. No red carpet

I was on the lookout for non-sports celebrities all night -- as there were a few in attendance for last year's LeBron festivus, including Anthony Kiedis and Donald Trump -- but my search yielded nothing. A fellow scribe, however, told me he saw "Leon."

 Me: Leon?
 Scribe: Yeah. Leon, he was in that basketball movie with Tupac.
 Me: Not really ringing a bell.
 Scribe: Well, he's here.
 Me: I'm not sure if that counts.

MAILBAG Have questions or feedback? E-mail Luke Winn. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Leon, I later realized you were Derice Bannock in Cool Runnings, and armed with that knowledge at the time, I would have dropped whatever I was doing and charged right over for a celebrity interview. But I never saw Above the Rim ... so, that's that. Sorry, man.

If you're reading this and you're a celebrity -- other than Leon -- who was in attendance at the draft and managed to escape my watchful eye, feel free to send me an e-mail and we can, you know, talk hoops.

5. Name game

I did some quick pre-draft analysis Thursday night via phone on NBA TV -- that's channel 451 on your dial, or at least on my TV -- which probably didn't go so well. It ended with me saying Vanderbilt's Matt Freije was a solid sleeper pick in the second round, if that gives you any indication.

Anyway, at the end, the NBA TV guy, Gary something, said, "That's SI.com basketball writer Luke Wilson." For the record, Gary, I remember your last name, but since you forgot mine, well, an eye for an eye.

As far as name mixups go, being called a hip young movie star, especially one who starred in The Royal Tenenbaums, isn't the worst thing in the world.

So ... you thought the Baumer's career was over after that Wimbledon disaster, suicide attempt and failed romance with Margot. Wrong! Years later, he's reinvented himself as a basketball writer! (And he owes it all to Gary.)

For part two of the draft-day Double Bonus -- thoughts on the Darko backlash for international prospects, Sebastian Telfair's absence, and more, click here.