Douthit might be it for Smart Gilas

MANILA, Philippines - Naturalization prospect Marcus Douthit hits town today, raring to strut his stuff and hoping to impress Smart Gilas Pilipinas coach Rajko Toroman in a tryout for a spot in the national team gearing up for the Asian Games and the FIBA Asia Championship.

“We’ll see what he (Douthit) can do,” said Smart Gilas team manager Frankie Lim. “What we can do is hope that he is the one we’re looking for.”

Lim, however, said it will be up to Toroman whether or not to tap the 30-year-old, 6-10 Douthit for the team in need of a strong inside player who can go up against the big men in Asia.

Toroman invited Douthit to a tryout right after the 21st FIBA-Asia Champions Cup in Doha, Qatar where the injury-hit Team RP finished only seventh.

Douthit is coming off a stint in the Russian league where he logged impressive numbers. He is expected to join the Nationals in the five-team pocket tournament slated June 24-27 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Battling it out with Smart Gilas in the four-day tournament are Jordan’s national team, Dong Guan club of the Chinese Basketball Association and PBA ballclubs Ginebra and powerhouse Talk n Text.

Douthit, who averaged 8.3 points on an impressive 52.1-percent clip, 4.9 rebounds for Krasnie Krilya Samara in the Russian League and 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in the Euro Challenge, hopes to likewise join the team in the William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei next month and the Stankovic Cup in Lebanon in August.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Douthit played for Providence College and was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 rookie class that included the Magic’s Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, the Hawks’ Josh Smith, the Sixers’ Andrei Iguodala, the Pistons’ Ben Gordon, the Bulls’ Luol Deng and the Cavs’ Anderson Varejao.