WASHINGTON -- Marilyn Szczerbiak can hardly imagine her son Wally in an NBA uniform.

For her, the image of a young Wally is still fresh after all these years, after four years at Cold Spring Harbor High School in New York, after four years at Miami University, after the 1998 Goodwill Games and the 1999 NCAA Tournament that helped turn a Mid-American player into a player for all America. That image, the one Marilyn first brings up when talking of her son, is of a little boy always wearing NBA apparel.

But in Wednesday night's NBA Draft at the MCI Center, not far from George Washington University, his parents' college, Wally Szczerbiak will fulfill a dream and create a new image his mother can carry around in her mind and in her photo album. He'll be handed a hat, probably from NBA Commissioner David Stern, and he'll pull it over his stylish, made-for-endorsements hair.

What logo will adorn that hat is unknown. It is, in fact, the question of the day for Szczerbiak as this draft, a most unpredictable one, unfolds. He said Tuesday he'll be happy wherever he goes, but don't misunderstand him; he does want to go No. 1.

"First of all, everyone's been telling me this: I'll be the first white guy to go No. 1 since Kent Benson in 1977," Szczerbiak said. "I think he kind of ruined it for everyone, but hopefully I won't do that. But it'll just be a culmination of a lot of hard work. I don't think a lot of people believe that I'm worthy of No. 1. But I'm not stranger to that. I've been proving people wrong my whole life."

He has nothing left to prove now. No picks are set yet, but the workouts are over. Szczerbiak put in his time, exclusive workouts with six of the draft's top seven teams and one open workout for all scouts, not to mention a battery of mental tests, including his favorite question: If you see a yellow light, what do you do, speed up, slow down or none of the above?

"I put none of the above," Szczerbiak said. "But I think most of the times I try to speed up and try to get through there."

That would explain his desire to be No. 1. For him, the last year has been a long sprint toward the finish line, the result of which was in doubt for some time. Those 43 points he scored in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, taking his team to the Sweet 16, none of it is enough to ensure Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause will take the World to the Windy City.

"I'm trying to make him take me," Szczerbiak said. "I think that's what every guy in the top seven is trying to do. I'm trying to put on a good workout for him. I'm trying to come across as a really good kid, a real gentleman. Guys who come across as not wanting to play in a certain city, I don't think that bodes well for general managers because they're making a big investment. I think Jerry Krause will make the right decision."

The right decision might not include Szczerbiak. Chicago already has Toni Kukoc, a sharp-shooting forward like the 6-7+, 243-pound Szczerbiak, and if the Bulls do want Szczerbiak, they might trade down, thinking he'll still be there. If he doesn't go No. 1, he might slip to Washington at No. 7 or Cleveland at No. 8, both of which are coveting a small forward like Szczerbiak.

All the intrigue is fine with Szczerbiak's father Walter, a former basketball player for Real Madrid in Spain and now the U.S. liaison for the Spanish Basketball Federation. He's riding the wave, not worrying at all now that he got those last tapes out to the league office in Spain. He seemed nervous at first to Wally, who said Walt was racking his brain about where he was going.

"All the teams I spoke to at Wally's workout in Chicago really liked Wally," Walter said. "How does that translates into where he might be picked in the draft? They might like somebody else, or they might feel they need a guard. I'll be wary of making any predictions, especially after seeing what happened to Paul Pierce last year, who I thought was one of the top players in the draft and somehow slipped down to No. 10."

None of this worries Walter, though. He's known his son was special from the start, that he would be a top pick in the NBA Draft, no, but that if everything fell into place, something like this could happen. And what about after the draft, when Wally has the game and lifestyle thrown at him at the same time?

"I think Wally will find a good group of friends," Walter said. "Wally's very simple. Despite the persona that's portrayed of him in the media, he's most comfortable with a certain group of friends, going back to playing darts, playing video games or watching wrestling on Monday night. Hopefully, he can just continue to keep that level head."

Wally expects to do just that. He's already ahead of some of the younger players, the ones with "potential" hanging around their neck. He stayed four years, got his degree in marketing. He did things the way he had to, taking the route that was offered, right up until his arrival here Tuesday morning on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles.

The whirlwind tour has ended. But the real adventure will begin Wednesday night in front of a national television audience and among an entourage of friends and family: his girlfriend, Shannon Ward; his parents and siblings; Miami coach Charlie Coles and other Miami players, his high school coaches, two high school teammates and his grandparents.

They all have their images of Szczerbiak, but nothing like the one they'll soon see.