Scouts say Lee Benson will be drafted in the high 20s, maybe the 30s. Benson wishes the number were lower, but he'll take it. It's better than being No. A-275317, his handle in the Ohio prison system, where Benson, 28, spent 8 1/2 years for abduction with a firearm and drug trafficking. "I ran with thugs," he says. "I didn't have a straight path."

While in prison, Benson, a 6'11" former star at Dayton's Dunbar High, played pickup games to keep his mind off "days that I feared for my life." A no-layup rule to prevent hard fouls led to his wicked outside game. Brown Mackie coach Francis Flax heard about Benson and went to prison to meet with him. "I will not make you look bad," Benson said. Three weeks after Benson's release in August '01, Flax had a new big man -- and Benson a new chance.

Now he doesn't smoke, drink, do drugs or even eat red meat. Against Flax's advice, Benson declared for the draft after averaging 34.9 ppg and 13.6 rpg in Salina. Scouts love his quickness and range, but think his fundamentals and low-post moves could use work. "He was bored playing at that level," says Grizzlies scout Ed Manning. "He thinks he needs to be challenged." So far, he has been. During predraft workouts, Amare Stoudemire knocked out one of Benson's teeth. Benson just picked it up, tossed it into the stands and ran down the court -- on a straight path.

This article appears in the June 24 issue of ESPN The Magazine.