By Dustin Krugel
Posted: May 28, 2002

Mystery solved.

On Tuesday the Phoenix Suns started to unravel one of the draft’s biggest unknowns by getting a closeup look at Maybyner “Nene” Hilario, one of the top players in South America, in a private workout also attended by Maryland guard Juan Dixon, Arkansas State center Jason Jennings, Illinois forward Robert Archibald and Division II guard Ron Murray of Shaw College (N.C.)

What little known info there is on Hilario, it sounds almost too good to be true. The probable lottery pick has been described as the next Hakeem Olajuwon or the next Shawn Kemp (minus the weight problems). He’s explosive with the agility of a guard, but the size and strength of a power forward. What’s not to like?

But outside of a brief appearance at the 2001 Goodwill Games, where his Brazilian National Team pushed the Dream Team to overtime, not many people have seen Hilario in person, who currently plays Brazilian club Vasco De Gama.

Until now.

“Wow! He has an incredible body,” said Suns Head Coach Frank Johnson of Hilario, who cancelled a workout with Memphis after spraining his ankle Saturday in Chicago, but reported no problems in working out for Phoenix. “He’s 6-10 with a wingspan of 7-4 and runs extremely well. He’s one of those, what we call freaks, but with a lot of upside. He’s still learning. Physically, he has an NBA body.”

The Suns have made it no secret that they are searching for a physical post presence and Johnson said “Nene” is not afraid to dish out physical punishment.

“I think his body’s gotten bigger (since the Goodwill Games). He’s gotten stronger,” Johnson said. “You can see that he was taught things defensively. His offensive game is so much behind his defensive game, because he’s pretty aware defensively.

“It’ll just take him time. But in terms of the physical play with the NBA, he loves that. He loves the physical contact, to the point where when he comes in, he’ll probably foul out in three to five minutes because he loves to bang.”

In addition to being one of the draft’s most mysterious prospects, Hilario is one of the most interesting. He got the nickname "Nene," which means baby, because he’s is youngest child in his family.

“He’s played soccer since he came out of his mother’s womb like most Brazilians,” said Joe Santos, his Canadian-born Portuguese translator. “He did Judo for several years and did some track and field. When he was turning 13 his physical education coach told him he had really long arms and hands and said, 'You might want to play basketball.'”