09:18 AM EDT on Thursday, June 30, 2005

BY CAROLYN THORNTON
Journal Sports Writer

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Ryan Gomes was trying to remain calm.

The first round of the 2005 NBA Draft had come and gone without his name being called.

OK, not a problem, he thought to himself. There are still 30 more slots left. There's still time.

But then the second round began rolling along and Gomes still wasn't hearing his name.

About halfway through the round, after the Orlando Magic chose Lithuanian center Martynas Andriuskevicius with the 44th pick, Gomes decided he needed some air.

"I was like, 'Man, I just hope I get picked. I just thought I would get picked before this,' " Gomes remembers saying as he stood out in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express in his hometown of Waterbury, Conn., where friends and family gathered Tuesday night to watch the draft.

"It was pretty nerve-wracking," Providence College's all-time leading scorer said yesterday at his first press conference as a member of the Boston Celtics at The Sports Authority Training Center.

"I came here (to Boston) for my second workout. I went to Toronto for a second workout and New York, so I was thinking maybe Toronto at 16 or here at 18, Phoenix 21 or Knicks 30, and then when all those went, it was like, 'I don't know.' . . . I worked out for a lot of teams, but some of the teams in the beginning of the second round, I didn't work out for."

All along, Gomes felt in his heart that he would be drafted, but at that point, the doubt was starting to creep in.

AP photo

Ryan Gomes, left, receives his jersey from Celtics coach Doc Rivers yesterday as first round pick Gerald Green watches.

Then, just as he began walking back into the hotel, Gomes was greeted by his friends, "jumping for joy" and congratulating him because his name had just appeared on television as Boston's second pick, the 50th overall.

"I didn't even know what team it was," said Gomes. "I was just so focused on the picks that I wasn't even focused on the team.

"At least I'm here, that's all I'm thankful for," he added.

"I've got to make the best of it. Nothing is guaranteed. Even when you are in the first round [where players receive guaranteed three-year contracts], you still have to prove yourself. So I just have to prove myself a little earlier. I've got to come right in and do what I've got to do."

Moments after selecting the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward, Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said that he was shocked Gomes had slipped so far down and that Boston was "lucky" he was still around for its second pick.

Even when others were criticizing Gomes' game last year when he first considered entering the NBA Draft, Ainge liked what he saw from the All-American, especially after watching the way he scored on Huskie-turned-pro Emeka Okafor en route to a 24-point, 15-rebound night against Connecticut.

Ainge was all the more impressed when a quicker, leaner Gomes returned to PC for the 2004-05 season displaying more versatility with better ball-handling skills and outside shooting to go along with his already solid inside game.

"He's one of those guys," said Ainge, "that's a little bit of an undersized four that our league is full of and everyone said, 'Hey, you need to trim down and become more of a three.' So he went and trimmed down, changed his size and became a three and had another fantastic season, as a three-man."

Armed with a social science degree, another year of collegiate playing experience and the added maturity that comes with both of those things, Gomes is eager to try to fulfill Ainge's prediction that he could conceivably become a starter for Boston.

He admits that holding his own against the big men of the NBA will pose more of a challenge than the big men of the Big East and that in the NBA he's probably better suited for the three-spot. But the bottom line is he's ready to play anywhere and feels he could be a good fit for Boston's up-tempo style.

"If you just throw me out there, man, I'm going to do what I can and just stay out there for as long as I can," he said.

"(The Celtics) are very athletic and get up and down the court, and I think we can put some pressure on some teams because there are so many guys that can play multiple positions. So I'm going to try to fit in as much as possible. Whatever Coach (Doc Rivers) needs me to do, I'm willing to do."