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Dijon Thompson, shown here against Western Illinois, is expected to be taken in the NBA Draft on

For the last four years, Westwood has been the permanent address of Dijon Thompson’s basketball career.

But on Tuesday, the graduated senior will most likely call one of 30 different destinations his new basketball home.

What that the destination is, however, will be determined Tuesday night at the 2005 NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Current projections are pegging Thompson, who is the only Bruin to enter his name in this year’s NBA draft, to be selected in the middle of the second round.

If Thompson is indeed selected in the second round, the team that drafts him is not obligated to sign him, but will carry his league rights for three years.

If he creeps into the first round, however, Thompson will be guaranteed at least a one-year contract with the team that selects him.

According to published reports, the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz are the teams that have expressed the most interest in Thompson’s services, having invited the former Bruin back for multiple workouts. The Clippers hold the 32nd pick in Tuesday’s draft, while the Jazz hold two second-round selections at the 34th and 51st picks.

But in one report a few months ago, a scout, speaking on condition of anonymity, projected Thompson to be as high as a late first-round pick, a stark contrast from last year, when Thompson had also entered the draft.

Luckily for Thompson, he did not sign with an agent, allowing him to compare his strengths and weaknesses to those of other draft prospects and return to Westwood for his senior season.

Upon his return to UCLA, Thompson rededicated himself during his senior year in Westwood, leading a team mainly composed of upstart underclassmen to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002.

Along with averaging a team-high 18.4 points and 7.9 rebounds a game, Thompson, who shot the ball at a 47.4 percent clip, appeared to have markedly improved his standing in the draft.

But he was not able to transform that performance into a high draft status. Since the draft camps have commenced after the college basketball season, it seems that Thompson’s stock has steadily fallen.

The Redondo Beach native has struggled to shed criticism for his passive play and for prioritizing his offense over his defense.

Though Thompson says the criticism never really affected him during his time at UCLA, he nonetheless is heeding the advice that he needs to get stronger to be able to compete in the much more rigorous NBA game.

At 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds, Thompson, who played power forward for most of the 2004-05 college basketball season, appears to better fit the professional mold of small forward.

Thompson’s draft situation is eerily similar to former Bruin Trevor Ariza’s a year ago.

The 6-foot-8, 200-pound Ariza was selected in the middle of the second round with the 43rd pick by the New York Knicks, and averaged 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds while primarily playing small forward in his first season in the NBA.

With reports from Jeff Eisenberg, Bruin Sports senior staff