PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- Kueth Duany couldn't believe that he had to be in Portsmouth, ducking out of torrential rain, so that he could get in front of NBA personnel instead of the adoring Syracuse fans.

"But this is reality," the Syracuse senior guard said. "I have to do it."

Duany hit the harsh reality of trying to make the NBA on Thursday. Two days earlier, the media was interviewing Duany in the Syracuse locker room as he clutched the NCAA national championship trophy with one of the Superdome nets draped around the plaque.

The wish list

If everyone who should be in the draft is in the June draft, then here are some of the locks by a number of NBA personnel. First-round senior locks: Brian Cook, Illinois Nick Collison, Kansas (lottery) Kirk Hinrich, Kansas (lottery) David West (possible lottery) Reece Gaines (possible lottery) Josh Howard (possible lottery) Other possible senior first-round picks: Kyle Korver, Creighton Ron Slay, Tennessee Marcus Hatten, St. John's Troy Bell, Boston College Chris Marcus, Western Kentucky Dahntay Jones, Duke Hollis Price, Oklahoma Underclassmen buzz of those undeclared or declared LeBron James, St. Vincent-St. Mary (Ohio), No. 1, undeclared Carmelo Anthony, Fr., Syracuse (No. 2 or No. 3, undeclared) Chris Kaman, Jr., Central Michigan (lottery, undeclared) T.J. Ford, So., Texas (lottery, undeclared) Chris Bosh, Fr., Georgia Tech (lottery, undeclared) Mario Austin, Jr., Mississippi State (late lottery to mid-teens, declared) Dwyane Wade, Jr., Marquette (lottery, undeclared) Jarvis Hayes, Jr., Georgia (lottery, declared) Luke Ridnour, Jr., Oregon (late lottery to mid-teens, undeclared) Mike Sweetney, Georgetown (late lottery to mid-teens, declared) Rick Rickert, So., Minnesota (late first round, declared) Carl English, Jr., Hawaii (late first to early second, declared) Travis Outlaw, HS, Starkville, Miss., Mississippi State signee (late lottery, undeclared) Kendrick Perkins, HS, Beaumont, Texas, Memphis signee (late first round, undeclared) James Lang, HS, Birmingham, Ala. open, (late first round, undeclared)

He went home with the team and was greeted by the throngs of Orangemen faithful Tuesday, but he had to leave Thursday for the Portsmouth Invitational, the first step for NBA hopefuls. Duany isn't a lock for the NBA draft, let alone the Chicago pre-draft camp, so Duany had to go through Portsmouth to get into the exclusive June camp.

The price Duany paid was missing Thursday's celebration in the Carrier Dome. He won't be at Saturday's party in downtown Syracuse, either.

"It's not fair," Duany said. "But I have to do this because I wasn't guaranteed a spot in Chicago."

Duany made the most of his situation. During his first game, he flushed a thunderous dunk by slicing through the middle of the lane. He made his only 3-pointer and finished with a team-high 12 shots, making five of them. He scored 12 points, blocked one shot and had one assist in 25 minutes to help his team (named the Portsmouth Sports Club) to a 96-74 victory over the Norfolk Sports Club at Churchland High School.

Duany was a role player for the Orangemen but he was their spirited leader as the only contributing senior. He took charge Thursday night and tried to assert himself on a team loaded with name guys from college like Arizona's Rick Anderson, Indiana's Tom Coverdale and Ohio's Brandon Hunter. Duany was demonstrative and was a constant worker. His defensive intensity was probably his best asset throughout the game, as he quickly got back on D and went into a wide and active stance.

Autograph seekers mobbed him following the game.

"But this is toned down 100 times from Monday night," Duany said of the nearly 56,000 fans who watched Syracuse win the national title. "It's been a whirlwind this week but you have to do this if you want to make the league."

War not scaring scouts
A number of scouts, general managers and player personnel directors are still flocking to parts of Western, Central and Eastern Europe -- as well as Turkey, Greece and Israel -- to find foreign talent.

The war in Iraq has forced them to be even more careful, and some of them said their wives aren't too thrilled with them traveling overseas. But that doesn't mean they won't go.

From the Sonics to the Knicks to the Raptors to the Celtics and everyone else, teams are sending scouts and GMs back and forth to continue to check out talent. A number of them went in December and January but prospects have evolved to the point where a second look is needed. Also, with the college season over, there is a feeling that scouts and GMs need to see more players because they're not satisfied with what will be available.

Too good for Portsmouth?
The NBA isn't too pleased with a number of college seniors who bypassed Portsmouth, and there could be a backlash against them when it comes time for Chicago invitations in early June.

The names on the NBA's list of players who blew off Portsmouth and could feel Marty Blake's wrath are:

Bernard King, Texas A&M
Jason Gardner, Arizona
Luke Walton, Arizona
Ruben Douglas, New Mexico
Steve Blake, Maryland
Keith Bogans, Kentucky
Jason Kapono, UCLA
Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh
Matt Bonner, Florida
Marvin Stone, Louisville
Uche Nsonwu-Amadi, Wyoming
Joe Shipp, Cal
Marquis Daniels, Auburn
Marcus Banks, UNLV

Oklahoma's Ebi Ere and Hollis Price were injured and weren't expected to be here. Utah's Britton Johnsen is still recovering from mononucleosis. Butler's Joel Cornette got injured this week and so did Indiana's Jeffrey Newton.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.