NEW YORK – The teams looking for a point guard in this year’s NBA Draft appear to be in luck. There are plenty to choose from. In fact, up to nine point guards will potentially be selected in the first round Thursday night, including five in the top 10.

Jonny Flynn, who left Syracuse after his sophomore season to go pro, will certainly be one of those guards. That much is known. Where exactly he will be picked, though, is still anybody’s guess. Not even Flynn himself offered a prediction when he met with the media Wednesday at the Westin Hotel in Times Square.

Flynn has spent the last month shuttling around the country auditioning for professional coaches, general managers and scouts all trying to separate a slew of point guards battling for recognition. And after workouts for nine teams and countless rounds of 3-on-3 with the same top point guard prospects, Flynn is confident where he stands among this talented group: the top.

‘A lot of people like to call us a weak draft class. Not at the point guard position,’ Flynn said. ‘…I think I fit right up by the top of the point guards with my athleticism, my knack of getting into the lane and making plays for myself and other teammates. I think that puts me at the top.’

He will find out for sure Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN). Flynn will be in the green room backstage at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, anxious to hear commissioner David Stern call out his name to begin his NBA career. The only question now is how long he will have to wait.

Former Syracuse teammates Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf are also eligible but are not expected to be drafted. Flynn has been regularly working out with Harris in Chicago and said he has spoken to Devendorf twice since school ended.

Flynn has been rumored to go anywhere between Nos. 4-14, but will likely be taken somewhere in the top 10. He has worked out for every team picking between No. 4 (Sacramento Kings) and No. 11 (New Jersey Nets), often competing directly with some of the other point guards. The Kings were the only club to invite Flynn back for a second tryout.

Nearly every mock draft predicts Flynn will be among the first three point guards selected. As of Wednesday afternoon, popular draft Web site nbadraft.net has Flynn at No. 10 going to the Milwaukee Bucks, while draftexpress.com has him going to Sacramento.

Considering how much money he stands to make and how highly regarded he is with NBA teams, Flynn has no doubts he made the right choice by leaving Syracuse early.

‘I definitely look back at Syracuse and be like, ‘I tried to leave my mark,” Flynn said. ‘I think I definitely left a mark on Syracuse University. It was two of the best years of my life. I learned a lot from the coaching staff and coach [Jim] Boeheim.’

Ricky Rubio, an 18-year-old Spanish phenom, is widely considered the best point guard of the bunch and may wind up in Sacramento. After that, the situation becomes muddled.

Memphis’ Tyreke Evans, Davidson’s Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings, who skipped college to play in Italy this past year, are all considered premier point guard prospects. UCLA’s Jrue Holiday, Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor and North Carolina’s Ty Lawson are also in the mix.

It seems that Flynn’s stock has risen dramatically since the college season ended with the Orange falling to Oklahoma in the Sweet 16. Before the postseason, Flynn was not even seen as a lottery pick, let alone someone who may be picked as high as No. 4.

That all changed in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. Flynn led Syracuse to a six-overtime victory over arch-rival Connecticut en route to winning tournament MVP – a performance that made ‘Jonny Flynn’ a household name around the country and began his ascension up the draft order.

Flynn said he was interviewed by every team he worked out for, and the first question in each interview was about the ‘Six in the City’ game. If not for that night, Flynn’s entire situation could possibly be different.

‘I try to sit back sometimes and look, if I hadn’t played UConn, or we would have lost that game, or it wouldn’t have went six overtimes, then where would Jonny Flynn be right now?’ Flynn said. ‘If I had to answer that, I’d probably still be at school. That is a game that really helped me out, really got my stock up and made the decision easier when I thought about leaving.’

Despite the importance of the six-overtime game, Flynn stressed that while it gave him the national exposure he needed, it isn’t the only reason teams are interested in him. He said he has shined against the other point guards and has been receiving good feedback from teams after each of his workouts.

As far as he’s concerned, all the praise he has been receiving is not about luck or hype. Flynn believes it is deserved.

‘I think it was a little bit of everything,’ Flynn said. ‘It was during the season, the Connecticut game, the NCAA Tournament, going to the draft combine and really interviewing with these teams. They got to see Jonny Flynn the person. I think that’s what really attracted some of these teams, that I’m a great guy, that I could be a great person in a locker room.’It was just a little bit of everything. You can’t pinpoint one thing, but it’s all working out for the best for me.’

Check back to dailyorange.com and twitter.com/dosports for continuing coverage of Thursday’s NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden.

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on June 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm