Oral Roberts' Owens has NBA dreams

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) _ Former Oral Roberts guard Larry Owens hopes a workout with the New Orleans Hornets leads to a spot in the NBA. <br/><br/>The 6'7" Owens was known for his defense and was easily

Friday, June 16th 2006, 8:51 am

By: News On 6

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) _ Former Oral Roberts guard Larry Owens hopes a workout with the New Orleans Hornets leads to a spot in the NBA.

The 6'7" Owens was known for his defense and was easily overlooked on an ORU team that featured two-time Mid-Continent Conference player of the year Caleb Green and 3-point gunner Ken Tutt.

But Owens turned at least one head yesterday when he got his first chance to try out for a NBA team -- that of Hornets coach Byron Scott.

Scott says that judging from the workout, he doesn't understand why Owens wasn't invited to the NBA's pre-draft camp last week in Orlando and that he came away impressed with Owens' toughness.

Owens says he knows his best chance to make an NBA team would likely be as a defensive specialist. He hopes the workout with the Hornets leads to workouts with other teams and perhaps a spot on an NBA summer-league roster.

Owens says that Hornets officials told him to keep his head up and keep working hard.