Brooks up to speed in grueling NBA workouts.

Byline: Adam Jude The Register-Guard

TUALATIN - Near the end of an 80-minute workout at the Portland Trail Blazers' practice facility Friday morning, Aaron Brooks displayed the fast footwork and soft shooting touch that he believes - as do many others - will make him an NBA draft pick later this month.

Breaking down a defender in a one-on-one drill, Brooks paused on a drive to the basket, dribbled between his legs twice and swished a 15-foot jump shot. It's that kind of don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it moment that had Blazers officials marveling at the pace of the former Oregon point guard's game.

"Unbelievable player," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "He's quicker than the last time I saw him live."

Added Florida point guard Taurean Green, who participated in the workout with Brooks: "I'm telling everyone that he's the quickest, fastest guy I've played against."

That, Brooks said, is on par with much of the reaction he's received so far in his whirlwind tour through a series of workouts with NBA teams before the June 28 draft.

"It's definitely a dream come true to put yourself in this position to have a chance to get drafted," Brooks said. "Things are getting more exciting each day, (because) I'm getting positive feedback. As long as I keep getting positive feedback, I'll be more excited."

Taking a short break from the workouts, Brooks is back in Eugene today for his UO graduation, joining a celebration with family he hasn't seen since he began pre-draft training almost six weeks ago in Las Vegas.

"I'm very excited. I'm looking forward to walking," said Brooks, who completed his final math course online to earn his degree. "This last quarter was probably the hardest one, seeing that I only had one class and I was going through senioritis and workouts and stuff like that. To finally be done with (school) is great."

Brooks will have little time to celebrate. Having already worked out for six teams in the past eight days - Houston, Chicago, Miami, Phoenix, Golden State and Portland - he'll return to his hometown of Seattle on Monday for a session with the Sonics, the first in a stretch of eight consecutive days of workouts in eight cities.

"You just get rest when you get to the hotel. It's kind of the same thing, just get up and work out every morning," he said. "You're going to have not-so-great days, and you're going to have better-than-average days. If you just keep going ... you gotta find a team that likes you."

The Blazers seemed to like what they saw Friday, when Brooks was paired with two other point guards, Green and South Carolina's Tre Kelley. Brooks and Green met when Florida defeated Oregon in the Midwest Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament, and the two have become close while working out together the past month.

"There was a lot of quickness on the floor. All three point guards showed they can be in the NBA," Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "I thought Aaron, athletically, was really, really good. He made some good decisions. He was very difficult to defend, especially in the full court."

Portland has the No. 1 overall selection - expected to be Ohio State center Greg Oden or Texas forward Kevin Durant - plus four second-round picks. The Blazers are likely to select a point guard, and Brooks said he likes the idea of playing for McMillan, whom he grew up watching in Seattle.

"The Blazers would be good because Oregon is kind of like home," he said, adding he's close with a handful of the players, including former UO star Fred Jones. "Things are looking up for this community and this state."

Things began to look up for Brooks after a good showing at the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando late last month. Entering the camp, the main criticism of Brooks was that he wasn't a "true" point guard, serving more as a scoring guard during his Oregon career.

"I think I showed in Orlando that I can run a team and I can distribute the ball," he said.

Of the 80 players at the camp, Brooks ranked No. 14 in a series of tests that gauged, among other things, speed, agility and strength. He also measured as the shortest (5 feet, 10 1/2 inches without shoes, 5-11 3/4 with) and sleekest (161 pounds, 2.7 percent body fat).

Brooks said his body fat actually "went up" to 2.7 percent, and he's hoping to increase that figure even more.

"We've been working out hard," he said. "I definitely want to put on some more weight and more body fat, but that'll come."

Despite solid workouts so far, most draft prognosticators still list Brooks as an early second-round pick, at best. Brooks said he "definitely" believes he is first-round material.

"You can never feel like you've done enough to put yourself in the first round," he said. "You gotta keep going, keep focusing. You get positive feedback, and you use that as motivation to keep working hard."