It's been four years since the Sacramento Kings selected Sean Singletary in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft. He's the last UVA player to get picked on draft night.
Cory Alexander is the last Cavalier to be picked in the first round when the San Antonio Spurs called his name in 1995.
Mike Scott is hoping to change all that Thursday night.
Scott finished his collegiate career earning first-team All-ACC this past season at Virginia.
He ranks third on UVA's all-time rebounding and double-double lists. He's 16th on the career scoring chart.
The 6'8", 240-pound forward just finished a whirlwind few weeks, working out for teams and scouts in 17 cities.
Scott will be watching the Draft Thursday night with family and close friends at home.
The Chesapeake native says he needs to work on his ball handling, guarding smaller players, and shooting range, but he says he brings a lot to a team on and off the court.
"As a person, I think my maturity level, being professional," said the 23-year-old. "As a basketball player, you're going to get a hard worker, guy with a high motor, rebound, be able to hit open shots, so what you see is what you get. I'm not going to be able to sleep Wednesday night. I know I'm not going to be able to sleep. It's going to be nerve-racking, but hopefully they'll call my name."
He feels he performed well in pre-draft workouts for 15 teams (Lakers, Spurs, Rockets, Thunder, Heat, Celtics, Bulls, Pacers, Cavaliers, Pistons, Sixers, Bobcats, Hawks, Trail Blazers, and Kings) and at the Chicago combine and Minnesota mini-combine.
Scott said, "Of course I felt great about it, but at the same time, I had that mentality that I could go at these guys. I feel like I'm one of the best players in this draft, so I just had that mentality the whole time. It's always been a dream of mine, but for it to be a couple days from now, it's just nerve-racking. I can't believe it could happen. I don't want to jinx myself, but we'll see."
Scott says he's committed to playing professional basketball for as long as he can, whether it be in the NBA or elsewhere.
