Ryan Humphrey knew that he had aced his workout with the Orlando Magic, dominating high-profile prospect Amare Stoudemire on the court and also charming the team's front office and coaching staff during personal interviews.

   So when the Orlando Magic momentarily passed him during Wednesday's NBA Draft, Humphrey was understandably dejected.

   "I had such a good feeling about Orlando and I prayed that I would come here," Humphrey said Thursday. "So when (the Magic) selected (Stanford's Curtis) Borchardt, I kind of slumped down in my seat. . . . But when my agent, Mark Bartelstein, called me later in the night and told me that I had been traded to Orlando, a big smile came across my face."

   Unable to significantly move up and land one of the draft's top-tier power forwards, the Magic instead made a deal with Utah that allowed them to snag Humphrey and also add 7-footer Rashard Griffith, a seasoned 27-year-old center who has spent the past seven seasons playing in Europe.

   The 6-foot-8, 235-pound Humphrey is a bit undersized as a power forward, but what he lacks in size he makes up for with hustle and muscle. His 35-inch vertical leap, 20-plus repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press and 7-foot wing span convinced the Magic that he was just too good to pass up.

   "Every season, I love it when there's one guy you interview and you can pick out as a no-miss player," Magic general manager John Gabriel said. "A couple of years ago for me it was (Seattle's) Desmond Mason. Usually there's one guy who has the whole package. Humphrey was one of our first workouts, and when I saw him I told our guys, 'This is my no-miss guy.' He's a bit undersized and we thought about not taking him to play power forward. But soon we all found out the guy in our hearts was Ryan. He'll be the guy Doc can turn to from the bench and get something from immediately."

   A potentially bold move by the Magic never materialized when Stoudemire, the teen from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, was picked ninth by the Phoenix Suns. Had Stoudemire fallen to 11th, Orlando would have traded shooting guard Mike Miller and reserve center Andrew DeClercq to the Wizards for 300-pound center Jahidi White and the 11th pick (Stoudemire).

   "We had more opportunities to move up than we didn't," Gabriel said. "After the ninth, 10th and 11th picks, we just didn't see the value in moving up after that."

   An Orlando team that finished next-to-last in the NBA in rebounding last season and was battered mercilessly in the playoffs by the Charlotte Hornets made it a point to use this draft to beef up. That's why the team is nearly as excited about getting the rights to Griffith as it is Humphrey. At 7-foot, 280 pounds, Griffith brings some much-needed size, rebounding and shot-blocking to the Magic's smallish frontline.

   Griffith, who starred at Wisconsin for two seasons, was originally picked 38th overall in 1995 by the Milwaukee Bucks. He's won four titles the past six seasons in Europe, including the past two while playing for Italian powerhouse Kinder Bologna.

   The goal now is to somehow get Griffith into camp. He made about $2 million last season in Italy and is a free agent. If the Magic are willing to come close to that salary he assuredly will play in the NBA next season.

   "I had basically accomplished everything I could in Europe and my dream has always been to play in the NBA," said Griffith, a Chicago native. "The time is right now. I'm older and more mature as a person. It's time to give it my best shot."

   Orlando also acquired Croatian center Mario Kasun with the 41st pick following a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. Kasun, a 7-foot-1, 260-pound center, could play on the Magic's summer league team in two weeks, but will likely spend next season in Germany.

   The Magic have also contacted Fordham point guard William "Smush" Parker about playing in the team's two free-agent camps in July. Parker, who was thought to be a late first-round pick, was not drafted Wednesday night.

   The Magic liken Humphrey to a Dennis Rodman or Ben Wallace type, a player who can overwhelm foes with his reckless, high energy style of play. Magic player personnel director Gary Browkaw said Humphrey caught his eye with his ability to jump once, twice and even three times without having to gather himself. Because of his ability to block shots with either hand -- his 2.81 blocks a game were 18th in the nation -- and rebound over bigger forwards, Brokaw said Humphrey compares favorably to New Jersey's Kenyon Martin.

   "Every time I step on the floor I play with a chip on my shoulder because I know that this a job now," said Humphrey, who also led Notre Dame in scoring (18.9 ppg.) and rebounding (10.9 rpg.). "I love challenges and I love to prove people wrong. Stuff like, 'he's too small' and 'he can't do that,' those are things I've heard all my life. This is another challenge for me."

   Humphrey's hustle and Griffith's brawn helped the Magic meet two of their greatest needs, Gabriel said. Getting hammered in the playoffs by the Hornets still sticks with Gabriel and he said this draft was all about doing something about it.

   "We got beaten up pretty good and it was time to do something," Gabriel said. "Two years ago, Don Reid and Andrew DeClercq shared the honor of leading the league in fouls per minute. We kind of got away from that last season and it bothered us. We got better at helping guys up than we did putting them down on the floor. We needed to do a better job of protecting the basket. We think we did what we need to to address those needs."

The NBA-drafted foreigner who commands the most intrigue, from this perch, doesn't come from China or the former Soviet republic of Georgia or even Yugoslavia, which supplied the Mavericks' latest overseas import.

It's a Brazilian, believe it or not.

The 2002 draft will always belong to Yao Ming, because he's the No. 1 pick and because he's not from this country. Yet, it's still only the Brazilian, Maybyner "Nene" Hilario, 19, whose development will impact the future of two franchises.

So the Mavericks actually stayed exactly where they were supposed to, instead of looking for immediate help, using their 55th pick to select Yugoslavian guard/forward Mladen Sekularac, and then saying they expect him to stay abroad for one more year.

The 6-8 player is under contract for one more season with FMP Zeleznik, and Nelson said "he would probably be more comfortable playing there another year."

"[But] this is a player who could very well be ready," Nelson said. "For the 55th pick, we're very, very happy to select this player."

In the year of the foreign player, the Mavericks felt lucky to land Sekularac, in fact. He is described by Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson as a hard-nosed guard who is exceptional in the open court ? which happens to be the Mavericks' kind of game. Don Nelson said there was a flurry of calls just before the Mavericks selected, as teams hoped to somehow sneak away with Sekularac.

Of the 28 players chosen on the first round of the draft, a record six played their basketball overseas. That includes China center Yao Ming, who was chosen by the Houston Rockets and becomes the first international player selected No. 1 overall in the history of the NBA Draft.

Three of the top seven draft picks were international players, including forward Nikoloz Tskitishvili going to Denver at No. 5 and Maybyner "Nene" Hilario selected by New York at No. 7. Eight other international players were chosen in the second round.

The selections of so many foreign players shows that either the gap is narrowing between the American and international players, or it is a wakeup call to everyone associated with college basketball.

Johnny Ludden of the San Antonio Express News writes that the Spurs had hoped Yugoslavian center Nenad Krstic would fall to them at the 26th pick, but was taken two slots before by New Jersey.  So, they pulled the trigger on a pre-arranged trade with Philadelphia to shore up the point guard position.

The Spurs traded the John Salmons (#26), Randy Holcomb (#57), and veteran Mark Bryant to Philadelphia for point guard Speedy Claxton.  The Spurs hope Claxton can fill in the backup point guard spot for Terry Porter who may retire.

The Spurs also picked Luis Scola with the 56th pick in the draft.  He is a friend of guard Emanuel Ginobili who will sign a contract with the Spurs this offseason to come to the States.  Scola will likely remain in Europe for now.

As the final 10 names in the NBA draft were announced Wednesday night, George Williams faced the inevitable with a firm conviction.

Surrounded by family, friends and media in his home here in this Fort Bend County suburb, Williams, a three-year starter at the University of Houston who elected to pass up his senior season, would not second-guess the decision that led to him being passed over among the 57 players chosen in the two-round process.

"Definitely not," Williams said. "I go on from here to pursue whatever opportunities might come up in the next few days. I know that I did all I could do at Chicago (in the predraft camp) and in workouts for three teams. I'll wait and see what comes up.

"But I am convinced and still motivated by my goal that I have had since I started playing basketball, to play in the NBA. I couldn't say why I wasn't picked. I don't make those decisions."

For weeks, the Rockets had targeted Bostjan Nachbar with their second first-round pick. Then Nachbar put on a show that left the Rockets concerned only that he would be gone before they were up with the 15th pick.

But as impressive as Nachbar's performance was to the Rockets, he was more sold on the Rockets.

He checked flight schedules from Houston to his home in Slovenia. He imagined himself filling a wing with Yao Ming sending an outlet pass and Steve Francis handling the ball on a break. He penned a letter to general manager Carroll Dawson and coach Rudy Tomjanovich to thank them for considering him, the first letter of its type they had ever received and the only one he sent.

Rumors even circulated around the NBA that Nachbar saved his best for the Rockets' workout, not showing as much in other stops as he put on display Sunday on the Westside Tennis Club court.

It was a night that years from now could be looked back on as vitally important to the franchise. Not just for the Rockets' ability to get past the legal maneuvering that allowed them to make Yao the No. 1 overall choice in the draft, but also for the selection of Slovenia's Bostjan Nachbar with the No. 15 pick.

By taking a 7-5 Chinese center and a 6-8 forward from Europe, the Rockets were wholeheartedly embracing the globalization of basketball at the highest level and showing a broad vision that is putting a new spark in the old game and could pay huge dividends.

Take a look around the NBA and notice all of the international success stories running and jumping up and down courts. From Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, Canada's Steve Nash and China's Wang Zhizhi in Dallas to Serbia's Vlade Divac, Yugoslavia's Peja Stojakovic and Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu in Sacramento, the borders of our American game have expanded so far that there are no borders.

Mark Heisler of the LA Times reports on the activities in the Clippers war room on draft night. In what reads like a comedy of errors, he describes how the Clippers and Cavaliers just couldn?t get together to finalize a blockbuster trade.

Under the proposed deal with Cleveland, the Clippers would have gotten point guard Andre Miller for their No. 8 and 12 picks plus a player, but they couldn't agree on the player. The Clippers offered Corey Maggette, then made Lamar Odom available late in the process. The Cavaliers demanded Darius Miles. The Clippers refused, according to a source, on orders from Sterling.

Then the Cavaliers drafted a point guard, DeJuan Wagner, with the #6 pick. Minutes later, the Cavaliers called the Clippers and wanted to accept the Odom deal? but only if the Clippers drafted Caron Butler for them with the 8th pick. The problem was that the Clippers had already called in their pick, Chris Wilcox, to the league.

The Clippers then called the Suns (9th pick) and the Heat (10th pick) trying desperately to trade Wilcox for either pick so they could select Butler and complete the Cleveland trade. Phoenix had already called in their pick, Amare Stoudamire. The Heat decided that
Butler was too good to pass up and picked him for themselves.

The Cavs continued to call the Clippers during the draft, so all is not lost yet.

1. Houston Yao Ming 7-6, 295 C China
2. Chicago Jay Williams 6-2, 195 G Duke (Jr.)
3. Golden State Mike Dunleavy 6-9, 220 F Duke (Jr.)
4. Memphis Drew Gooden 6-10, 230 F Kansas (Jr.)
5. Denver Nikoloz Tskitishvili 7-0, 220 F/C Rep. of Georgia
6. Cleveland Nene Hilario 6-10, 253 F Brazil
7. New York Chris Wilcox 6-10, 218 F Maryland (So.)
8. a-Clippers Caron Butler 6-7, 235 F UConn (So.)
9. Phoenix Amare Stoudemire 6-10, 240 F Cypress Creek HS
10. Miami Qyntel Woods 6-9, 230 G/F NE Miss. JC (So.)
11. Washington Jared Jeffries 6-9, 220 F Indiana (So.)
12. Clippers Curtis Borchardt 7-0, 238 C Stanford (Jr.)
13. Milwaukee Jiri Welsch 6-6, 205 G Czech Republic
14. Indiana Dujuan Wagner 6-3, 200 G Memphis (Fr.)
15. b-Houston Bostjan Nachbar 6-8, 220 G/F Slovenia