No thanks

New Mexico's Douglas won't attend NBA pre-draft camp

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- The leading scorer in the nation is passing up a chance to show NBA scouts what he can do.

New Mexico guard Ruben Douglas was among the 64 seniors invited to next week's NBA pre-draft camp in Portsmouth, Va., but has decided not to attend the camp.

Douglas led Division I in scoring this season with an average of 27.96 points a game. But he went through a shooting slump late in the season and the NBA's director of scouting, Marty Blake, said Douglas is making a mistake by not going to Portsmouth.

"If he's good enough to play in Portsmouth, he should be there," Blake said. "Maybe he'll get invited to Chicago. But I know when you mention his name to a lot of NBA scouts, they just look at you."

The NBA's main pre-draft camp is held in Chicago in June. Initial invitations to that camp go out at the end of this month and more are issued after the May 13 deadline to apply for the draft.

Blake said 60 players are invited to Chicago and NBA teams vote on which players get to attend.

Douglas carried the scoring load on a New Mexico team that finished 10-18 this season.

"People want to see him out of a system where every play is run for him," Milwaukee Bucks assistant general manager Larry Harris told the Albuquerque Journal. "Personnel want to see him in an environment where he's surrounded by other good players."