Shakur Has Guarded Optimism

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Mustafa Shakur and his brother view this week's NBA pre-draft camp as a no-lose opportunity to showcase talent and have some fun.

"He can go out there like it's a playground," said Mujahid Shakur, Mustafa's older brother. "We don't try to look at it as certain things are bigger than others. If you think it's so big then you don't really perform."

But at the same time, the Shakurs also know that if Mustafa is to capture a first-round guarantee ? which he is seeking to justify forgoing his senior year at Arizona ? he would have to outplay virtually all the point guards in camp.
So for Shakur, this is big. Very big.

"It really comes down to how the workouts go in Orlando," Mujahid Shakur said. "This is the deal right here. Whatever comes out of this is going to determine what he's going to do."

None of the top 10 point guard prospects that are listed by Draftexpress.com are participating in Kissimmee, Fla., just south of Orlando, with most of them confident that they will warrant a first-round draft selection. Since there are only 30 first-round spots, it is expected that only one or two of the point guards in Florida might elevate into the first round.

Shakur is rated No. 18 in Draftexpress.com's listing of the 20 top point guards, but he is not rated in the first or second round of mock drafts of Draftexpress.com and nbadraft.net.

"He needs to solidify himself if he's going to stay'' in the draft, said Chris Monter, publisher of Monter Draft News. "He needs to show he can run a team, not turn the ball over and show he can shoot the three. He needs to show he can be consistent."

Because Shakur has not hired an agent and is paying his own way to Florida, he could return to the UA if he withdraws his name from the draft by June 18.
All this could put UA coaches in an awkward situation. If Shakur plays well, they lose him; if Shakur plays badly, they get him back ? but perhaps with a bruised confidence level and/or a preoccupation with working on individual skills next season.

Still, UA assistants Jim Rosborough and Josh Pastner said they are rooting for Shakur to do well ? even if they lose him.

"We are coaches who are paid to win games, so having Staf is helpful," said Rosborough, UA's longtime associate head coach. "People say, 'You're selfish ? you want him back.' Darn right we are. But we aren't so selfish that we don't want what's best for the kid. That is his dream. We all like Staf, and he's given us three good years of work.
"The other side of it is that if he's guaranteed, then maybe he and Hassan (Adams) are both first-rounders, and that helps us, too." </div>

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