COLLEGE PARK - — COLLEGE PARK - -Maryland basketball guard Greivis Vasquez is set to attend an NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago this month, but those who know the player say he has not decided whether to leave school for his senior season.
Vasquez declared for the draft three weeks ago. After leading the Terps last season in scoring, rebounding and assists, Vasquez has attracted the interest of a number of NBA clubs, including the Washington Wizards.
But the 6-foot-6 guard from Caracas, Venezuela, remains enrolled at Maryland, and he has preserved his option to return next season by not hiring an agent.
"Too many players drop their class work. That's not Greivis," said Stu Vetter, a friend and adviser who was Vasquez's high school coach at Montrose Christian in Rockville. "He's keeping up his class work. He's doing the prudent thing."
When asked whether Vasquez has made up his mind about leaving school, Vetter replied, "absolutely not."
"He'll make an informed decision one way or another," the coach said. "What I've been advising him to do is get as much information as possible. He'll be doing workouts with NBA teams, and there'll be lots of teams involved."
Maryland's coaches believe Vasquez might return to the school. At the same time, the coaching staff has been helping the player coordinate his pre-draft schedule with NBA clubs.
The deadline for Vasquez to remove his name from the NBA draft list is 5 p.m. June 15. The draft is scheduled for June 25.
Vetter declined to name which NBA teams had invited Vasquez to work out, and the player could not be reached for comment. The Wizards said they are interested enough in Vasquez that they might invite him to work out for the club.
Like other NBA teams, the Wizards might invite as many as 40 to 60 players. The club began the process Wednesday by running Temple guard Dionte Christmas, the Atlantic 10's leading scorer last season, and three other players through drills.
"A lot of the players that we bring in are not just for our first-round pick, but also for our second-round pick, or for free-agent-type players that we might want to take a look at down the road," Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement. "The thing that I get the most out of this process is being able to talk to the players and see what type of people they really are and how they handle themselves."
