May 31, 2006

Columbia, SC – South Carolina’s Tarence Kinsey and Renaldo Balkman, who has applied for the NBA Draft without hiring an agent, have both been invited to the 2006 NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Orlando, Fla. June 6-10. Both have accepted the invitations.

“We wish both players the best. We are happy Renaldo has a chance to go and compete against some of the finest talent,” said USC Head Coach Dave Odom. “He will be able to get a better idea of what his possibilities are in relation to the NBA draft. It will give him further information that will help him make a decision on whether he should return for his senior year or go forward with the NBA.”

Kinsey, who is on schedule to graduate this summer after leading the Gamecocks with 15.8 ppg and 4.6 rpg last season, was also named to the All-SEC team his senior year. Balkman, a rising senior who averaged 9.6 ppg and led the Gamecocks with 6.3 rpg, has until June 18 to withdraw his name from the NBA draft. USC was 23-15 last season, winning its second-straight NIT title.

The NBA Pre-Draft Camp invites top NBA Draft prospects annually to work out and be evaluated by league coaches, general managers, scouts and front office executives. Pre-Draft Camp drills, games, and strength and conditioning will be conducted at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

ESPNU, ESPN’s 24-hour college sports network, will provide the most live coverage ever of an NBA Pre-Draft Camp televising six hours over two days, June 7 and 8, 4-7 p.m. ET each day. ESPNU’s coverage will include game action and interviews with players, scouts and NBA general managers. NBA TV, the league’s 24-hour television network, will also provide in-depth coverage of the pre-Draft camp.

In past years, NBA Pre-Draft Camp had been held at the Moody Bible Institute’s Solheim Center in downtown Chicago. The NBA Draft takes place at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday, June 28 and is televised on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m. ET.