Chuck Garcia prepares for next month's NBA draft

With the NBA draft less than a month away, Charles Garcia is preparing for what could be the beginning of his professional career. If drafted, the 6-foot-10-inch power forward would be the first Seattle U player selected since 1980.

After Garcia declared for the NBA draft in early March, he moved home to Los Angeles. Garcia opted to hire an agent, put his name in the mix with other NCAA stars like Kentucky University's John Wall and Wesley Johnson of Syracuse University and end his collegiate basketball career.

During his 2009-2010 campaign at Seattle University, Garcia put up 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, which helped skyrocket his draft status to a possible first-round lottery pick. However, he led the nation in turnovers at 4.8 per game, leading scouting sites like NBAdraft.net to project him anywhere from being drafted in the second-round to going undrafted.

"[Garcia] has an intriguing combination of size and skills, but still extremely raw for a 21-year-old," an NBAdraft.net biography says. "Right now he's a walking turnover [averaging] 4.8 per game."

Scouts have expressed interest in Garcia because of his size and athleticism—two clear advantages Garcia possesses.

Last week, Garcia traveled to Chicago for the NBA pre-draft camp, which is similar to the NFL Combine. The pre-draft camp tests player's athletic abilities in drills like vertical jump, shuttle run and the bench press. Players are also run through vigorous interviews from NBA teams so they can become familiar with the whole person instead of just the player. The pre-draft camp gave Garcia the opportunity to be seen by general managers, coaches and owners from all 30 teams in the NBA. The camp will ultimately help Garcia's draft status because it will give him a chance to show all 30 teams the best part of his game: his athleticism.

Cameron Dollar, head coach of Seattle University's men's basketball team, said after the camp scouts were impressed by Garcia and are now projecting him to be a late first-round to an early second-round pick.

"It all depends on team needs, and if [Garcia] can fill important team needs then he could go earlier than projected," Dollar said.

Garcia will remain on the road traveling to cities and working out for different teams. This leg of the draft process is important because it will allow the teams to get to know Garcia and see his athleticism in a controlled environment.

Currently, NBAdraft.net has Garcia going in the second round at 56th overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves. But Minnesota has an outstanding trade in the 56 spot, which leaves the possibility of teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings trading up for the 30th or 28th spot to take Garcia in the first round.

Garcia's fate won't be decided until draft day, June 24.

Adam may be reached at johns113@seattleu.edu