Samford coach Bennie Seltzer hopeful that Birmingham native Christian Watford will get picked in NBA Draft (video)

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Indiana's Christian Watford grabs a rebound against Bryant's Alex Francis during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - From start to finish, Samford men's head basketball coach Bennie Seltzer will have a vested interest in Thursday's NBA Draft.

While he was an assistant at Indiana, he recruited Victor Oladipo, a projected top 5 pick and Christian Watford, a productive college player who came from Birmingham to help lead Indiana's resurgence back to a college basketball power.

Let's take a look at Watford. The Shades Valley graduate was one of the top prospects in the class of 2009 and took his talents to Indiana, which was going through a major rebuilding project with new head coach Tom Crean and Seltzer, a rising young assistant.

Seltzer recruited Watford to Indiana and after two rough seasons, helped the Hoosiers to two Sweet 16s. Indiana was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this year, sparked by the 6-foot-9 swing forward Watford.

"Our selling job when we first got to Indiana was we're coming back to help rebuild Indiana to what it once was," Seltzer said. "He wanted to be a part of that process.

"He was a major, major reason why Indiana is where they are today. He was one of the first players at the national level that took a chance on us and took a chance on Indiana."

One shot fresh on the minds of Indiana fans was a game-winning 3-pointer he hit against Kentucky as a junior in a season where Kentucky later won the national championship.

"Once the ball went in, it's all a blur," Seltzer said. "That shot and the way he shot it and the confidence he had, without hesitation, we've seen Christian make that shot 1,000 times. He looked very comfortable when he shot it. That's one of the plays that makes Christian the player he is now, the confidence in his game."

But a great college player doesn't always make for an NBA Draft pick, as the NBA seems to draft on potential at times rather than polished results. Seltzer said that Watford has been all over the NBA working out for teams. He projects as a second-round draft pick or an undrafted free agent.

"A lot of teams are bringing him in because of that interest they have in his size and his ability to shoot the basketball." Seltzer said. "I think there's a lot of teams out there that are very interested in Christian.

"Like we've always said, it only takes one team to like you. I think he has an unbelievable chance to get drafted. I've got my fingers crossed and my prayers up and I think he will be drafted."

NJ.com said that if Watford could make a transition to small forward, he could stick around in the league.

ESPN's Chad Ford lists Watford's positives as versatility, long arms, quick off the dribble, solid athlete, ability to get to the line and range. He listed negatives as needing to add strength, a bit of a tweener (is he a small forward or a power forward, or neither?) and needs to improve rebounding.

Check out the video to see what Seltzer had to say, and here's the clip of Watford's big shot over Kentucky during the 2011-12 season.

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