Ben Woodside doesn't know if he will be taken in the June 25 NBA draft, much less when, but the kid from Albert Lea, Minn., already has come a long way.
The North Dakota State guard worked out for the Timberwolves and representatives of 20 NBA teams Tuesday afternoon in a scene he couldn't have imagined during the countless hours he spent practicing on the Valley Park courts as a youngster.
"In my wildest dreams, I didn't think I'd be in the gym with Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, when I was down working out in the park," Woodside said. "I didn't think that was going to happen, but I worked hard and I put myself in a position to be here, so it feels good."
Just working out for the Wolves was something special for Woodside, who said he enjoyed the opportunity to audition for "the team I grew up watching and supporting."
Asked what impression he wanted the assembled coaches and personnel men to come away with, he laughed softly.
"That Ben Woodside can play in the NBA," he said. "No, just that I'm good with the ball in my hands, I can create for others, I can knock down the jump shot. But most of all, just to show that I can do it. That's the main thing."
Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn, for one, liked what he saw Tuesday.
Brett Winkelman, who became North Dakota State University's second all-time leading scorer and its all-time leading rebounder, says his tryout with the Indiana Pacers went well. And he got a chance to shake hands with Larry Bird.
Winkelman tried out Thursday with the Pacers. He said Bird, an NBA Hall of Famer who is now the Pacers' president of basketball operations, shook his hand and told him, "Great workout."
Winkelman said, "It's not every day you get a legend like that come up to you and say that."
Winkleman's teammate, Ben Woodside, tried out for the San Antonio Spurs on Monday
