Whether B.J. Mullens actually cried after getting schooled by gangly Utah Utes center Luke Nevill after a mass workout for NBA scouts earlier this month is fact or fiction – some reports suggest that an NBA assistant GM witnessed the tears in the locker room – it certainly has added to the cloud of skepticism that now hangs over the 7-1 Mullens.

One of the most reputable draft sites, nbadraft.net, still maintains that Mullens, a product of Ohio State and nearby Canal Winchester, is a commodity worthy of being selected in the middle of the first round during tonight’s NBA draft. In fact, the website foresees Mullens being plucked at No. 15, just out of the lottery, by Detroit, which clearly could use some help in the low post.

Other predraft speculation suggests that the teams selecting directly after the Pistons – Chicago at No. 16, Philadelphia at No. 17 and Minnesota at No. 18 all have some interest in Mullens. There was even a suggestion that Chicago had “promised” to take the Beej if he is still available, although a member of the Bulls organization recently denied that report.

So Mullens, who left Ohio State after just one season and averaged just 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, could go somewhere near the middle of the first round or even a few picks before that. That is possible, especially considering most services deem him to be the second-best true center on the board after UConn’s 7-3 shotblocking monster, Hasheem Thabeet.

But Mullens also could plummet to the bottom of the round – where Cleveland sits, interestingly – or even out of it. That is possible, too.

After all, it’s the NBA draft. After Blake Griffin of Oklahoma goes with the first pick and likely Thabeet with the second, all bets are off. Anything can alter the landscape. Major trades have been made in the last couple days and more are to follow. And if those middle-of-the-pack teams pass on Mullens there is no guarantee he will be gobbled up soon after.

In the nbadraft.net mock, for example, virtually every team selecting in the bottom half of the first round appears to be most coveting an impact shooting forward or help in the backcourt. Point guards such as Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague and Jrue Holiday are expected to be available there as well as accomplished college wings such as Wayne Ellington, Chase Budinger and Sam Young.

Mullens is exactly the kind of player who could dip and dip hard since just about everyone agrees his inclusion among the draftees is based solely on potential.

Another site devoted to projecting all this, draftexpress.com, also projects the 20-year-old Mullens as the No. 15 pick. However, the scouting report on that site is guarded at best.

“B.J. Mullens can catch and finish as well as anyone, but he has an extremely hard time creating his own shot,” it begins.

“The third one-and-done center from Ohio State in as many years, B.J. Mullens did not have the type of year some expected him to have. … His post game obviously lacks polish, and he clearly has a tendency to force the issue, which you can see in his incredibly poor passing rate, which rivals only Hasheem Thabeet in this draft. Still, you would expect to see him get a few more touches in the post considering how few other offensive options Ohio State had this season.

“Mullens has some unique tools. However, he’s going to need a lot of help to achieve his potential. He has more going for him than Thabeet did at that point in his career, but is nowhere near the defensive presence, and thus may very well have to develop his game while riding the pine, since he’s not likely to get a lot of playing time right away. Mullens will have to put in the work in on his own if he’s to earn playing time, and thus will have to develop a good deal of self-discipline with his work ethic if he’s to reach his potential.”

Rightly or wrongly, Mullens also seems to be in a position of needing to shake the stigma of his predecessor, former OSU center Kosta Koufos, who was supposed to be a mid-first rounder on this night last year and instead fell to Utah at No. 23. Koufos, by the way, ended up in the NBA’s developmental league.

Incidentally, Jazz fans especially seem to be wary of taking another Ohio State project. On the site Jazzbots.com (I don’t know why, don’t ask), Mullens was listed as option No. 30 for the team on draft night – and not with a glowing review.

“The Jazz should stay away,” the entry said, “unless they somehow trade down to 30, then draft B.J. Mullens, then trade him away for something better. Seriously, I will be shocked if Mullens turns out to be any good at all. He was schooled in the draft workouts by Luke Nevill (who might/probably won’t even be drafted), and then he cried about it.

“This is who you want on your team? What’s going to happen when J-Slo (Jerry Sloan) tells him to run a lap, or he realizes he’s the third-best center to come out of Ohio State in the last three years? Is he going to cry again? Break down? Do we need to separate him from the rest of the team? Make the “B.J. Mullens’ time out” chair? Anyway, I don’t like him and I don’t think the Jazz do either.”

Harsh, and yet even OSU fans and the locals seem to feel the same way.

I dropped in on two of Mullens’ favorite restaurants in Canal Winchester last night – Kingy’s Pizza Pub and Shade On The Canal. I know they sound like watering holes but they actually serve a variety of good food and are great sports viewing/casual dining spots in the area.

I happened to be in the area so I popped in to see if Mullens, who is back home after training for weeks in Las Vegas, might have set up a get-together for the draft festivities tonight. I did so because his agent claimed he declined an invitation to attend the draft in New York to stay home and watch it with friends and family (even though ESPN.com recently reported that Mullens was not invited).

It turned out the manager at Shade’s wasn’t even aware there was a draft of any sort and the gang at Kingy’s said they hadn’t seen B.J. in weeks and weren’t aware of any potential shindig. A hostess at one of the establishments even said, “Oh, I hope not. I don’t like B.J. He’s pretty full of himself.”

Again, harsh. But, unfortunately, Mullens gave many others reason to believe that when, during a predraft interview, he said his skills were a combination of the talents we have come to know from Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett and Amare Stoudemire. Huh?

Since then Mullens has apparently muzzled himself. This website hasn’t been able to locate him and a story in today’s daily newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch, also did not include any quotes from Mullens. OSU head coach Thad Matta, meanwhile, didn’t exactly signal for a parade and made sure to point out he isn’t about to predict Mullens’ future in the NBA because he “only had him for six months.”

Local boy from Ohio State taken in the first round of a professional draft is supposed to be a big story, a big deal. But this particular version doesn’t seem to have that feel.

So there doesn’t appear to be any joy in Mudville just yet, at least none that this reporter could find. Instead there is only apathy and a heavy dose of pessimism.