New Suns coach Terry Porter talks to a crop of potential draftees, including Chase Budinger, far right, during a workout in Phoenix on Thursday.

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PHOENIX — After four NBA pre-draft workouts, Chase Budinger said he's received "good enough" information to justify leaving the Arizona Wildcats irrevocably.

Budinger, a would-be junior forward, kept his college eligibility alive by not signing with an agent when he declared for the NBA draft in April.

But he has been expected to leave school for good if considered a solid first-round selection, a status that has solidified as the predraft process has worn on.

"If I was hearing things like I was dropping into the second round, I would most likely come back," Budinger said Thursday after working out for the Suns in Phoenix. "But the information I've been getting is I'm not going to be dropping into the second round. I feel I'm in the top 20, top 21. That's the number I've been hearing."

When asked if being a top-21 pick was enough for him to stay in the draft, Budinger said: "In my mind, I think it's good enough."

Budinger said he has visited four teams already and has plans to work out for six others, including five visits that are scheduled after Monday's deadline for early entry candidates to withdraw from the June 26 draft.

Budinger declined to say if he would wait until the deadline to announce his decision officially.

"There really isn't a timetable," Budinger said. "But the deadline's the 16th. It's coming up."

Having spent much of the spring in the Los Angeles area working with trainer Joe Abunassar and several other top draft prospects, Budinger said he has done well in workouts so far with teams and received positive feedback.

His workout Thursday, however, was somewhat uneventful considering how well the Suns and GM Steve Kerr know Budinger.

Both Kerr and Budinger are residents of North San Diego County, while David Griffin, the Suns VP of basketball operations, saw Budinger play often for the Wildcats.

"We have an unbelievably good feel for what he can do," Griffin said. "And the workout doesn't tell much."

Thursday's workout featured forwards, including West Virginia's Joe Alexander and Oregon's Maarty Leunen, and consisted mostly of two-on-two or three-on-three drills.

While five-on-five drills can be a better test of a players' aggressiveness — one of the concerns about Budinger — Griffin said he has no such worries about him.

"That's a bum rap about him not competing," Griffin said. "I think he's just a young player who doesn't quite know how to do it. I don't know if he stays in the draft — to be honest with you, it's kind of up in the air. He's got a chance to be very, very good if he stays (in school) and a chance to be a late first-rounder if he does."

Budinger is projected as the No. 21 pick by ESPN.com and No. 22 pick by Draft Express.

But while Draft Express' Jonathan Givony said Budinger's indecisiveness about staying in the draft is hurting his stock, Kerr disagreed.

"It doesn't bother me," Kerr said. "I actually respect it, because they're spending time thinking about it."

Kerr, who said Budinger might be the most skilled at his position, said it also did make it difficult to evaluate Budinger under the different style of interim head coach Kevin O'Neill last season.

"I think it hurts the team when the team can't succeed and there's not continuity, but it didn't hurt him," Kerr said. "You'd like to see him in a half-court set. That helped him in some ways. You can see he knows how to pass coming off curls."

Budinger said he felt like he plays better in Lute Olson's system, which he experienced as a freshman before Olson took last season off, but said he will ultimately be better off for the experience.

He declined to speak at length about whether his two seasons as a Wildcat are affecting his decision.

"All I can say is two years of Arizona was a great experience," Budinger said. "I had a great time there. It's a great school. It was a little shaky from my first to second year with the coaching change and all that.

"But in the end, it taught me a good lesson. I was able to adjust to two different coaches, and that's most likely going to happen in the NBA, also."

● Forward Mohamed Tangara has decided to finish his college career at Division II Chaminade. He took a visit to the Honolulu campus, as well as four other schools. "I kind of liked it," Tangara said. "The coach needs another center, so I feel like that's the perfect fit for me."

● Forward Fendi Onobun is serving as an intern with the Suns this month while he continues to recuperate from leg surgery. He is working with the team's video crew and helping assist during the team's workouts. Onobun said he may explore a career in basketball operations down the road. "My father always tells me I can't rely on basketball," Onobun said. He added that "it's really been helpful for me to see the workouts for my game."