Posted: June 19, 2002

Chris Wilcox enjoyed a meteoric rise from backup forward as a freshman to one of the nation’s most exciting players as a sophomore at Maryland. The 6-10, 221-pound power forward prospect got to show off some of his exciting moves and a whole lot of dunks during a private workout for six teams, including the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

Following the evening session at America West Arena, Wilcox spoke breifly with reporters about his decision to showcase his talent in three NBA-run workouts and his explosive game.

Question: This was your last workout. How did it go?

Wilcox: Hopefully a lot teams got to see my game and we’ll just take it from there. Hopefully everything will work out from there.

Question: How high do you think you might go in the draft?

Wilcox: I don’t know right now. I just want to make the best of the situation and go to a team where I can help that team get better, and hopefully in the long run get them to a national title. I want to help the team any kind of way. That’s what I want to do.

Question: Why was it that you wanted to do it in this format, bringing the teams to you rather than making the trips to the teams?

Wilcox: I had a light hamstring problem from my regular season at Maryland and I didn’t want to go anywhere unless I was 100 percent. When I got 100 percent the best way for us to do this was to just do three major workouts instead of flying here and flying there. That’s a lot of wear and tear. It gives a lot of teams a chance to see me three times instead of going to one place one time. Hopefully everything will work out well the way it’s going now.

Question: How did this workout compare to the other two from your viewpoint?

Wilcox: I think I had a great workout today, but the only ones who know that are the GMs and stuff like that. I think I did well so hopefully everything will work out fine.

Question: Did you get a chance to talk to the Suns’ staff?

Wilcox: I had a brief conversation with them today before my workout.

Question: How would you describe your game?

Wilcox: I’m just like an exciting player to watch. I do the little things on the court like rebounding and playing defense, things like that.

Question: Is Phoenix a team you could see yourself playing for?

Wilcox: Yeah. I wouldn’t mind coming to Phoenix. It’s a great place. There’s a lot of warm weather. It reminds me of the South a little bit, but it’s just a little hot.

Question: Have you ever been in this 110-degree heat before?

Wilcox: Nah (laughs). I’ve been to Vegas a couple of times. It’s kind of hot down there. Coming here is kind of the same.