Doug Collins got a phone call telling him he was the No. 1 pick in the 1973 NBA Draft.

High schooler Kwame Brown, 19, got national television, David Stern pumping his hand, Michael Jordan calling him "Rook," limos, green rooms and the weight of becoming the first prep star to ever be selected No. 1.

"I couldn't even fathom that," says Collins.

Brown might hail from the small town of Brunswick, Ga., but he isn't any country yahoo. Spend any sort of time with him and you're struck by his honesty, his politeness, his confidence and best of all, his good sense. He says he won't spend money on bling-bling because "it's a waste of metal," attracts the wrong kind of attention and, "I'm not out to blind someone."

A hoops oddity, Brown doesn't have a tattoo, doesn't compare himself to any other NBA player, doesn't big-time anyone. He respects Washington Wizards boss (and possible teammate) Jordan, but isn't afraid to speak the truth about His Airness' comeback.

"He's not the old Michael, but he's still Michael," he says. "He's not going to glide over everybody. He's still the best player out there, but that might not be saying much considering there's no All-Stars out here."

Brown said this during the recent free agent and rookie camp at the MCI Center practice facility. A few days later he was off to summer league play and, if he's lucky, a new set of hotel movies. He'd just about had it with the viewing selection at his D.C. hotel.

"I've seen every movie on the list twice," he says. "Favorites? Double Take, Wedding Planner, and Down to Earth. But I hope they change the list pretty soon."

Sure it's early, but by the sound of Brown and the look of him at the summer league games, the Wizards might have taken the right draft-day gamble.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail Geno at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.