Chris Kaman, Ronald Blackshear and Theron Smith have a lot in common.

They all were stars of teams in the publicity-scant Mid-American Conference (MAC), they were all big names on small campuses and they all had one year of college eligibility remaining before they entered their names in the 2003 NBA Draft.

The only difference is that the 7-foot Kaman was the only one selected (No. 6 overall, L.A. Clippers) on Thursday.

Predicted as a sure-fire NBA Lottery Pick, there was no doubt Kaman made the right decision to pass up another year in Mount Pleasant, Mich., for the greener pastures of a million-dollar career in the city of angels.

Blackshear and Smith were told about the greener pastures, and they made the mistake of listening to their misinformed informants.

Ohio graduate Brandon Hunter, who was picked in the second round by the Boston Celtics (No. 56 overall), will have a hard enough time keeping his name on an NBA roster – second-round picks aren’t guaranteed anything. Now, here are two players who had their futures ahead of them, only to flush them down the drain with their own foolish decisions.

“You never know what their academic situation was, so that might have had something to do with it,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “They are pretty good players and now they might find someplace overseas to play.”

Blackshear and Smith could’ve been the MAC’s two biggest stars this year if they had stayed in school. Now they will try to keep their fledgling basketball careers afloat overseas, in run-down U.S. pro leagues or, worse yet, enter the “real world” without the degrees they could have had for free if they stayed in school.

As for the 255-pound Kaman, he continues with the MAC’s recent tradition of lottery selections. He picks up the three-year trend that began in 1997 with Bowling Green’s Antonio Daniels (No. 4, Grizzlies), went on with Ball State’s Bonzi Wells in 1998 (No. 11, Pistons) and temporarily ended in 1999 with Wally Szczerbiak (No. 6, Timberwolves).

One thing’s for certain, the MAC won’t have any players drafted for at least another couple of years. That is, of course, unless NIU’s Bryson McKenzie starts playing as mean as he looks, or Marcus Smallwood, at age 21, decides to grow a couple of inches.