No glory for being an NBA first-round choice. No certainty of receiving a guaranteed contract.

No problem for DeJuan Blair.

Despite being taken in the second round of the NBA draft last night, the All-American from Pitt has no regrets about turning professional after his sophomore season.

"No, this is what I wanted," Blair said yesterday morning on a conference call the day after the San Antonio Spurs drafted him with the No. 37 overall selection. "I think it was a good decision. I couldn't have landed in a better situation than I am in now. [San Antonio] just traded Kurt Thomas, their starting forward. It's a dream come true. I should have been a first-round pick, but God wanted me to drop to the second round."

Blair's agent, Happy Walters, said it was in Blair's best interests to turn professional. He has a limited number of years to earn money because of his two surgically repaired knees.

"He doesn't have any [ligaments]," Walters said. "No one has ever been drafted without [ligaments]. Teams didn't know how long he would hold up in the NBA grind. Going back to college would have made the situation worse. This was a decision to take care of his family."

Despite the concerns about Blair's long-term durability, Walters said that he "guarantees" Blair will sign a guaranteed contract with the Spurs and is confident he will sign for more than the league minimum of $457,588.

Under the collective bargaining agreement with the NBA, teams are required to give guaranteed contracts only to first-round picks. Agents such as Walters can attempt to negotiate guaranteed contracts on their own.

"No doubts at all," Walters said.

Walters said he will likely seek a two-year contract because he believes Blair will outperform the value of his first contract.

Blair, who did not speak to reporters Thursday night after the draft, said yesterday that his knees will hold up over time. He said he expects to play 10 or 12 years in the NBA.

Blair said he was disappointed when other power forwards, many of whom did not produce the way he did in college, were being taken ahead of him.

"Of course, it was eating me up," he said. "A team I didn't even work out for picked me. That's funny.

"I have to stay positive. It was emotional when my name was called. God wanted other people to go ahead of me. It's time to go to work and show people what they missed."

Sam Young, Blair's teammate at Pitt who also had aspirations of going in the first round but was picked No. 36 by the Memphis Grizzlies, had a similar outlook yesterday.

"I was a little upset yesterday, but you can't dwell on the past," Young said from Memphis, where he was meeting with team personnel and doing a media tour. "I had no clue I was going to slip into the second round. But I always prepare for the worst. I'll be OK. I'm a strong kid. Although this is an unexpected situation, I feel like I landed in a great place. I'm not upset or disappointed now. I'm just going to go out and prove myself."

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said ultimately it does not matter where Blair and Young were drafted. He said the most important thing is that both were drafted by teams with needs at their positions.

Blair has an opportunity to learn from Tim Duncan, one of the all-time great forwards in the NBA, and be in a situation where he can contribute without having too much pressure on him.

Young will have an opportunity to play right away with the Grizzlies, who are in search of an athletic small forward.

"I'm always of the belief that from pick 20 and beyond it doesn't matter who the best player is," Dixon said. "Teams start picking guys from Europe. And those teams don't have to sign those players because they don't always come over right away. It happens every year.

"The bottom line is they both went to ideal situations. I'm more concerned about what team they go to than what number they went. It's all about how they fit in with their teams. That's the most important thing. And I think both of those guys will fit in very well with their teams."