Ryvon Covile has a chance.
In the second round of tonight's NBA draft, Covile, a former standout at Detroit Mercy and Detroit Community High School, could hear his name called and realize a dream for the 6-foot-9 forward.
"I've talked to about six teams about Ryvon and all of them are very much into him," UDM coach Perry Watson said. "They are impressed with his maturity.
"I hope somebody will pull the trigger and draft him."
And the reason he has a chance is his work in predraft camps and in workouts with NBA teams.
Covile is coming off a season in which he averaged 13.7 points per game and 10.6 rebounds (seventh in Division I).
This success came after suffering a season-ending knee injury in what was supposed to have been his senior season in 2005-06.
Covile parlayed his good senior season into an invitation to the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational, a tryout camp for NBA draft hopefuls in April.
Averaging 12.6 points and 13.3 rebounds over three games, Covile helped his team reached the finals and he was named to the all-tournament team.
"It was fun," Covile said after Portsmouth. "I was nervous when I went down there. But I settled down.
"Because everybody was good there, you had to bring your A-game."
He was then invited to the NBA's annual predraft camp in Orlando in early June, but wasn't as impressive there, according to Chris Monter, editor of the Monter Draft News.
"He scored 18 points in the Orlando opener, but went 3-for-13 in the last two games," Monter said.
But Monter likes the physical attributes of Covile.
"He's a little bit undersized, but he has a 7-1 1/4 wingspan, which allows him to play a little bigger."
Monter said Covile also bench-pressed 185 pounds 19 times -- one of the best showings of strength in Orlando.
"He's a not a great athlete in terms of leaping ability, but he is very strong," Monter said.
SI.com has Covile going to the Bulls with the 51st pick, and Insidehoops.com lists him as a probable draft pick. Covile worked out for Pistons on Monday, and the Pistons have the 57th pick of the draft.
And if his name is called?
"Everybody wants to make the NBA," Covile said. "I'd be speechless."
Bookmarks