Sean Dockery has heard the skeptics' questions. Since March, they've been stuck in his head like a bad song on repeat.
How can a guy who had to give up his point guard spot to a freshman run the show in the NBA? How can a player who was benched time after time in college for not taking an open shot possibly have enough confidence to compete against the greatest athletes in the world?
Those questions are the reason Dockery has worked tirelessly on his jumper to the point where he can consistently knock down the NBA three-pointer. They are why he worked out for several teams that didn't even have second-round picks to get his name out as much as possible. They also explain why he is playing on the last day of the Orlando pre-draft camp even though he has a pulled hip flexor muscle, making him half a step slower than normal.
"The NBA is my dream," he says, limping off the court after his final game in Orlando. "When I was a kid and I was sad, the only thing that would make me happy would be to watch the NBA and picture myself playing there. But you only get one chance at this."
Since the NBA's got questions, Dockery has to find answers-or give up that dream.
Dockery made his name at Duke by doing whatever was needed for the group. While his all-team attitude will certainly help him once he's in the door-NBA teams refuse to deal with prima donna role players-he's finding that, for now, he has to prove his individual abilities to scouts, even after four years of national exposure in college.
"When I first talked to him, I said, 'Sean I saw you play probably 15 to 20 times on television during the season, and I really don't know that much about your game,'" recalls Eddie Webb, who coached Dockery at the pre-draft Portsmouth Invitational. "When people watched Duke last year, they focused on two people."
Those two-J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams-were picked 11th and fifth in the NBA Draft, respectively, and are enjoying the secure life: guaranteed contracts with multi-million-dollar signing bonuses and certain roster spots. Dockery, however, will spend the next few months trying to walk on as an undrafted free agent, proving himself all over again.
And as for the haters? Please don't stop now, Dockery says.
"They just push me to work harder," he says. "I feel like I can make it. I could be in the league for a long time."
It wouldn't be wise to count Dockery out-long odds have never phased him.
Just ask Virginia Tech.
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