Stanford power forward Josh Owens is hoping to be ascend draft boards as a sleeper similar to former teammate Landry Fields.

"I would love to be that guy this year," Owens said after working out for the Warriors at the team's downtown Oakland practice facility Monday.

Owens averaged 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds during his junior and senior seasons with Stanford, but wasn't invited to the Portsmouth Invitational.

Owens had camp-best 40.8-inch vertical during a combine hosted by the Nets on May 19th and 20th.

"He's an incredible athlete," said one NBA executive who has seen Owens work out.

Owens has since also worked out for the Heat, Kings and several teams at a workout in Santa Barbara.

"It's a totally different game," Owens said of the NBA. "Here, you've got a much more spread-out floor, you've got more one-on-one type defense. It changes the dynamics of the game a lot. I think I'm a great athlete, so I can show some of those skills a lot better out here."

Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad are among 40 players on Parade Magazine's annual All-America High School Basketball Team.

Noel, who vaulted into the national spotlight this year, will be playing for the Kentucky Wildcats next season.

Muhammad earned national player of the year honors while leading Las Vegas Bishop Gorman. He will be playing for UCLA next season.

Davonta Pollard and Savon Goodman are the only two players that have yet to commit to a school.

Jabari Parker hopes to follow in the footsteps of his basketball hero, Michael Jordan.

"I want to be just like Michael Jordan," said Parker, who stars at Chicago Simeon Career Academy. "Chicago greats get noticed around the city. People have a lot of respect for them. I look up to those guys a lot. I want to be part of that family."

Like Jordan, Parker seems to elevate his game when challenged verbally.

"When people talk trash, he'll listen," said Sonny Parker, Jabari's father. "He won't say a word, but he'll listen. It's like they woke him up. They shouldn't have said anything. Now, he's awake. Now, he'll let his game do the talking. He has that in him. It comes out by his play and his performance."

Andrew and Aaron Harrison could announce their college choice as soon as this fall, their father, Aaron Harrison Sr., confirmed.

“It’s around that time,” Aaron Harrison Sr. said. “Their birthday is Oct. 28. They want to get it done before the high school season starts.”

The twins, regarded as top 10 prospects in the class of 2013, have narrowed their list to four schools -- Kentucky, Villanova, Maryland and Baylor.

“We’re going to visit Villanova and that’s going to be the first week of July,” the elder Harrison said. “And then Maryland will be that same week.

“As far as Kentucky goes, I don’t know about that. We’ve been there twice already and my wife’s been there. It’s something we’ve already done. My wife has talked to the coaches and given them the third degree. We may visit there again and we may not.

“As far as Baylor goes that may be the end of June.”

Karl Towns has been named to the Dominican Republic national team as it prepares to qualify for this summer’s London Olympic Games.

"He's going to be battling with guys who are men, so when he gets done with this, he's going to know what it takes to be an NBA player," his father, Karl Towns Sr., said. "When he gets back, Karl's going to double his work ethic. I think right now this is the greatest thing that could have happened to him."

The Dominican national team is coached by John Calipari, who is recruiting Towns to the University of Kentucky.

"I want people to know he made it for his ability, not because of who the coach is," Karl Towns Sr. said. "He'll be with his Dominican family this summer. If he goes to Kentucky, that will be his other family. But right now the key is to get the Dominican team into the Olympics. That's the only key right now.

"There's too much at stake for them to do him a favor. They have to qualify. They need the best players they can carry to make this work."

Towns, a 6-foot-11 center, is the top ranked player in the class of 2015.

Cody Zeller is reportedly approaching 7-feet and has added 15 pounds since arriving at Indiana.

Former Indiana assistant coach Dan Dakich ran into Zeller a few weeks ago at a tournament in Bloomington.

"And he looked big," Dakich said. "I mean, big. You know how some guys, when you get around them, they're not as big as you think? And then other guys, you get around them and you're like, 'Oh my god!' I've never done this before -- never asked a kid how tall he is like I'm a fan in an airport. But I was like, 'How tall are you? Have you grown?'"

Tom Crean confirmed Danich’s assessment.

"Cody is bigger," Crean told me. "And better."

Zeller, who was projected as a lottery pick in the upcoming draft before deciding to return for his sophomore season with the Hoosiers, was listed at 6-foot-11, 230 pounds last season.

"The improvement is gonna be with the way he shoots the ball because he can really shoot the ball, but he lost some confidence last season," Dakich said. "He shot an airball against Butler from the free throw line, and I think he really lost confidence [after that]. He and I talked about it, and he's been working on it. But he can really shoot. Like really, really shoot. And that's what you're gonna see this year -- an improved and more versatile offensive game."

Reeves Nelson has filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against Sports Illustrated.

The lawsuit comes after a March article that characterized Nelson as a bully to his UCLA teammates.

Nelson was dismissed from the team in December.

The lawsuit includes sworn declarations from 18 former teammates.

Drew Gordon, for example, disputes the allegation that Nelson gave him a black eye.

"We have never had a fight, not at a teammate's apartment or anywhere else, nor has Nelson ever given me a black eye from a fight or otherwise," Gordon said in his declaration.

Tyler Honeycutt denies that Nelson urinated on his bed and clothes.

"Nelson did not pile my clothes onto my bed … and he certainly did not urinate on my clothes. … Nelson played a minor college prank on me, throwing some Jolly Rancher candy and baby powder on my bed and flipping over the mattress when I left our dorm room," Honeycutt's statement said.

Andrew Wiggins was the star attraction at the Canadian junior men’s national team camp at Ryerson University this past weekend.

“I watched him play last week [and] in the last minute of a tied game, he got the ball twice, in isolation plays, drove and dunked on the whole entire team to win the game,” said Rowan Barrett, the executive vice president and assistant GM of Canada’s senior men’s national team. “No celebration … he walked to the free-throw line like, ‘I’ve been here before, I’ve done this before,’ hit the free throws, didn’t stare anybody down; no chest bumping.

“There is a definite humility with him.”

The 6-foot-7 forward is physically gifted with long arms (6-foot-11) and a strong frame.

“Even at 17, he’s already NBA size for his [small forward] position,” Barrett said. “And he already has NBA athleticism for his position.”

Wiggins captains CIA Bounce, an all-Canadian team that has been dominant against its AAU competition and features several players who could one day figure prominently in the Olympic picture.

Bob Boozer has died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 75.

Boozer was a member of the 1960 Olympic basketball team and was drafted No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Royals.

Boozer delayed entering the NBA for one year in order to participate in the Olympics.

Jim Boeheim received a 33 percent pay bump this past season, bringing his total compensation to $1.9 million, according to a document filed last week with the federal government.

Boehim received $1,577,523 in base salary, $77,000 in insurance, $40,000 in deferred compensation, and a $130,000 bonus.