Landon Milbourne, Damian Hollis among 6 players at Wizards pre-draft workout

Both Maryland forward Landon Milbourne and George Washington forward Damian Hollis struggled to sleep on Wednesday night, the eve of their first workouts leading up to the NBA draft. Milbourne and Hollis participated in a workout Thursday morning for the Washington Wizards as part of a six-player group that marked the first prospects the team has hosted during the pre-draft process.

Milbourne slept only 3 1/2 hours because of nervous anticipation, while Hollis woke up two hours before his alarm clock sounded and joked about fearing that his Metro train would break down on the way to Verizon Center.

"When I was in the locker room, I just couldn't keep still," Milbourne said. "I just kept going to the bathroom, kept trying to stretch, whatever, just trying to do something."

They joined South Florida guard Dominique Jones, Rutgers center Hamady Ndiaye, St. Mary's center Omar Samhan and Texas A&M guard Donald Sloan. Although notable college players, none are among the group of players the Wizards are expected to choose from with their early first-round pick.

Jones was the headliner of the group. He expressed his fondness for Verizon Center, which he last entered when South Florida upset Georgetown on Feb. 3.

"It feels good being here, thinking one day I could play all of my home games here," Jones said. "I think from my college days, it was real fun going back-and-forth with the crowd."

The most outspoken of Thursday's participants was Samhan, who excelled in the NCAA tournament and utilized the national stage to reveal his outsize personality. Samhan frequents Twitter and pledged his appreciation for Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, who has at times felt similarly underappreciated and at one point embraced social media. Samhan was even asked by Miami Heat President Pat Riley about the risks of social media.

Samhan also got a taste of his newfound celebrity in Washington, when he walked to a burrito restaurant in Chinatown on Wednesday and heard his name called by fans.

"Random people on the street in D.C. knew my name, which is crazy," Samhan said. "But it's awesome. It's helped a lot, not just with the coaches but with America. More people know more about me and Saint Mary's."

All the players understood that more than a month remains before the draft, and Thursday was just one of a handful of workouts they expect to participate in before learning their fates. As the draft approaches, the Wizards will start to entertain players with a more realistic chance of becoming the team's first-round pick. But on Thursday, they took a glimpse at NBA hopefuls who savored the opportunity to visit.

"I've been waiting for this moment all my life and I'm just thankful to be at this point," Milbourne said. "I'm just going to try to do as much as I can to keep it going and give myself the best opportunity to get drafted."