Hornets to work out five prospects today

By: Jim Eichenhofer, Hornets.com
New Orleans will host its first session of draft workouts this morning in the arena. Here are the five players in attendance, along with bio information (courtesy of the team's PR staff). We'll be talking to most if not all of the players after their workout. Check the blog later today for more coverage:

Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga
Pargo, a 6’-2” shooting guard from Gonzaga, is an early entrant candidate for the 2008 NBA Draft, declaring after his junior season. Jeremy is the younger brother of current Hornets guard Jannero Pargo. Pargo was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-American by the AP this season after averaging 12.1 points and a WCC-leading 6.0 assists. He scored 20 or more points five times this season, including a career-high 28 points against Oklahoma in December. Pargo averaged 12.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists his sophomore season, helping lead the Bulldogs to the NIT Semifinals. Pargo is known as a strong, athletic and hard-nosed point guard that made the transition from shooting guard. He is a good finisher (uses his strength to get to the rim) and a solid defender. Pargo is projected to be a second round pick.

Sonny Weems, Arkansas
Weems, a 6’6” shooting guard from Arkansas, was named First Team All-SEC by the league coaches and Second Team honors from the AP following his senior season with the Razorbacks. He averaged a team-high 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in his second and final season with Arkansas (attended Arkansas-Fort Smith JUCO his first two seasons). Weems scored 20 or more points 10 times, including a career-high 31 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this season against Indiana. Weems recently scored the best time in the three-quarter court sprints (2.96 seconds) and the second-best score (10.58 seconds) in the lane-agility test at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Orlando. Hailing from Memphis, Weems is an exceptional athlete with explosive slashing ability who can catch fire from the perimeter. Weems is projected to be a second round pick.

Shan Foster, Vanderbilt
Foster, a 6’-6” shooting guard that hails from New Orleans (Bonnabel High School in Kenner), finished his four-year career at Vandy as the school’s all-time leader in scoring (2,011 points), three-pointers made (367, 2nd in SEC history) and attempted (872). He was named the SEC Player of the Year (consensus), Lowe’s Senior Class award, First Team All-America by Rivals.com and Scout.com and Second-Team All-America honors from the AP. He made a SEC-history high 134 three-pointers (47% shooting from three) his senior season after averaging 20.3 points, 4.9 rebounds in 34 games. Had a career-high 42 points, including hitting nine consecutive three-pointers, in a win over Mississippi State in February. Foster has good size and length for a shooting guard, with an excellent stroke from long distance. He works well off screens to get open. He is projected to be a late first to early second round pick.

Trent Plaisted, Brigham Young
Plaisted, a 6’11” power forward hailing from San Antonio, is an early entrant candidate for the 2008 NBA Draft after declaring following his junior season at BYU. The First Team All-Mountain West Conference player averaged 15.6 points on 54 percent shooting, a team-high 7.7 rebounds and 0.97 blocks in 35 games. He scored 20 or more points 11 times and posted eight double-doubles during his junior campaign. Plaisted earned Second Team All-MWC honors his freshman and sophomore seasons. He was granted a medical redshirt after only five games his freshman season due to a knee injury. Plaisted is a lefty who is very athletic for his size. He is projected as a late first to early second round pick.

Othello Hunter, Ohio State
Hunter, a 6’8” power forward from Ohio State, played two seasons for the Buckeyes after a two-year stint in JUCO at Hillsborough Community College. Hunter helped lead Ohio State to the NIT Title his senior season, averaging 9.9 points on 60 percent shooting (second in the Big Ten) and 6.4 rebounds in 37 games (all starts). Hunter tied his career-high with 17 points and 14 rebounds against Tennessee during the regular season. As a backup to Greg Oden, Hunter averaged 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds his junior season. He earned honorable mention NJCAA All-American honors following his sophomore season at JUCO. The Winston-Salem native is a fierce rebounder who is very active and athletic. He is projected to be a second round pick.