Balkman faces decision after Orlando performance

	Though Renaldo Balkman has yet to sign with an agent, his play in Orlando may make the choice to leave for the NBA a lot easier.

ORLANDO -- A few other players had bigger stats, and many other players have bigger reputations, but South Carolina's Renaldo Balkman generated the most murmurs among NBA player personnel assembled at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp on Thursday.

Where's Balkman? He blocks a drive by elusive UCLA guard Jordan Farmar, throws an outlet pass to a teammate, outruns the pack and ends up finishing the same play with a layup on the other end. Where's Balkman now? He's pushed out-of-bounds by a bigger player, but after the perpetrator snares the ill-gotten rebound, Balkman sneaks back in bounds, snatches the ball out his hands and dunks. Have you seen Balkman? Now he's gotten a long defensive rebound and is dribbling with the dexterity of a point guard, expertly choosing the right wing player for a pass that leads to another basket.

At times during the Thursday-morning game it seemed that a second Renaldo Balkman had checked into the game, since he was involved in twice as many plays as any other player. The mid-sized forward (6-foot-7, 210 pounds) did a little of everything in leading Team Four to a 94-78 victory over Team One. The game was a tight battle in the first half, but when the second half started, so did The Balkman Show.

The man Pre-Draft Camp assistant coach Popeye Jones hilariously dubbed "Humpty" -- for his physical resemblance to a character in the decidedly uncouth 1990 video for the Digital Underground's The Humpty Dance -- took over the game with a torrent of plays at both ends. His numbers (14 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, two steals) don't capture the unique stamp Balkman put on this game. But Balkman consistently makes plays, including those on the offensive end when no play is called for him. His high-energy, game-altering play has been one of the most surprising developments in this year's camp.

Balkman is one of a handful of players who have big decisions to make in the next 10 days. Players who declared for early entry and who have not signed with an agent can withdraw from the 2006 draft by notifying the NBA in writing by June 18, 10 days before the June 28 draft.