NEW YORK – This year’s NBA Draft is a melting pot of abnormalities.

Connecticut has six players likely to get drafted.

For the first time ever, no high school players are permitted.

And GW has four players eligible to be chosen Wednesday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden here in New York.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Mike Hall, Omar Williams and Danilo (J.R.) Pinnock, the core of a GW men’s basketball team that made the last two NCAA tournaments, could all be drafted Wednesday in a draft class that many dub as lacking in talent and flair.

The quartet of Colonials were absent from the draft’s media day in New York and none expect to be at Madison Square Garden for Wednesday evening’s events. A fitting scenario for four players that have spent their career earning everything that came their way.

Hall said that Hoops the Gym, the famed basketball facility in Chicago, players are beginning to see his talent which has been somewhat masked for four seasons.

“Some (players that practice at the gym) are upset that I am not getting opportunities,” Hall said in a phone interview Tuesday. “They say ‘if you came to our school you’d be a first round draft pick.'”

Hall, who will be watching the draft from his Chicago home, does not put much credence in the comments but said there is a chance for him to be selected toward the end of the draft. He has worked out twice with the Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.

Many scouts say Hall would be a “steal” in the second round but if he is passed up in the draft, he said he is confident that a team will offer a spot at a training camp, where he will have to earn a spot on a roster.

“I’m going to outwork the next man and not do anything stupid,” Hall said of proving himself in a camp setting. “Teams and general managers like that like that.”

In the predicted upper echelon of this year’s draft are two players that also have something to prove. J.J. Redick, one of the most prolific shooters in college basketball history, is predicted by NBADraft.net to go to Orlando with the 11th pick. Redick has been labeled soft and too short for the NBA game, claims that he vehemently refutes. He said he has been criticized for his whole career, even when he chose Duke, where some predicted he wouldn’t get playing time.

“I realized there are always going to be doubters for whatever reason,” Redick said. “Whether it is my size, my quickness, my skin color, whatever it is that drives people to doubt me. I’ve overcome it my whole life.”

Rudy Gay, an early entry who spent only two years at Connecticut, may have to wait two years to be effective at the professional level, according to many. He refuted that claim and said he feels he is versatile and thought he proved his skill in workouts with Charlotte, Toronto and Portland. Hall called him “super athletic.”

“That’s why you put your heart into these workouts,” Gay said. “After that it’s up to GMs and stuff. You have to give it all up.”

Check GWHatchet.com for more updates and for live commentary from the NBA Draft check Hatchetblogs.com.