CHICAGO -- James Garland, a member of the NCAA's membership services staff, was sitting two seats over from adidas basketball kingpin Sonny Vaccaro. On the opposite side of the baseline was Miami's Pat Riley. Memphis' Jerry West watched from the other side of the end line, while the rest of the people surrounding the court inside Hoops The Gym on Thursday represented almost every team in the NBA.

Each were on hand to watch a workout organized for prep NBA hopefuls Ndudi Ebi and Charlie Villanueva. Standing behind a mesh curtain surveying the scene was agent Dan Fegan, who said he hadn't signed either high school senior, but it was clear he helped organize the workout, which was being run by IMG Basketball Academy employee Joe Abunassar. And for the past month, both Ebi and Villanueva have been working out with Abunassar at company's facility in Bradenton, Fla.

	With a first-round guarentee, Charlie Villanueva will take his game to Connecticut next season.

Garland was the only one in attendance, however, not worried so much about how each player performed on the court. He was there to ensure coaches from Arizona and Connecticut (or any other NCAA Division I school for that matter) weren't allowed to watch Ebi and Villanueva during the NCAA's quiet recruiting period. If a college coach were seen in the gym, he would, in essence, be committing an NCAA recruiting violation.

But, holding the type of workout in Chicago -- outside the confines of the pre-draft camp at the Moody Bible Institute -- with NBA folks, shoe company reps and an agent in attendance isn't against NCAA rules. Then again, this workout was all about the NBA, not college. And if these two high school seniors had their way, they would stay in the draft and spurn their commitments to Arizona and Connecticut, respectively.

"I want to be a basketball player, and I want to go to the NBA," said Ebi. "I'm not saying I'm ready for the NBA now, but I'm ready to get drafted now."

Ebi's statement is all but universal when it comes to early-entry players, especially high school seniors. Players who declare for the NBA draft straight out of high school are more concerned about getting drafted, not necessarily playing in the NBA six months after prom. Ebi and Villanueva, who are both academically eligible to attend school in the fall, have given a cutoff for going to school or staying in the draft -- the first round. And, the word is that neither will remain in the draft past the June 19 deadline to withdraw without a guarantee of being selected in the first round.

Two of the three other high school seniors not named LeBron James in this year's draft are hoping for the same assurance from NBA teams. But the odds seem stacked against Travis Outlaw (Mississippi State) and/or Kendrick Perkins (Memphis) getting into the first round. High school senior James Lang, who never signed a national letter of intent, has signed with an agent. He is showing his stuff at the pre-draft camp and has made it clear he won't be going to college next season, but is considered a second-round pick, at best.

Whether Ebi or Villanueva become first-round picks (if they stay in the draft) won't be based on Thursday's workout. While each broke a sweat, there was virtually no energy in the Hoops gym, as NBA reps watched Ebi take a few shots from all over the court, dribble down and dunk, but hardly show any emotion. Villanueva's audition was even worse. A number of NBA personnel filed out after watching Ebi, and by the time Villanueva finished taking jumpers, there was only a handful of people half-watching him.

But neither players' time on the court were workouts that turn players into first-round draft picks. In fact, during the final few Ebi shots, a man who was shagging rebounds actually took a call on his cell phone, and remained on the phone while corralling a rebound and shuffling the ball back to Abunassar.

Thursday's show was more akin to a model walking down a Paris or New York runway. All those in the stands (who stayed) got was a look at how Ebi and Villanueva handled themselves under the watchful eyes of influential people in the NBA business. This was style over substance.

Sure, team officials said they got a good look at just how long the 6-9 Ebi is in person. They also saw a more solid frame on the 6-9 Villanueva. Each studied how many steps it took Ebi to get in position to shoot. They looked at body language. They tried to imagine how much weight or muscle either could gain.

Thursday was about trying to project potential, which still might not be enough to convince anyone in attendance to draft either prep in the first round.

Still, Ebi and Villanueva are banking that the pro scouts liked enough of what they saw to make it known either could go in the first 29 picks. Translation: They need a first-round guarantee.

"I've still got my college open, but this is something I really want to do," said Villanueva, who orally committed to Illinois before Bill Self's departure to Kansas created a possible detour to UConn. "This was like a game. I just tried to block everyone out."

As for the Arizona coaching staff? As for the Arizona coaching staff? It's extremely frustrating for them to see Ebi get advice to make a jump to the league earlier than he should.

Ebi and Villanueva are also aware of the difference just one season in college can mean in a player's draft status. Carmelo Anthony's year at Syracuse ended with a national championship for the school, and a jump from second half of the first round in 2002 to the likely No. 3 pick overall on June 26. Chris Bosh spent one season at Georgia Tech, which only made the NIT, but he's gone from a possible second-round pick, or undrafted last year if he came straight from high school, to as high as No. 4 in this year's draft.

Word from potential representation of either player is that going to Arizona and Connecticut would enhance their positions in future drafts, not hurt either player's status in 2004 or beyond. Connecticut is the preseason No. 1 team without Villanueva. Arizona will be a top 10 team without Ebi.

And, as for paying attention to academics, Villanueva did what he needed to off the court at Blair Academy in New Jersey, and said he's prepared to commit himself to the books again after being in an all-basketball environment the last month. Ebi was at Westbury Christian High in Houston and takes the same attitude of attending classes at Arizona.

Villanueva also understands that the Huskies don't need him to win the title. But he said it could be "over" as far as next year's champion if he heads to Storrs, Conn. The Huskies already have groomed Marcus White and Hilton Armstrong to play next to Emeka Okafor. But Villanueva certainly would give UConn more of a scoring presence inside or facing the basket from 17 feet in.

Ebi could play next to Channing Frye, but it's not like the Wildcats will fall too far without him, considering Andre Iguodala returns, Chris Dunn is coming off a redshirt, Isaiah Fox is still roaming the post, and the Arizona backcourt is set with Hassan Adams, Salim Stoudamire, Mustafa Shakur and Chris Rodgers.

"If it were another school then it would be harder (to think about going to college after this NBA experience)," Ebi said. "But at Arizona, I'd get the freedom to do offensively what I please. I want to go to the NBA. I want to be an NBA player. I'm working my ass off to be the best player possible. It's a chance I have right now and I'm playing well."

The comparisons of either player to James end with the trio being in the same high school class. James is clearly at another level, although they don't see it that way.

"LeBron is No. 1. But in a live game on the court, I don't think so (that he's better than him)," Ebi said. "I'm not going to say it for controversy. I'm not going to tell you he's better than me, either. Three or four years into the league, I'll be one of the best."

It's clear Ebi is extremely confident, which is good. But he could also be characterized as downright cocky, which could be trouble if he decides to go to Arizona. Coming down from being coddled and thinking NBA every minute won't wash with Lute Olson and the Arizona staff, let alone his teammates. Villanueva can also check any thoughts of the NBA at Exit 68 off Interstate 84. Jim Calhoun won't listen to that talk after seeing Caron Butler recommit himself to the program for two years before leaving early after first considering the NBA following high school.

Both players said they would likely hold more workouts (hopefully not this dull again) in Florida before making any decisions. But the decision to be made will come from a backroom deal that guarantees a first-round spot. If such a pact isn't made, both will be humbled a bit, but head to school. It's not what they want, but they might not have a choice. Yes, they're living in an NBA world right now, and neither wants to leave -- unless they're left with no other choice under their own dysfunctional definitions of the importance of being drafted over being ready to play.

What else we're hearing
With coaches looking for jobs ... The Chicago pre-draft camp is like the Final Four. A number of coaches are in town schmoozing and trying to get work in the NBA. Former coaches at Georgia (Jim Harrick), Iowa State (assistant Steve Barnes), Fordham (Bob Hill) and North Carolina (Bob McKinnon) were working the Moody Bible Institute. All have contacts in and around the league and could land gigs in some capacity. Getting a college job, especially for McKinnon and Barnes, isn't out of the question for next season.

With the NCAA issues ... The list of coaches who came to the pre-draft camp despite the NCAA's memo not to because of prospective student-athletes continued to grow throughout the week. Coaches from St. John's, Illinois State, BYU, N.C. State, Ball State and Marquette filed in throughout the week, to join a list of nearly 20 other schools. Two NCAA reps acknowledged that there were no eligible players in attendance. The only one in question was Lang, but he signed with an agent. The feeling is that these coaches won't get cited for any violation and the interpretation could be altered for next year. Marquette coach Tom Crean and assistant Jeff Strohm took it to an extreme by going into the gym when Lang exited and calling their compliance officer to let them know what they're doing as they were entering the building. They were here to watch senior Robert Jackson. The shame of the memo from the NCAA is that players like Ugonna Onyekwe (Penn) and Joel Cornette (Butler) didn't have their coaches -- Penn's Fran Dunphy or Butler's Todd Lickliter -- in attendance because of the memo.

With the NCAA rules ... The Basketball Issues Committee meets next week in Indianapolis to discuss recruiting rules and other hot topics. At issue are exhibition games with AAU or summer league teams. The NCAA would like to get rid of these games, which have turned into favors for getting players and paybacks for helping them out over the summer. The committee will also look at the need for the early-signing period, whether same summer league coaches continue to work for the same coaches. Rhode Island's Jim Baron, Washington's Lorenzo Romar, Ohio State's Jim O'Brien and Kentucky's Tubby Smith are the basketball representatives on the committee.

On the recruiting scene ... Syracuse can start to sell point guard Sebastian Telfair on playing in the ACC when the Orangemen begin to campaign for the New York City phenom this summer. Telfair will be this summer's traveling circus on the recruiting scene as he contemplates trying to make the jump from high school to the NBA.

With Paul Graham ... The former Washington State coach landed on his feet by getting an assistant job with Ricardo Patton at Colorado. Graham is back in the Big 12 after coaching under Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State. Patton's staff will be even more experienced with Graham and Terry Dunn as his top two assistants.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball is updated Fridays throughout the year.