CHICAGO -- Emeka Okafor was sitting at one end of the hotel ballroom, and, fittingly, Dwight Howard was at the other, some 50 feet away. It was the closest the projected top NBA draft prospects have been -- and apparently -- will get, much to the Orlando Magic's chagrin. Okafor and Howard arrived Friday after the conclusion of the Chicago predraft camp for physicals and a media session, but they have yet to speak to one another. "I don't think he wants to talk to me," laughed Howard. Their names may be linked before draft night, and they may be compared forever afterward. But for now, as Okafor and Howard jockey for the right to be chosen No. 1 overall by the Magic, they are keeping their distance, intentionally or unintentionally, avoiding each other like fighters before a bout. The Magic wanted both Okafor and Howard to work out next Friday in Orlando -- one in the morning and one in the afternoon -- to get a better same-day feel for the players. But Howard's agent, Aaron Goodwin, said Saturday, "That won't happen. Okafor needs to have his day, and Dwight needs to have his." Okafor's day will be Friday, with Magic owner Rich DeVos on hand to observe. Howard likely will show his stuff a day or two later. They are on different ends of the room and spectrum, each representing a side in the debate about the state of pro basketball. Howard is 18, another high school star making the leap into the NBA. Some (Howard included) compare him to Kevin Garnett and point to his all-around skill and tremendous upside. Okafor will be 22 when the season begins, three years of college basketball and a degree on his resume. Experts liken him to Alonzo Mourning, a premier defender who is NBA-ready. This is the sport's great divide, and the Magic are straddling the chasm carefully as they size up both players before the June 24 draft. Experience or exuberance? Proven commodity or unlimited potential? Play safe or take a chance? Offense or defense? You want the guy who has gone to the prom or the guy who has gone on a panty raid? "Right now, it's the difference between a boy and a man," former star Dominique Wilkins said. "I like Howard, but Okafor's a man. I'd have to take him." Said Los Angeles Clippers scout Evan Pickman: "You take Howard. It's a no-brainer. This kid will be great." Both players were asked to state their case: Why should you be No. 1? Howard, his youth showing, lit up and said, "I bring a lot more to the table . . . the steak, the vegetables. Offense, defense." Okafor, his maturity showing, shrugged and said, "Whatever happens, happens. I hope some kind, old GM out there says, 'You know, I like this Okafor guy. Let me take him.' " And so it went between Howard, the 6-11, 243-pound former Atlanta Southwest Christian star, and Okafor, the 6-8?, 257-pound former Connecticut all-American and finance major. "He's a confident kid," Okafor said of Howard. "If he feels he's the No. 1 pick, it's in his right to say so. More power to him. "To me, I just go out there and do what I can. I just say whatever ... it's not really in my hands." They're both well-adjusted, lighthearted, glib, respectful and fit just about every adjective in the Boy Scout handbook. Pitted against Okafor in the draft derby, Howard has tried to bridge the three-year gap in age, college experience and national exposure, saying, "You don't have to worry about me just because I've only gone to high school. . . . K.G. [Garnett] didn't go to college." He talks of "wanting to go into the NBA since I was 10," and recently rising at 4 a.m. and starting two-a-day workouts after a 5 a.m. prayer period. He's gained weight ("All muscle," he laughs), adding roughly 25 pounds in the past year. He mentions he already has been studying videotape for ways to stop Garnett and Tim Duncan, and he recalls Michael Jordan lecturing him about sacrifice. "He told me if I didn't succeed in three years to decide to do something else," he said. Howard, raised by a Georgia state trooper and the Good Book Jesus, talks with a calm bravado that doesn't offend his audience. Asked to compare his game against Okafor's, he politely said, "Man, I hate talking about this. No offense to Okafor. But offensively, I can bring more to a team -- quickness, passing and ball-handling." Howard is so sure of himself that when asked whether the Clippers -- stocked with power forwards -- should trade their No. 2 overall pick, he said, "Yes, if they can." It's no national secret that Howard wants to play in his hometown of Atlanta as much as the Hawks want him as a LeBron-like drawing card. The problem: Atlanta, picking sixth, needs to jump up to at least No. 1 or 2 to grab him. The Hawks are working the phones. Draft rumors are rampant. Says Howard, "I hear Orlando in my left ear and the Hawks in my right." Okafor says he doesn't care when he's picked in the draft or where he plays, that he is tickled to be one of the chosen 29 first-rounders. "I've never had an ego," he said, "and I don't plan on purchasing one." His rise to sharing the co-College Player of the Year award (with Jameer Nelson) as a junior last season was a study in self-growth. He improved each season and led the country in blocked shots, but you have to coax the cockiness out of him. "I just think I'm ready to be in this league right now," he says. "Not to say that anybody else isn't. I mean, LeBron was out of high school. . . . We're going to find out next year. "Of course, I can be a 20-10 guy [points, rebounds] in time. If I don't have that mentality, I don't deserve to be here. Just the way I've progressed, I'm confident, and I know I can progress much more." Then there's the question Okafor has lugged around for months. About the back. He sustained a stress fracture late in the season but would like to shout from the rooftops that he's fine. "My back is back, baby," he said. "My back's good. It's on its way. It's ready for you guys to stop asking me." Okafor says he is pain-free and has been playing pickup games in Los Angeles. "I'm just going through my routine," he said. " Going two, three times a day, going hard in the lab like a mad scientist." Howard said if the Magic wanted him and Okafor to play one-on-one for No. 1, he'd oblige. "If it'd happen," he said, "I'd do it. Yeah." Told that Howard was ready to play him, Okafor shrugged and said, "I'm not going to run away from it. Whatever. "Hey, it's not a footrace between us, right?" It's a close race, but Emeka Okafor and Dwight Howard won't be running stride for stride until next season. --

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