It's still too early to predict where Travis Hansen will go in the NBA draft next month.
But the path he's taken so far is paved with sweat, hard work and a dose of attitude. And since he walked off the court at the NCAA Regional in Spokane, Wash., he's turned a lot of heads.
Today, Hansen is working out for the Los Angeles Lakers. He just finished a session with the Pacers. And since Portsmouth in April, he's been a man in demand.
Could Hansen be the NBA pick Steve Cleveland has waited to hatch from his program? Recruiters have used this against the Cougars since Cleveland took over the BYU program in 1996. You'd have to go back to the early '90s to find a high-round Cougar draftee and that would be Shawn Bradley, fresh off a mission to Australia. Before that, it was Michael Smith to the Boston Celtics.
The drought has been a long one.
Whatever happens to Hansen, a former Mountain View, Utah Valley State College and BYU star, it's certainly going to be more than his critics gave him. Two months ago, I believed it a stretch that Hansen would go in the first two rounds. Wrong. He could be there.
Hansen refuses to talk about his chances. In fact, he's done a masterful job of closing his mouth and letting his shot, defense and hustle do the talking. You likely won't hear much out of Hansen in coming weeks because his game plan calls for action, not talk.
The first hurdle for Hansen after the NCAAs was to find an agent. A good clue of how things were going came when Yao Ming's agent, Bill Duffy sought out Hansen and signed him.
At the signing, Hansen refused to accept money. He's kept that a fact today. A normal signing bonus for a guy in Hansen's situation would be about $50,000. Hansen, believing he wanted to prove himself before accepting coin, kept his head in the game.
He's told family he doesn't have one more penny than he did last week. He likes it that way. Nothing in the NBA is a given. Ask the Philadelphia 76ers and Shawn Bradley.
Hansen went to Portsmouth, an invitation-only NBA tournament camp, as a big, hungry shooting guard. In a long weekend, he became the freak of the camp. Here was a 6-foot-6 white guy who could shoot, drive and defend. He had not only the hops, a 39-inch vertical, but he displayed outstanding footspeed. But it wasn't just that he could defend players his size, he was holding his own against some powerful small guards.
Draft gurus were impressed. He then hunkered down in Florida, working out with potential top draftees and NBA players. Again, driven by hunger, Hansen impressed. His work echoed some noise around the league.
Again, he kept his mouth shut. His only focus has been the guy defending him and the guy he had to defend.
With offers to workout with most the teams in the league, Duffy told Hansen to work out with seven before this weekend's major NBA draft camp in Chicago. In addition to Indiana and the Lakers, he's made stops at Miami, Golden State, Memphis, Detroit, Chicago and Denver.
How did the workouts go? Hansen isn't saying. But NBA Internet sites have hummed with positive reports.
Chad Ford of NBA Insider (ESPN) calls Hansen a more complete player than Duke's Dahntay Jones, who is considered the best athlete in the draft. Quoting an NBA personnel director, Ford wrote: "Jones is an amazing athlete, but what amazed us is how well Hansen hung with him. I'll be shocked if Hansen isn't drafted in the first round. Jones may too. They're both playing really well."
A year ago Hansen found himself among the trees, playing with some talented college players and something just clicked. He felt he belonged.
This past year, following the Hansen story, something clicked with me: Do not sell this kid from Orem short. He's hungry and the ache isn't going away. Hungry men are a dangerous lot.
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com