USC and UCLA bring out NBA scouts

Tonight, the Galen Center smells of rich mahogany. Somewhere, you'll probably find a room with many leather bound books.

That's right, this game between UCLA and USC is kind of a big deal.

With top pro prospects like Darren Collison, Jrue Holiday, Taj Gibson and DeMar DeRozan, the NBA scouts are out in force. Among the teams represented:

The New Jersey Nets, Charlotte Bobcats, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavs, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors.

According to a couple of the scouts in attendance, you can often find 25 to 30 of them at big games. The timing is frequently as important as the players on the court. "It's a Sunday night, there's not a lot going on," one of them pointed out.

The Trojans expect at least 10 scouts per home game for the remainder of Pac-10 play. "We always try to accommodate them," said USC spokesman David Tuttle.

Last season, the Bruins typically had anywhere from 18 to 25 per game, maxing out when UCLA hosted Texas on Dec. 2. Out of 30 NBA teams, 28 sent a scout to that game. It was actually a doubleheader for most, who went to the USC-Kansas game earlier that afternoon.

-- Adam Rose