Donald Sloan and Bryan Davis spent last spring testing the NBA waters.
They liked what they saw. But the important question: Did the NBA like what it saw.
"I had some pretty impressive workouts, so it kind of caught people by surprise," A&M senior guard Donald Sloan said. "I was doing things they didn't think I was able to do as far as finish, create, all the little things."
The 6-foot-3 Sloan and the 6-9 Davis declared for the NBA draft last spring. In doing so, they were put through intense workouts by a few NBA teams.
The entire ordeal was mostly a feeling-out process for both the teams and the two starters. Each has played more than 60 games for the Aggies and were pretty sure they were coming back to A&M for their senior season.
"My mentality going in was to learn and also help my team out. We both put our name in and now guys are going to be coming to games to see what me and Sloan can do on the court, and that gives opportunities for other guys on our team," Davis said. "So it was more for me to learn more about the situation I want to be in. If there was a great opportunity, then yes [I would have left A&M], but I had always planned to come back and win some championships."
The same could not be said of 6-10 Chinemelu Elonu, who was the third Aggie to throw his name in the NBA hat after his junior season.
Elonu, in his first year of starting as an Aggie, averaged 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while finishing second in blocked shots with 1.6 a game.
The NBA liked his athleticism and the world champion Los Angeles Lakers drafted him late in the second round. He later signed to play in Spain.
Sloan and Davis returned and are a big part of what has turned out to be an Aggie team that appears ready to improve on a middle of the road seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
"This was strictly an 'I'm going to go out there and show everybody that the players they are bragging on are not really that good,'" Sloan said of his thought process of going through the NBA workouts. "I wanted to show them that I'm the better player, the better guard and leave smiling at the end of the workout knowing that I've got another year to come back and really prove what I can do."
Sloan has had plenty of opportunity to show what he can do at A&M, where he is on pace to break the school record for games played. Coming into his senior season, he had started all but one game over the past two campaigns and has played in 104 games since arriving at Texas A&M.
Sloan attended three workouts and Davis attended two before taking their name out of the draft. The NCAA allows players to withdraw their name by a deadline each year and return to play at the college level.
Sloan stayed close for two of his workouts, showing what he could do for scouts in Dallas and San Antonio. He also attended a tryout for the Milwaukee Bucks.
He received a lot of input and some sound advice on what to do at that time and for next season.
"They said [the 2009 draft] would not be a good year because of how they had everybody slotted, so I think you need to go back for one more year because you have the potential to be a first-round player," Sloan said. "I took that advice and I ran with it as well as improving my shot more. They were like, we know what we see from workouts and games that when the time comes you are able to make your shots but you need to be a little more consistent. I was like that's positive information and if that's all it is then hey, I devoted my summer to shooting a lot of midrange jumpers and 3s, trying to get better on that because I think everything else is kind of solid, not great, but solid as far as dribbling, getting to the goal and finishing."
Sloan was getting a true test, going up against the likes of Jeremy Pargo, Baylor's Curtis Jerrells, UAB's Paul Delaney, Arizona's Nick Wise, Florida's young Nick Calathes, and LSU's Temple, who shut down former A&M great Acie Law IV a couple of times and was one of the last cuts made by the Houston Rockets.
Knowing most of the players as he did, Sloan said he knew going into the workout, "I was going to have to lace up."
Davis had workouts with the Spurs and the Timberwolves. An important exam forced him to cancel a third with the Rockets.
He still saw plenty of competition, and many of his opponents were the same size or bigger and almost all were seniors hoping to make a final good impression.
Among those Davis battled in drills and in 3-on-3 were Villanova's Dante Cunningham (6-8, 230), Georgia Tech's Alade Aminu (6-10, 225), Miami's Dwayne Collins (6-8, 240). He also faced two players A&M fans are very familiar with, Missouri's Leo Lyons and Memphis' 6-9, 200-pound Robert Dozier, who made it to the Elite 8 three times and the title game once in his college career. Cunningham and Dozier ended up getting picked in second round of the June draft.
"I think it helped me out a lot because I was able to go up against them, guys that are maybe stronger, and bigs with more experience because they were a year older," said Davis, whose weight has fluctuated while at A&M but is now 250 pounds. "I was able to go in there against guys that had just played in the Final Four, in big games and those guys I got to see how hard they played. And when the coaches tell you to go harder, you go harder, because if you are not going to listen to them you aren't going to listen to nobody."
Gettin encouragement and knowing what was coming from others that had been through what they were doing was very helpful to both seniors.
Josh Carter had put his name into the process early the season before while Acie Law IV and DeAndre Jordan both were drafted and kept in touch with their former teammates. Sloan and Davis said their former teammates, along with Elonu, were all a big help in giving encouragement, letting them know what to expect and how to prepare.
Despite all the help, the two couldn't resist taking a peek every now and then at whether they were being watched carefully, especially after a making a move or play that might make someone perk up and pay a little more attention.
"If you make a good play every once in while you take a look to see who is watching," said Sloan, who also thought the one-on-one interviews were nearly as important as your ability to hit a jumper. "Personaltity is key, if you can go in there and make them laugh and are comfortble with them I think it benefits you in the long run. They see a good player a good guy, not in trouble or anything, that is the guy they want around, on their team."
Davis was also conscious of who was watching, but he made sure not to get too wrapped up in the moment.
"There were a couple of times I got an offensive rebound I would glance over there, but I told myself going in not to get caught looking at other guys, to see what they think because whether I look over there or not they are going to have the same opinion of me," David said. "Besides, I could be missing some instructions at that moment and one emphasis they had was if the first guy made a mistake, the second guy better not make the same mistake. You have to follow directions, listen, hear and respond as quick a possible."
Sloan averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in the Aggies' 24-10 season, while Davis scored 10.8 points and pulled down 6.5 boards a game.
With improved play on the court in their final year and with the Aggies winning, both plan on using their experience from last spring to get a closer look and perhaps get their name on the big board come the 2010 NBA draft.
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