Cameron Oliver heads to Brooklyn to attend draft in person

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Cam Oliver's journey to NBA draft almost over The Wolf Pack alum is expected to be a second-round pick during June 22's NBA draft. He'd be the first Nevada player selected since 2010. Chris Murray/RGJ

On Thursday night, Cameron Oliver hopes to hear him name called at the NBA draft, which would be the fulfillment of a life-long dream, and he doesn’t want to miss out on that opportunity in person.

The Wolf Pack alum is flying to New York on Tuesday morning and will be attendance for Thursday’s draft, which begins at 4 p.m. Pacific time in Brooklyn. Joining him will be his agent, Todd Ramasar; his long-time girlfriend, Alecia Ashford; and his 6-month-old son, King, who was born in December.

Oliver is projected to be a second-round selection in the draft, and thus didn’t get a green room invitation, but he made the decision last week to attend the draft because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“It was back and forth,” Oliver told the Reno Gazette-Journal on Monday. “My mom wanted to go. My dad wanted to go. They can’t make it, but afterwards I’ll come back home and we’ll celebrate. My family always has great celebrations. That will mean more than anything to me. It’s something you only get to do once in a lifetime, going up there and shaking hands with Adam Silver or the deputy commissioner. It’s like a big ole prom night. After that, I’m going to come back home and embrace the process.”

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Oliver took part in the NBA scouting combine in Chicago and then worked out with 10 NBA teams in individual workouts. Those teams included Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, the L.A. Lakers, Sacramento, Golden State, Portland and Brooklyn. He was scheduled to work out with the N.Y. Knicks but a minor lower-back pull during his Nets’ workout caused him to drop out of that workout.

Oliver, who was a Nevada sophomore last year, has been pleased with how the lead-in to the draft has gone.

“It’s been fun,” said Oliver, who tested the NBA draft waters after his freshman season but drew only one workout (with Boston) before returning to school. “It’s been really great this year, especially compared to how things went last year. I was blessed to work out with a lot of teams and I’m grateful to get a chance to show them what I can do and now I’m a few days away from my dream coming true.”

The most recent round of mock drafts have Oliver in the middle to late second round. NBAdraft.net projects him 44th to the Knicks; DraftExpress.com has him going 52nd to the Washington Wizards; ESPN places Oliver 58th overall to the Knicks. Oliver said he’d love to land with the Golden State Warriors or Sacramento Kings, his two hometown teams – he was born and grew up in Oakland before moving to Sacramento for high school – but he doesn’t have any strong feeling on which team will select him.

“It’s still wide open right now,” Oliver said. “Hopefully I can stick on the West Coast, but I’m excited and will be grateful wherever I go. I think West Coast would be good because it’s something I’m familiar with. With these West Coast teams, they have this family atmosphere and you can feel it and I’ve been really comfortable with those teams, and I’m pretty sure those teams had the same exact vibes also.”

The 6-foot-8, 235-pound Oliver averaged 16 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks as a sophomore last season and was named first-team All-Mountain West. He shot 46.5 percent from the field, including 38.4 percent from three, and blocked 91 shots, the ninth most in the NCAA. His combination of shooting ability, rim protection and versatility has put him on the brink of becoming the 15th Wolf Pack player selected in the NBA draft.

Oliver is just the sixth Wolf Pack underclassmen to enter the NBA draft. Each of the first five was selected (three first round; two second round), a trend Oliver hopes to continue. The 20-year-old didn’t want to miss his chance to walk across the stage after being selected. To do so in front of his infant son would carry extra importance.

“It’s going to mean a lot to me,” Oliver said. “It’s something I’ll remember the rest of my life. My son can look back one day and say, ‘My dad walked that stage and I was there,’ and he probably won’t remember it but he can say he was there. I just want him to know if you put your mind to it and don’t give up you can accomplish any goal you want to accomplish. I want him to know there’s no adversity you can’t overcome. I know for a fact that if you dedicate yourself to something you can accomplish it.”

WOLF PACK IN THE NBA DRAFT

A look at the 14 Nevada alums who have been selected in the NBA draft.

* Alex Boyd, Portland Trail Blazers (1970, 13th round, 199th overall)

* Marvin Buckley, Golden State Warriors (1974, 10th round, 172nd overall)

* Pete Padgett, Atlanta Hawks (1976, sixth round, 88th overall)

* Johnny High, Phoenix Suns (1979, second round, 24th overall)

* Edgar Jones, Milwaukee Bucks (1979, second round, 31st overall)

* B.B. Fontenet, Chicago Bulls (1982, sixth round, 122nd overall)

* Sam Moseley, Phoenix Suns (1983, fourth round, 89th overall)

* Billy Allen, Dallas Mavericks (1983, sixth round, 125th overall)

* Kirk Snyder, Utah Jazz (2004, first round, 16th overall)

* Nick Fazekas, Dallas Mavericks (2007, second round, 34th overall)

* Ramon Sessions, Milwaukee Bucks (2007, second round, 56th overall)

* JaVale McGee, Washington Wizards (2008, first round, 18th overall)

* Luke Babbitt, Portland Trail Blazers (2010, first round, 16th overall)

* Armon Johnson, Portland Trail Blazers (2010, second round, 34th overall)