Senior guard Henry Domercant might be getting closer to achieving his goal of playing in the NBA each day.

This season, Domercant has received considerable attention from professional scouts of teams, including the Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic.

Orlando might be a good fit for Domercant. The Magic will be in the market for a shooting guard to come off the bench, after trading guard/forward Mike Miller, forward Ryan Humphrey, a first-round draft pick in 2003 and a second-round draft pick in 2004 to the Grizzlies for forward Drew Gooden, guard Gordan Giricek and money.

Eastern head coach Rick Samuels said the Magic have been in contact with him and have asked him several questions about the Panthers star.

“Orlando has been making kinds of inquiries that are very positive,” Samuels said.

Magic officials did not return The Daily Eastern News’ phone calls.

The Pacers and Grizzlies have sent scouts to Lantz Arena this season to see Domercant.

Samuels also said scouts have attended other Panther games away from Charleston, but wasn’t sure how many scouts have seen Domercant.

“I’ve been aware of a number of scouts at games, home and away,” Samuels said.

Domercant said he does not always know about scouts attending Eastern’s games.

“I’m not aware every time they’re there, but every, once in a while, someone will tell me they saw one,” Domercant said. “I just try to go out and play and make sure my team wins, and the scout stuff will take care of itself.”

Samuels said the professional attention Domercant is receiving has increased since last summer, when Domercant considered entering the NBA draft last summer.

While Domercant was considering entering the draft last year, he played in Chicago-area pick-up games that featured several NBA players, including Michael Jordan, Antoine Walker and Michael Finley.

This season, Domercant has proven he made the right decision, returning for his senior year of eligibility. He is currently third in the nation in scoring, averaging 26.8 points per game. He trails New Mexico’s Ruben Douglas (28.5) and Oakland’s Mike Helms (27.2).

If he finishes in the top five in scoring this season, it will mark the third year in a row Domercant has accomplished that feat. He would become the 11th player in history to do it, placing his name among NBA greats Larry Bird, Bill Bradley, Pete Maravich and Oscar Robertson.

Another chance to scout Henry

Domercant will have a chance to show scouts what he can do after the season is over.

He has been invited to compete at the Portsmith (Va.) Invitational Tournament, a college all-star tournament with 64 players from around the nation. The players are divided into eight teams, which play against each other.

Marty Blake, NBA director of scouting and a member of the Portsmith selection committee, said Domercant was invited to play in the tournament, but he has not heard back from Domercant yet. Blake is in Atlanta and will be in Portsmith later this week. Samuels said Domercant’s acceptance was faxed to the tournament officials last Friday.

“We are holding one spot for him, but we won’t hold it forever,” Blake said Monday. “(NBA teams) want to see him handle the ball at Portsmith.”

Another postseason game the athletic department is trying to get Domercant to play in is the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star Game. The game is played April 6 in New Orleans, with a team of 12 college seniors playing against the Harlem Globetrotters.

In 2001, former Eastern guard Kyle Hill was named MVP of the NABC All-Star Game.

Samuels and Blake have been in contact, trying to get Domercant into the Chicago Predraft Camp. Blake said the NBA creates a list of about 210 players who do not receive much media attention and sends the list to each team in the NBA. Each team is allowed to select 60 players they want to see at the camp. The players who receive the most votes are invited to the camp.

“If (Domercant) gets 18 votes, I have no doubt he will be there,” Blake said.

Samuels said Domercant might have some trouble getting into the camp.

“They bring all the foreign kids in and the kids leaving college early,” Samuels said. “A lot of seniors get excluded from (the Chicago Predraft Camp).

Why scouts are looking at Domercant

Scouts know Domercant is a prolific scorer that shoots over 40 percent from the floor and nearly 40 percent from three-point range. They also know he is an excellent free throw shooter, who has made over 80 percent all four years of his college career.

Domercant knows the strengths and weaknesses of his game.

“There are some (players) that can do things that I can’t do, but I can do some things that they can’t,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in my ability, and I know I can help a team at the pro level. I’m confident that I can match up well against anyone in the country.”

One skill Domercant possesses that Samuels believes places him above others is his ability to catch and shoot.

“The NBA has a deficiency of players that can just catch and shoot the ball,” Samuels said. “That is why (NBA teams) look at foreign players a lot, because they know how to do it.”

One problem scouts might have with Domercant is his size. At 6-foot-4, Domercant is limited to playing the shooting guard position. However, he has worked on gaining weight and muscle during his time at Eastern. Domercant has gained over 10 pounds since the 1998-99 season, when he sat out in a redshirt season.

“Henry has put himself in the elite,” Samuels said. “But if there is a young, potentially good big kid, (NBA teams) will take them and look for guards through other avenues.”

Moral character could a helpful factor in the minds of NBA teams.

“(NBA teams) like Henry’s character,” Samuels said. “They like the fact that he’s a quality person with a great work ethic. Right now the NBA is very conscious of public perception.”

Promoting “O’ Henry!”

Eastern head coach Rick Samuels and Eastern’s sports information department has been promoting Domercant to the national media and the NBA since last year.

With awards like being named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 11 team, Samuels and the athletic department are starting to see the fruits of their labor.

The athletic department has mailed out at least three different promotional flyers to the national media. The first one was mailed in February 2002, listing his awards and updated stats. Two have been mailed this season: one at the beginning of the season and the other this past January, which was an updated version of the one mailed in November.

“It was a ‘Heads up folks, we got a great player here and you’ve been living under a rock for the last three seasons,'” Dave Kidwell, director of sports information and marketing, said. “The one in January was a ‘Hey folks, he’s doing what we told you he would do in November.'”

Through 26 games this season, Domercant is averaging three assists per game and nearly seven rebounds per game, on top of his 26.8 points per game. These numbers are consistent with the numbers he has recorded the past two years. In 2000-01, he averaged 22.8 ppg (fourth best in the country), 2.1 apg and 6.8 rpg, and last year, he averaged 26.4 ppg (second best in the country), 2.2 apg and 7.2 rpg.

Samuels said Domercant’s numbers speak for themselves.

Domercant’s numbers have spoken so loudly, he has forced national publications like Sports Illustrated to take notice and feature him in articles.

At the beginning of the season, Domercant was featured on CNNSI.com’s weekly series “Diamond in the Rough,” featuring players that don’t receive much national attention.

More recently, Domercant was featured in the January 27 issue of Sports Illustrated in the “Inside College Basketball” section.

In the article, titled “Unheralded but Unstoppable,” Domercant was quoted saying, “I don’t know when it’s (playing in the NBA) going to happen, but it’s going to happen. You can count on it.”