Pre-Draft Camp report: Day 2

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.

Game 4: Team Four 94, Team One 78

Balkman's eye-catching display was the centerpiece of a balanced attack that led Team Four to victory. Five other players hit double figures -- Gonzaga's J.P. Batista tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the group -- as the perimeter-oriented team shot 50 percent from the field. Iowa State's Curtis Stinson (12 points), Wichita State's Paul Miller (11), Louisville's Taquan Dean (11) and George Washington's J.R. Pinnock (11 points) all shot at least 50 percent from the field. Stinson, in particular, stood out again for his shot/pass decision-making.

Team One was led by the backcourt of Villanova's Allan Ray (15 points) and UCLA's Jordan Farmar (14). The NCAA's three-time leading rebounder, Paul Millsap of Louisiana Tech, shrugged off a quiet first game by grabbing 12 rebounds in 19 minutes of play.

Game 5: Team Five 80, Team Two 74

Cincinnati's Eric Hicks was shockingly subdued in his first game in Orlando. But the muscular power forward pushed aside doubts created by his first game here with a powerful, dominating performance in his second outing. Hicks commanded the offensive boards, grabbing six caroms and earning 10 free throw attempts, making eight. He also converted 6 of 11 shots, including a three-pointer in the game's closing moments, to score 21 points in a losing effort. Hicks, an undersized power forward in college, never let that stop him from dominating college games and needs to continue his output to convince NBA GMs he can perform at the next level. Hicks also displayed his defensive abilities, with three big blocked shots, including an aerial explosion on a drive by Australia's Brad Newley.