Florida Today

Keith Bogans of Kentucky, one of the Orlando Magic's second-round draft picks, answers questions from reporters in Maitland, Fla., Friday. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

ORLANDO, Fla. - Hell hath no fury like a scorned second-round NBA pick.

Expecting to be selected somewhere in the bottom third of the first round of last month's NBA draft, Keith Bogans silently fumed as players far less proven went before him. Each name was filed away in a mental list, easily within reach when payback was possible.

"I was there with him watching the draft and it was really tense," said Bogans' cousin, Royce Thomas. "He wasn't crushed, but he was mad. Real mad. He told me that night that no matter what, he was making a NBA roster and bumping some guy out of a slot."

The moment of truth, this past week's Pepsi Pro Summer League, has been a proving ground for the rugged 6-foot-5, 215-pound Bogans. Even in a league featuring LeBron James and four other top-15 draftees - Detroit's Darko Milicic, Miami's Dwyane Wade, Milwaukee's T.J. Ford and Orlando's Reece Gaines - Bogans has been the most surprising.

Through three summer league games, Bogans is second in scoring at 19.7 points a game. Not only has he been Orlando's best defender so far, he also has shot down the criticism about his shooting by making 51.2 percent of his shots, 42.1 percent from 3-point range.

"I've got a lot of motivation and I'm using every bit of it," Bogans said after scoring 22 points in Orlando's 86-84 loss to Milwaukee on Thursday. "Really, it's not about proving anything to anybody for me. It's just playing hard. I'll let my play speak for itself."

When Bogans surprisingly plummeted to the 43rd pick, Orlando scurried to make a trade for the rugged guard from Kentucky. It cost the Magic $225,000 - peanuts by NBA standards. And chump change, considering that a Magic team in desperate need of toughness was getting the gritty guard it had coveted.

"I think that's a solid attribute," Magic general manager John Gabriel said of the noticeable chip on Bogans' shoulder. "He doesn't care if he was the third or 43rd pick in the draft now. We just had a really great feel for him ..."

Bogans, 23, has displayed a maturity not often seen from the rookies and journeyman free agents that often fill the summer league. Even though the final play in Thursday's game was drawn up for him, Bogans made the wise play. He beat his defender off the dribble, drew two defenders and instead of forcing up a shot, he kicked the ball to Alton Ford. Ford missed the shot to tie the game, but Bogans left knowing he made the right play.

His high basketball IQ and readiness to play were two other factors in the Magic trading for Bogans. Projects such as Steven Hunter, Jeryl Sasser and Ryan Humphrey haven't panned out, making it necessary for Orlando to draft a player who could help next season.

Being a second-round pick, Bogans is not ensured of a guaranteed contract. But Gabriel said he already has played well enough to be awarded a contract.

"You want toughness, confidence in position and overall basketball knowledge in a player, and Keith has all of it," Gabriel said. "He looks like he can play some point, shooting guard and some small forward for us. He's confident, making shots, and that's going to give him a really good chance to make our team."

The combination of anger and hunger, Magic summer league coach Mark Hughes said, is highly underrated when it comes to players taken late in the NBA draft.

"With Keith, you can see that he has that chip on his shoulder," Hughes said. "He wants to prove that he belongs."