Then again, it could be the New Jersey Nets. Or Cleveland Cavaliers. Or Portland Trail Blazers. Or ...

Welcome to the NBA Draft, where there is much posing, posturing and postulating -- and outright guessing -- in the weeks and months leading up to tonight's event at New York's Madison Square Garden.

"It's a lot like litigation," ESPN draft analyst Jay Bilas said. "Everybody talks loud and talks tough until they start walking up the courthouse steps."

Tonight, the talk and the mock drafts end. NBA teams, having reached a final judgment, will make firm decisions.

Hickson, a 6-foot-9 post player who elected to leave N.C. State after his freshman year, is expected to be chosen in the first round. Where, exactly, in the first round? Good question.

Bilas has Hickson rated No. 20 on his "best available list."

"He's a big, tough kid," Bilas said. "But does he play hard all the time? Does he want to be great? He's big, but he is still a kid."

Those are the kind of concerns NBA types have about Hickson, who led the Wolfpack in scoring and rebounding last season and was voted to the ACC all-freshman team. State did lose its last nine games, finishing 15-16.

"In the NBA, winning is the whole thing," Bilas said.

NCSU coach Sidney Lowe said he believed Hickson, 19, would be taken between the 10th and 20th picks in the first round. NBA scouts and officials, Lowe said, like Hickson's potential, but also his dedication, his work ethic -- those 6 o'clock morning workouts -- and his drive.

"J.J. is a great competitor," Lowe said. "He was a total team player. J.J. is a throwback player. He wants to win."

Hickson said he has worked out for nine NBA teams. Some of those teams -- Toronto, New Jersey and Portland among them -- asked him back a second time.

Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Hickson going No. 21 to the Nets. In all, Ford has 15 power forwards or centers going in the first round.

Hickson is considered the only ACC player who will be taken in the first round. Virginia guard Sean Singletary may be taken in the second round and Duke's DeMarcus Nelson may be taken late although there's the risk of going undrafted.

Nelson was scheduled to work out for the Seattle SuperSonics, who have four second-round picks and six total, on Wednesday.

He said he had "terrific" workouts with the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Bobcats, Detroit Pistons and Portland. He felt confident he would get signed by a team regardless of what happens tonight.

"Either way, four or five teams may want to bring me in," said Nelson, who was also being told he was a possible late-first or second-round pick.

"Nelson played well in the pre-draft camp in Orlando, he's a good defender and he's good in the open court," draft analyst Chris Monter said. "But he's short at 6-2. Where does he play?"

The draft is being called a deep one by most observers, giving teams a larger pool of talent from which to evaluate and choose.

"It's deep in terms of talent but probably not in terms of having an immediate impact," NBA consultant Chris Ekstrand said. "There are a lot of players 19 or 20."

"The game has changed in the NBA, with more emphasis on quickness and agility than size and strength," Ekstrand said. "It's still a good thing to be big and strong, but you now see more 4s who can play the 5."

That is, power forwards with the versatility to be used at center, if need be.

Monter noted a record eight freshmen were taken in the first round last year and expects more to be chosen tonight -- perhaps six of the first seven picks.

"Players like Hickson need more time to develop -- raw, in need of more seasoning," said Monter, editor and publisher of Collegebasketballnews.com. "There are a lot of good players with size in this draft, and Hickson is one of them.

"Teams try to look down the road and project the player they will have one day. Some will be kicking themselves down the road for not taking some big guys they passed on in this draft."

Will Hickson be one of them?

Good question.

(Staff writer Luciana Chavez contributed to this report.)