Stuckey discovers his destiny today
There is a lot of uncertainty as one of the biggest moments in Rodney Stuckey’s young life quickly approaches.
Sometime this evening, Stuckey’s name is expected to be called during the National Basketball Association draft, most likely in the first round. Exactly when, and by which team, is something Stuckey can’t control.
The only thing Stuckey can control during the predraft buildup is his nerves, and so far the former Eastern Washington star is doing a great job.
“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” he said before departing for the draft in New York. “Once I’m at the table, sitting with my family, once my name gets called, it will hit me.”
The when and who doesn’t concern him.
“It doesn’t really matter,” he said. “The higher I get picked in the draft, the better. There’s no particular team I want to play for, I just want to play basketball, I just want to get better, I just want to win.”
In all the predraft speculation, Stuckey has usually been slotted between 11th, to New Jersey, and 21st, to Philadelphia. Detroit, at No. 15, is the most consistent guess.
“Mock drafts are just what people think,” Stuckey said. “At the end of the day, if it comes down I’m 28th, that’s it. It just comes to whoever wants me.”
Since deciding to end his Eastern Washington career after two record-breaking seasons, the 6-foot-5, 205-pound guard has been on the move, testing at the NBA predraft camp in Orlando, Fla., and working out for at least a half-dozen teams across the country.
“I just tried to show these teams I can play, what I’ve got,” he said. “I think everything went well. If I’m getting invited to New York (one of 15 invitees), something good is happening. I really don’t know what the teams are thinking. I thought I did a pretty good job.”
He also said the process was fun since most of the workouts for teams generally involved three other players. That meant Stuckey was going through his paces with players from schools with a much higher profile than EWU.
“All the players were good, there’s not one that was the best,” he said. “Every single guy I worked out with was a really good guy. No one was really cocky. Everyone was humble, having a good time. It’s a business, but you have to have a little fun to it.”
Stuckey arrived at Eastern as a “can’t-miss” prospect after graduating from Kentwood in 2004 but he had to sit out a year as an academic non-qualifier.
On his way to becoming the first freshman in Big Sky Conference history to be voted Most Valuable Player, Stuckey set EWU scoring records for single game (45), single season (726) and season average (24.2). A unanimous first-team all-conference pick as a sophomore, he averaged 24.6 points and his two-year total of 1,438 points is fourth on the school career list.
Overall, he set 10 school records in his two seasons.
“I always had confidence,” he said. “There was never any part of my game where I didn’t have confidence. I knew I could always play with the best. It didn’t matter what level I was at, I just had to prove myself.”
The only other Eastern player to get drafted was Ron Cox, a sixth-round choice of Cleveland in 1977. A year later Micheal Ray Richardson of Montana became the only first-round pick from the Big Sky, going fourth to the New York Knicks. The last Big Sky player drafted in what is now a two-round process was Northern Arizona’s Dan McClintock, a second-round pick of Denver.
The Associated Students of Eastern Washington is hosting a Draft Day Party at Heroes & Legends Restaurant in downtown Spokane this afternoon. Coverage of the draft, on ESPN, begins at 4 p.m. with the first selection at 4:30.
Stuckey doesn’t believe anyone should be nervous, especially his family, which accompanied him to New York.
“I don’t think my family should be nervous,” he said. “The only one who should be nervous should be me, I’m the one who has to play. They should be happy, they’re going to New York. It’s going to be fun.
“I’m just thankful to be here.”