3 former Colorado State players work out for Nuggets

J.J. Avila and two of the other three seniors on CSU’s men’s basketball team this past season aren’t sure what the future holds.

But they all hope to play professionally next season, so getting a chance to work out this week with the Denver Nuggets was an opportunity they all were thrilled to have.

Forwards J.J. Avila and Stanton Kidd worked out for the Nuggets on Wednesday in Denver, while guard Daniel Bejarano worked out Thursday.

“I just want these teams to know that with me, even if I don’t get to step on the court, in the practice gym I’ll be the guy on the team that everyone is happy to have as a teammate,” Avila told Leonard Davis and Steven Blevins of Nuggets.com. “I will do all of the dirty work, like diving on the ground, communicating on defense and working to make my teammates better.

“I really think I’m a great role player. Whatever they want me to do, I’ll do.”

Avila, 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, was a first-team All-Mountain West selection for the Rams (27-7) in 2014-15 and also was named to all-district teams by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He led the team in scoring (16.7 points a game), rebounds (7.5 a game) and steals (2.0 a game). Avila, who is from McAllen, Texas, and came to Colorado State University after 11/ 2 seasons at the U.S. Naval Academy, also averaged 2.8 assists as a senior.

Working out with the Nuggets was “a blessing,” said Kidd, a 6-8, 225-pounder from Baltimore. Kidd played just one season for the Rams, averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He played two seasons at South Plains Junior College in Levelland, Texas, helping the team win a national title in 2012-13, and one season at North Carolina Central before transferring to CSU.

Kidd told Nuggets.com he felt like he had prepared “really well” for his workout.

“I asked a lot of questions to guys I know in the league, and they said to bring a high motor, high intensity, and it will get you through,” Kidd said. “With the shooting drills, I feel like I focused on that, and I think I did pretty well.”

Bejarano said he hopes to separate himself from other pro prospects with his defensive effort. The 6-5, 210-pounder from Phoenix was the 10th-leading rebounder in the nation among guards and tops in the MW last season, when he also averaged 7.2 points a game. Bejarano, a second-team All-MW selection the past two seasons, also averaged 11.4 points and 2.8 assists a game while becoming only the third CSU player ever to score 1,000 points, grab 600 rebounds and dish out 200 assists in his career. And he put up those numbers in just three seasons, after playing at Arizona his freshman year.

“I feel like I can shoot and spread the floor,” Bejarano told Nuggets.com. “… I also feel like I’m a playmaker, and I am prideful in my defense. Going into this workout, that was my focus. Everyone can score in the NBA, but who can play defense is what it comes down to.”

The Nuggets, who also brought in players from the University of Colorado, Denver, Wyoming, Metro State and Fort Lewis College for workouts, have the No. 7 pick in the first round and the No. 57 pick overall near the end of the second round of the NBA draft on June 25.

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.