"His upcoming summer schedule sounds like a children's guessing game. As in, "Where in the World is Rich Sheubrooks?"

"South Africa, Slovenia, Latvia, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania..." Sheubrooks recited, listing the countries he'll soon visit, scouting teenage players for the Charlotte Bobcats. Sheubrooks is the team's director of global scouting, which means his annual travels come to fruition in Thursday's NBA draft.

The Bobcats' experience with international players has been limited, the results mixed. Boris Diaw is from France, but the Bobcats traded for him well into his NBA career. Argentinian Walter Herrmann played portions of two seasons in Charlotte before being traded to the Detroit Pistons. The Bobcats drafted French big man Alexis Ajinca in 2008. Ajinca was a bust, but Sheubrooks says that speaks to Ajinca's head and heart, not the pipeline from Europe to the NBA.

Sheubrooks, who also scouts globally for Nike, predicts there will be more international players chosen in the lottery (the first 14 picks) Thursday than ever before. The draft's top two big men are Enes Kanter from Turkey and Jonas Valanciunas from Lithuania. Later in the first round, Jan Vesely from the Czech Republic, Bismack Biyombo from the Congo and Donatas Motiejunas from Lithuania will all be chosen.

Regardless of whether the Bobcats pick any of those guys with their ninth and 19th picks, international scouting is essential, according to Rod Higgins, the Bobcats' president of basketball operations.

"Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker - should I say more?" Higgins said, listing foreign-born NBA stars. "You have to be prepared to scout these players because basketball is a global sport - there's talent all over the world."

The Bobcats deployed Sheubrooks to Spain (he lives outside Barcelona) a few years ago to keep close watch on prospects. In his role with Nike, Sheubrooks was instrumental in 1998 to getting Germany's Nowitzki to the Hoop Summit. That performance - 33 points and 14 rebounds - thrust Nowitzki into the lottery two months later and now he's the star of the champion Dallas Mavericks."