Leslie still defining role

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - As Raleigh Word of God Academy forward C.J. Leslie expands his game, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to figure out where he should play on the floor.

Leslie is competing along with some of the top high school prospects in the nation at the NBA Players Association’s top-100 camp at the University of Virginia this week.

He handles the ball well enough at 6-foot-9 to play a sort of point forward role. But when he is trying to create shots away from the basket, the guards on his team seem uncertain what to do.

In a less organized camp setting, at least, Leslie is more effective posting up and crashing the boards for offensive rebounds. Leslie, a former N.C. State commitment whose schools of local interest include North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest, said he remains wide open in the recruiting process.

He recently took an unofficial visit to North Carolina, where he played pickup against NBA players Raymond Felton and Jason Terry, and rising Tar Heel freshman John Henson.

“(Roy Williams) is a pretty up-front guy about his coaching and the way he coaches,” Leslie said. “He really told me how he is going to coach and gave me a tour of the school.”

Leslie said he plans to make more unofficial visits this summer. Florida, Maryland, Kentucky and Wake Forest are among the possibilities.

- One of the most notable roster losses at the NBPA camp is that of N.C. State point guard commitment Ryan Harrow.

The rising senior at Walton High in Marietta, Ga., is attending the camp but won’t play because of an ankle injury. Another N.C. State target, forward Luke Cothron of Flora MacDonald Academy in Red Springs, N.C., was a no-show at the camp.

Dave Telep, the camp director, said Cothron didn’t call to give a reason that he wasn’t coming. Although that’s not likely to dim N.C. State’s interest in him, it won’t help him improve his stature among the top prospects in the class.

Scout.com has Cothron ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2010.

- Duke commitment Andre Dawkins of Chesapeake, Va., is off to a fast start at the NBPA camp.

A 6-5 shooting guard, he scored 17 points in his opening game Thursday afternoon, displaying the ability to finish on the fast break and score from 3-point range.

Another Duke target, guard Brandon Knight of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., posted the morning session’s top scoring outing with 24 points.

- Ken Tysiac