Former Rebel center Kambala left undrafted

Steve Addy

Thursday, June 28, 2001 | 10:49 a.m.

One by one, the names were called in the second round of the NBA draft on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Kaspars Kambala wasn't among them, but he wouldn't have heard it anyway.

After watching the first round on TV with friends in New York, the ex-UNLV center didn't stick around for the final 29 picks. He had known his chances of being drafted were slim.

"He didn't want to watch the second round," a Kambala associate said. "It was a beautiful night in New York, so he left."

Kambala didn't miss anything. The Knicks, for whom he worked out two weeks ago, drafted a pair of frontcourt players with the 39th and 43rd picks -- Arizona forward Michael Wright and Kansas center Eric Chenowith.

Kambala had spent much of the last month working out with Wright in New York.

Miami and Milwaukee had also shown interest in Kambala, but Miami took Ohio State center Ken Johnson at No. 49 and the Bucks picked Michigan State forward Andre Hutson at No. 52. Those clubs might attempt to sign Kambala as a free agent for training camp.

More likely, Kambala will wind up playing overseas. He has had offers from Israel and Spain, but wanted to wait until after the draft to pursue them.

Messages left on Kambala's cell phone were not returned.