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 Jazz's shopping list for next month's NBA draft has an unusual item at the top: power forward.

Not since 1987, when Utah selected Jose Ortiz with the 15th pick, have the Jazz used their No. 1 choice on a power forward, and Ortiz was quickly rendered obsolete by the future Hall of Famer who has manned the position nearly every night for 18 seasons.

But Karl Malone, who reaches free agency July 1, might not return to Utah next season, and even if he does, at age 40 he is nearing the end of his career. The Jazz, spared the necessity of replacing the NBA's No. 2 career scorer for nearly two decades, finally have a reason to shop around for another power forward.

"I don't think 'replace' is the right word," said vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor, mindful that Malone hasn't ruled out another season or two in Utah. "Would it be time for us to have a [power forward] on our roster that's young? Yeah, you can certainly say that."

WARRIORS FANS with long, sharp memories had to shudder last month during the NBA draft lottery when their team landed the No. 11 pick.

The last year the Warriors drafted 11th was 1996.

When the Warriors' turn to draft arrived in the first round, Kobe Bryant was still available. So was Peja Stojakovic. So were Steve Nash and Jermaine O'Neal.

The Warriors chose Todd Fuller. They considered him to be a safe. He was a college senior. A solid citizen.

Fuller turned out to be a full-blown flop and the poster child for Warriors draft futility.

So what did that Warriors debacle teach us?

Lesson No. 1: The NBA draft is a time for bold, decisive action, not safe, conservative choices.

Lesson No. 2: You don't need a high pick to strike gold in the NBA draft.

Carmelo Anthony said the other day that he'd rather play with the Detroit Pistons than the Denver Nuggets. His college coach is out to change his mind.

Jim Boeheim, who coached Anthony at Syracuse University, put in a call to Anthony to sell him on Denver. He plans to talk to him again soon about it.

"He'll be all right," said Boeheim, who, as a member of the USA Basketball collegiate committee, is in Colorado Springs this weekend for Pan American Games and Junior World Championships tryouts.

Boeheim saw Anthony's comments in Thursday's Rocky Mountain News in which he said he would rather be drafted No. 2 by Detroit than No. 3 by the Nuggets on June 26. Boeheim told him Denver would be a better fit.

"He likes to win and (Detroit) has a better chance to immediately win," Boeheim said. "But in Denver he's going to play more minutes. Detroit's got Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and (Corliss) Williamson taking shots. They're not going to want a rookie to come in and take 15 to 18 shots.

What Stu Jackson taught us, if anything, while studying Inept GM 101, is that you never trade future first-round draft picks.

The unknown can come back and bite you like Memphis mosquitoes.

Somebody pass the rubbing alcohol, and also a soothing solution to the Grizzlies' bumpy and uncomfortable draft predicament.

Here's a worthwhile idea: Trade the 13th pick.

The Seattle SuperSonics said that the surgery to repair the torn meniscus in Calvin Booth's left knee was successful, and that he is expected to be back in time for October's training camp.

Booth also had a cyst removed from the knee during the surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where Booth lives in the offseason. Recovery time is three to four months.

"We're happy the surgery went well and that the damage was repaired," Sonics general manager Rick Sund said. "We look forward to seeing him back on the court in the fall."

Don't attempt to draw many grand conclusions from the first batch of players that the Sonics worked out this week. Marquette junior Dwyane Wade is probably the most touted among the group of 11 that participated in workouts.

Kansas senior Nick Collison, who was selected yesterday by Team USA, which is vying to play in the 2004 Olympics, is the most decorated. Brazilian guard Leandrinho Barbosa traveled the farthest, and Kirk Hinrich, who played alongside Collison, is the most likely ? at this point ? to wear a Sonics jersey next season.

But that's just speculation, and Sonics management, after three days of watching workouts and conducting interviews, isn't giving many clues about what they will do with their three picks (Nos. 12, 14 and 41) in the June 26 NBA draft.

"It's a pretty generic list," general manager Rick Sund said. "There was no rhyme or reason to putting it together."

Oregon's Luke Ridnour worked out Wednesday for the Warriors, who could be considering the Pac-10 Player of the Year with the 11th pick in the June 26 draft. Ridnour, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound point guard, said he has heard he could go anywhere from eighth to 20th. He is scheduled to audition today for the SuperSonics, who have the 12th and 14th selections.

Ridnour would seem to be well suited for the Warriors' up-tempo style after averaging 19.7 points and a conference-high 6.6 assists as a junior this past season in the Ducks' fast-paced offense.

"That's how I like to play," he said. "It would be a good fit as far as that goes."

Ridnour worked out with Chris Thomas, a 6-1, 180-pound point guard from Notre Dame.

Kevin Calabro spoke at length about tradition, loyalty and family on a day when the Sonics signed him to a five-year contract as the team's play-by-play announcer.

Calabro paid homage to the original "Voice of the Sonics," his predecessor, Bob Blackburn, and thanked the Sonics ownership, management team and broadcast staff for their support.

But mostly, he told stories for nearly an hour yesterday afternoon during a small gathering at the team's practice facility doubling over with laughter.

Carmelo Anthony's agent calls it a "lock" that his client will be drafted by the Denver Nuggets if he's available. Anthony, though, wouldn't mind not being available.

"That'd be even better, going to Detroit," Anthony said Wednesday night in a telephone interview from his hometown of Baltimore. "That's a playoff team."

The Pistons, who have the No. 2 pick in the June 26 draft, made it to the Eastern Conference finals. The Nuggets, who will pick third, only made the finals of the draft lottery.

But while Anthony would be happier driving in Motown, don't get the idea he would be a wreck if he ended up with the Nuggets.