No, that wasn't a Rob Evans nightmare being played out at America West Arena Thursday morning.

But Arizona State's basketball coach has probably awakened in a cold sweat more than once thinking about Oregon's Luke Ridnour and Nick Collison of Kansas.

It was Ridnour, the Pac-10 Player of the Year, who drove around the Sun Devils in the final seconds to knock them from the Pac-10 Tournament. Collison helped shut down ASU freshman star Ike Diogu as the Jayhawks drilled the Sun Devils 108-76 and ousted them from the NCAA Tournament.

Both are possible draft choices for the Suns, who have the 17th pick of the first round. The two, along with Marquis Daniels of Auburn and Marvin Stone of Louisville, were in town for predraft workouts Thursday.

The Suns evaluated draft prospects Tommy Smith and Curtis Millage of Arizona State, Xavier's David West and Stanford's Julius Barnes during workouts Sunday at America West Arena.

Of the group, the 6-foot-9 West is considered a likely first-round pick, although some people question whether he's big enough to play power forward, his position at Xavier.

"The best opportunity for success for me is at the power spot," said West, who averaged 20.1 points and 11.8 rebounds last season.

West is projected to be a late first-round pick. The Suns have the No. 17 pick, but Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudemire's development means that power forward might not be a priority. A backup for playmaker Stephon Marbury might be a greater need.

In basketball, unlike in other big-league sports, the addition or subtraction of a single player can make or break a franchise.
And so, Amare Stoudemire transformed the Suns this season.

That single bold stroke ? the decision to draft a high school kid who proved ready to go nearly from the start ? gave them an inside presence for the first time since Charles Barkley's glory days.

Add in career seasons by Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion, and the fact Frank Johnson proved to be a wise choice for coach, and the Suns' drop into the lottery tank last year appears to have been a surprisingly brief, one-year dip.

Their best years no longer are found merely in scrapbooks. No, good times appear on the road ahead, not in the rearview mirror.

To the surprise of a couple of national publications that picked them to finish 28th out of 29 teams, the Suns made a return to the NBA playoffs this season.

They did it with a 20-something nucleus of players that includes All-Stars Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion, Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudemire and sixth man Joe Johnson.

Only a day after the San Antonio Spurs ousted them in the first round of the playoffs, the Suns already were looking ahead with optimism to next season.

"I wish we could go play ball right now," said Marion, who will be seeking out a beach instead.

The numbness started in Stephon Marbury's right hand but permeated the entire Suns locker room Thursday night.

It was over.

The game.

The season.

And for Marbury, the pain that shot through his arm and rendered his right hand useless at times will soon be over, too.

About an hour before Thursday night's game, Stephen Jackson walked onto the court at America West Arena to test his ailing right ankle. He shot one jumper after another, limping just a bit after each one.

Manu Ginobili and Phoenix fans in the background react after Ginobili hit one of two three-pointers during a critical stretch in the fourth quarter against the Suns.

After swishing one 3-pointer, Jackson turned to Spurs chairman Peter Holt, who stood on the sidelines, and smiled.

"Even when I'm crippled," Jackson said, "I can still shoot."