"We prepare for draft day all year long," Gabriel relates. "It's a very systematic day, where every situation that could possibly come up has been considered and each person involved has a distinct function and position. There is even a priority list of people to pick up the phone when it rings.

"And integral to our game plan are the insights we receive about players from Caliper," says Gabriel. "As we make our final phone calls, we look for any red flags that Caliper might alert us to, which could cause us either to back off a player; or if I have two players who are parallel, Caliper's insights can help us choose which player best fits the team's needs."

"In the pros, talent alone isn't enough," says Herb Greenberg, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Caliper. "Managers and coaches can certainly assess talent. The questions that keep them up at night, though, have to do with the players' heads and hearts. Will they have the inner fire needed to drive them to over-achieve? Will they be good in the clutch? Are they injury prone? Are they too selfish to be team players? Are they aggressive enough, without having to foul out? Will they concentrate on improving weak areas? And, how coachable are they?"

To answer these questions, over a dozen professional sports teams turn to Caliper for advice, including: the Orlando Magic, the San Antonio Spurs, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Toronto Raptors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Denver Nuggets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Detroit Pistons, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds, the Detroit Tigers, the Houston Astros, the Anaheim Angels and the New York Islanders.

According to Greenberg, self-discipline, competitiveness and a positive sense of one's self are the qualities that make up what he calls "the psychology of the winner."

Self-esteem helps an athlete deal with missed shots, setbacks and slumps. "For athletes who believe in themselves, failure is viewed as just part of the game. Lacking self-esteem, failure can bring an athlete's career to a grinding halt," according to Greenberg.

"Competitiveness," he adds, "is the burning desire to take the last buzzer-beating shot or face the best hitter with the bases loaded. Competitive athletes are driven to win - each moment they're in the game.

"And self-discipline is the inner desire that causes an athlete to get to practice early, to stay in top condition during the off-season, to devote the extra hours needed to continuously improve."

Gabriel says, "There were extremely talented players I've wanted to draft, but decided not to because Caliper's consultants told me they didn't have the self-discipline, competitiveness and self-esteem needed to make it in the pros."

Greenberg explains, "The odds of making it in the pros are enormous. Just consider: There are about 20,000 college basketball payers, of whom less than 400 get to appear in showcase scrimmages leading to the selection of players for the National Basketball Association draft. Virtually all are leading scorers, team captains, even all-Americans. From this extremely talented group, 54 are drafted, and perhaps another half-dozen are signed as free agents.

"So, three-tenths of one percent of the 20,000 college athletes are eventually chosen each year for the NBA. Of this elite 60, just a choice few have solid NBA careers, let alone go on to become stars."

"To beat the odds," Greenberg says, "your enormous talent has to be matched by a consuming inner motivation. Without self-discipline, competitiveness and self-esteem, we've seen players with awesome abilities never make it off the bench."

According to Gabriel, "It's crucial to know everything there is to know about a player. In our interview process, we try to delve into as much information as possible, but it's so difficult to pinpoint the players who are right for you. The scope of the information Caliper provides, gives us a basic understanding of a player that, quite honestly, we just can't get by ourselves."

Gabriel recalls a time when he was looking at a very talented player, who, he says, "possessed the physical capabilities from here to the moon. But we learned he had a troubled past and a lack of discipline." Caliper confirmed some of these concerns, but also showed that this player had a willingness to be coached, the inner drive to succeed and good self-esteem. "The insights we were able to gain from our Caliper consultant convinced us that we could work with this player, and taking that chance paid off handsomely."

Gabriel adds, "Coaches and managers are continually looking for athletes who have the mental toughness to take them to a higher level of performance."
An independent study of the players Caliper has assessed for the draft was conducted by four experts: Harry Weltman, former General Manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers; Donny Walsh, President of the Indiana Pacers; Gene Shue, former Coach for the Philadelphia 76ers; and Pete Newell, former General Manager for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Greenberg shares some striking statistics from this study, representing the more than 5,000 athletes Caliper has assessed for over 20 professional teams throughout the past decade: Most notably, professional basketball players recommended by Caliper scored 909 points per season, compared to only 376 for those who lacked these qualities and were not recommend. The recommended players rebounded 320 times, compared with 160; blocked 51 shots, compared to 23; assisted 207 times, compared with 91; and averaged 77 steals, compared to 33.

Gabriel emphasizes, "We need to know as much as possible - not just who these players are now, but who they are going to be. That's where Caliper gives us a competitive edge."

He adds, "Finding the right players is key, because the NBA has contracts that are fully guaranteed for as long as seven years. That's an enormous commitment for us. In professional basketball, we get locked in for what seems to be forever. So, we really have to know what we're doing when we go after a player. Caliper's personality profiles and consultants are able to identify the qualities that can push a talented player over the top. That's extremely important to us.

"Our job is to find a way to put championship rings on peoples' fingers. We're responsible for this incredibly fun aspect of finding talented players and bringing them together as a team - all under the umbrella of proper business practices." He concludes, "Some of the best moves you can make are the ones you don't make. At the end of the day, Caliper is one of my most valuable players. Caliper has saved me millions of dollars by advising me not to draft players who later went on to other teams and failed."