Month: June 2012

Magic select Andrew Nicholson in 2012 Draft

The Orlando Magic selected forward Andrew Nicholson in the first round (19th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft.

Nicholson (6’9”, 250, 12/8/89) appeared in 123 career games at St. Bonaventure University, averaging 17.1 ppg., 7.2 rpg. and 1.98 blkpg. in 29.9 minpg. and shot .575 (809-1,407) from the field during his collegiate career.  He earned All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors all four seasons and was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year as a senior in 2011-12.  Nicholson also earned All-American honors by The Associated Press in 2011-12.  Nicholson led the Bonnies in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots for three straight seasons (2009-12).

“We are excited to have Andrew (Nicholson) join our Orlando Magic family,” said General Manager Rob Hennigan.  “We feel he embodies the types of values that will put him in a position to achieve success here.  He’s a humble, high character player, who’s committed to working hard and playing within a team concept.  We are intrigued by his cerebral, instinctual approach to the game.”

Nicholson ranks second all-time in school history in scoring (2,103 points), second in blocked shots (244), second in field goal percentage and fourth in rebounds (887).

As a senior (2011-12), Nicholson played in 32 games, averaging 18.5 ppg., 8.4 rpg., 1.0 apg. and 2.0 blkpg. in 30.1 minpg.  He scored in double figures 29 times.  Nicholson grabbed a career-best 23 rebounds (along with 21 points) against Duquesne, and led the Bonnies to the NCAA Tournament.

During his junior year (2010-11), Nicholson appeared in 31 games, averaging 20.8 ppg., 7.3 rpg. and 1.5 blkpg.  in 33.8 minpg.  He scored in double figures 30 times, including a career-high 44 points against Ohio University.

As a sophomore (2009-10), Nicholson appeared in 30 games, averaging 16.4 ppg., 7.1 rpg. and 1.8 blkpg. in 30.2 minpg.  During his freshman season (2008-09), he averaged 12.5 ppg., 6.0 rpg. and a team-high 2.7 blkpg. in 25.1 minpg.

Nicholson, son of Fabian and Colmaleen, graduated with a degree in physics from St. Bonaventure.

The Orlando Magic selected forward-center Kyle O’Quinn in the second round (49th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft.

O’Quinn (6’10”, 240, 3/26/90) appeared in 129 career games at Norfolk State University, averaging 12.5 ppg., 8.5 rpg. and 2.2 blkpg. in 27.3 minpg. and shot .553 (610-1,104) from the field during his collegiate career.  He was the 2012 Lou Henson recipient as the nation’s top mid-major player.  O’Quinn was the 2011-12 MEAC Player of the Year and a two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Year (2010-11, 2011-12).  He was also named MVP of the 2012 Portsmouth Invitational, averaging 11.7 ppg., 11.7 rpg. and 3.7 blkpg. in three games.

As a senior (2011-12), O’Quinn played in 36 games, averaging 15.9 ppg., 10.3 rpg., 1.4 apg. and 2.7 blkpg. in 31.3 minpg.  He helped the #15-seed Spartans to a historic upset of #2-seed Missouri in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament with 26 points and 14 rebounds.  O’Quinn, an All-MEAC First Team selection and MVP of the 2012 MEAC Tournament, led the conference and tied for fifth in the nation with 20 double-doubles.  He also ranked 14th in the country in field goal percentage (.573, 205-358), 15th in blocked shots and 16th in rebounding.

Hawks add John Jenkins and Mike Scott in 2012 Draft

On Thursday night, the Atlanta Hawks selected Vanderbilt sharpshooter John Jenkins in the first round (23rd overall) and Virginia’s Mike Scott in the second round (43rd selection) of the 2012 NBA Draft.

“John can really shoot, plays hard and is a competitive kid,” said Hawks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry. “Having a guy out there who can space the floor for our core group will make everything function better when he’s on the court. Mike Scott’s experience, and his ability to score and rebound was a good value where we were picking.”

“We’re very happy John was available at number 23, and we were able to get him,” said Hawks head coach Larry Drew. “He can really come off screens, and needs just a little bit of daylight to get his shot off. He has terrific range, and when you play against guys like that who can shoot the ball, it just gives you another weapon.”

An early-entry candidate, Jenkins led the Southeastern Conference in scoring the last two years, and was named a two-time First Team All-SEC performer. Last season, he averaged 19.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 1.2 apg (.474 FG%, .439 3FG%, .837 FT%), appearing in 35 games, leading the nation in three-pointers per game (3.83) and earning Third Team AP All-America honors.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Jenkins, who is second on Vanderbilt’s career-list in three-pointers made (306) and third-best in percentage (.438), averaged 19.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 1.2 apg as a sophomore in 2010-11, finishing second in the SEC in free throw percentage (.894). He put up 20.8 ppg in conference contests. Jenkins started seven of 31 games in his freshman year (2009-10), hitting 11.0 ppg.

Jenkins attended Station Camp High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where he averaged the second-most points (42.3) in Tennessee high school history. John Logan Jenkins III was born March 6, 1991 in Nashville, Tennessee. He will wear uniform number 12.

Scott earned First Team All-ACC honors as a senior at Virginia, averaging 18.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 1.2 apg (.563 FG%, .808 FT%). He ranks third in school history in rebounds (944) and double-doubles (34), finishing 16th in points scored (1,538).

James Michael Scott was born July 16, 1988 in Chesapeake, Virginia, and attended Deep Creek High School. He will wear number 32.

Knicks draft Kostas Papanikolaou of Greece

The Knicks looked to the future Thursday on draft night, selecting Kostas Papanikolaou of Greece with the 48th overall pick. It was a decision that disappointed many fans because Papanikolaou, a 6-foot-8 forward, will probably play overseas for at least two years.

Last season, Papanikolaou played for Olympiacos. He helped the team beat C.S.K.A. Moscow, 62-61, in the Turkish Euroleague championship game.

Papanikolaou averaged 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season. He is also a member of Greece’s Olympic national team.

“He plays hard and he’s highly skilled,” General Manager Glen Grunwald said. “He needs to improve his shooting, but we watched him improve over the course of this year.”

Papanikolaou will not join the team during its summer league games next month in Las Vegas because he still has one year left on his contract.

— Reported by Nate Taylor and Howard Beck of the New York Times

Wolves draft Robbie Hummel in 2nd round

The Minnesota Timberwolves tonight selected Robbie Hummel in the second round (58th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft. Hummel, a 6-8 forward from Purdue, averaged 14.0 points and 6.8 rebounds in 127 games over his four-year career for the Boilermakers. This past year as a senior, Hummel averaged 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds.

The Valparaiso, Indiana, native earned Honorable Mention All-American honors from The Associated Press as a junior and senior, and was named First Team All-Big Ten as a freshman, junior and senior. Hummel ranks ninth all time in Purdue history in scoring (1,772 points), fourth in rebounds (862) and games started (120), and seventh in blocks (112).

Grizzlies draft Tony Wroten, Jr. with 25th pick

The Memphis Grizzlies selected guard Tony Wroten, Jr. with the No. 25 overall pick in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced tonight.

In his lone season at the University of Washington, Wroten, Jr. (6-6, 203) became the first freshman in school history to earn First Team All-Conference honors, ranking fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring (16.0 points), eighth in assists (3.7) and second in steals (1.9) in 35 games.

The 19-year-old set numerous Husky freshman records, including scoring average, most points (559), assists (130) and steals (66), while winning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.  He also joined Detlef Schrempf (1984-85) as the second player in school history to compile at least 500 points, 150 rebounds and 100 assists in a single season.

The Seattle native led the Huskies with 12 games of 20-or-more points, including a UW freshman-record 29 points on March 8, 2012 vs. Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament.  He tallied 22 points against Oregon on March 20 in the NIT Quarterfinals.

Wroten, Jr. was a member of the 2010 USA U-17 World Championship Team that posted a perfect 8-0 record and captured the gold medal while attending Garfield High School, which also produced former All-Star Brandon Roy.

The left-hander joins fellow Washington standout Quincy Pondexter on the Grizzlies’ roster.

Raptors add Terrence Ross in 2012 Draft

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they selected guard Terrence Ross from Washington with the eighth overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft. In the Draft’s second round, the Raptors took forward Quincy Acy from Baylor with the 37th pick and Tomislav Zubcic from Croatia with the 56th choice.

Ross, 6-foot-7, 197 pounds, was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection last season as a sophomore. He averaged 16.4 points and 6.4 rebounds, and ranked among Pac-12 leaders in eight categories including: points (4th), rebounds (6th), three-pointers per game (2.1, 8th) and blocks (0.9, 13th). Ross averaged 25.0 points in four games during Washington’s run to the NIT semifinals. He shot a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line and led UW shooters from three point range, making 15-of-37 attempts (.405). He posted a career-high 32 points with eight rebounds versus Northwestern in the NIT.

As a freshman, Ross made his first career starts in the Pac-10 Tournament, averaging 15.3 points and 2.7 rebounds, and shooting 52.8 percent from the field to earn a spot on the five-man All-Pac-10 Tournament team. He tallied a team-high 19 points versus North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.

Acy, 6-8, 225 pounds, averaged 12.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 29.7 minutes in 38 starts last season. He was named Big 12 All-Defensive team (unanimously) and All-Big 12 Second Team by the coaches. He is the second player in Baylor history to be ranked in Top 10 in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field goal percentage.

Zubcic, 6-11, 230 pounds averaged 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 17.0 minutes in 22 outings in the Adriatic League. He recorded season highs of 24 points and 13 rebounds versus Cedevita on March 6.

Rockets add 3 players in 2012 NBA Draft

The Houston Rockets used the 12th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft to select Connecticut guard/forward Jeremy Lamb. Houston then chose Iowa State forward Royce White with the 16th overall selection. The Rockets closed out their trio of first-round picks by drafting Kentucky forward Terrence Jones with the 18th overall pick.

Lamb (6-5, 180, Connecticut), who was an early entry candidate for the 2012 NBA Draft, was just the sixth sophomore in UConn history to score 1,000 career points (1,060). He was selected AP Honorable Mention All-America and All-Big East First Team as a sophomore after averaging 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Lamb also helped UConn to a National Championship as a freshman, recording 12 points in the title game vs. Butler and earning a spot on the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team. During the summer of 2011, Lamb played with Team USA at the U19 FIBA World Championships, pacing the team with 16.2 points per game and 18 steals in nine contests. His father, Rolando, also played college basketball for VCU.

Rockets Director of Scouting Arturas Karnisovas:

“Jeremy Lamb, who we selected first, is a very talented shooting guard from UConn. He can score and is very athletic. We were very happy to select him with our 12th pick.”

White (6-8, 260, Iowa State) was the only player in the country in 2011-12 to lead his team in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg), assists (5.0 apg), steals (1.2 spg) and blocks (0.9 bpg) during his lone season at Iowa State. Overall, White became just the second player in school history to top the team in scoring, rebounding and assists in one season. His sophomore year with the Cyclones was highlighted by AP Honorable Mention All-America honors, All-Big 12 First-Team accolades, selection to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and being named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. White actually earned Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors three times in 2011-12. He was previously enrolled at Minnesota, but left the team in Dec. 2009 before playing in any contests of his freshman year.

Rockets Director of Scouting Arturas Karnisovas:

“We selected Royce White from Iowa State, who is a very talented combo forward who can create. He was a creator for Iowa State, is an elite passer and very explosive to the basket. We loved the way he ran the floor and created for others.”

Jones (6-9, 252, Kentucky), who was another of the early entry candidates for the 2012 NBA Draft, averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 76 games over his two seasons with Kentucky. He was one of just six players in UK history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 140 blocks in a career. As a sophomore, Jones helped the Wildcats win the 2012 National Championship, while earning Second-Team All-SEC honors. In 2010-11, he was selected SEC Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-SEC and was a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team. The former McDonald’s All-American averaged 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds as a freshman, leading the SEC in rebounding average and double-doubles (11), as well as ranking sixth in scoring and blocks per game (1.9 bpg).

Rockets Director of Scouting Arturas Karnisovas:

“With our third selection, we selected Terrence Jones from Kentucky, who is another talented combo forward who can score. He developed his inside game and feels comfortable facing up to the basket. Great defender, and as we saw, he was part of Kentucky’s championship team this year.

“We are confident that we’re going to run. We’re going to play fast and we’ve got lots of skilled young players, so we’re expecting to play exciting basketball and we’ll have time now to work on the synergy of the team.”

Cavs draft Dion Waiters, add Tyler Zeller

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected guard Dion Waiters with the fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and acquired the draft rights  to forward/center Tyler Zeller, the 17th overall pick, and guard/forward Kelenna Azubuike from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the 24th, 33rd and 34th overall picks of the 2012 NBA Draft.

“We knew we needed to add scoring and more playmaking and we were able to do that with Dion,” said Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant. “He’s an aggressive, athletic, explosive player that is a great fit for our team. We also knew we needed another big man that can shoot, rebound, defend and get up and down the court with our style of play. We were able to do that with Tyler and we feel he is also a great fit for our team.”

Waiters, 20, was named the Big East Sixth Man of the Year and earned Third Team All-Big East honors after averaging 12.6 points on .476 shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24.1 minutes per game and leading Syracuse to a 34-3 record and spot in the Elite 8 this season. The 6-foot-4, 221-pound guard also led the Orange in steals (1.8) and scored in double figures in 26 of the 37 games he played in as a sophomore. He scored a career-high 28 points on 8-16 (.500) shooting, including shooting 7-10 (.700) from three-point range,  in 32 minutes against Cincinnati in the Big East Tournament. He also tallied 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and a career-best six steals in 21 minutes versus George Washington on Dec. 10. As a freshman, he averaged 6.6 points on .411 shooting, 1.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 16.3 minutes in 34 games.

Zeller, 22,  earned ACC Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2011-12, becoming the first UNC senior to do so since 1978 (Phil Ford). The 7-foot, 250-pound forward/center also earned AP Second Team All-American honors and was named a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, which celebrates the most outstanding player in college basketball. In 38 games (all starts), he averaged 16.3 points on .553 shooting, 9.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 28.2 minutes per game, helping the Tarheels reach the Elite 8. During ACC play, he led the conference in field goal percentage (.569) and offensive rebounds (4.0) while ranking second in rebounding (9.7) and third in scoring (18.5). Zeller recorded 14 double-doubles in his senior season and reached double figures in scoring on 32 occasions, including topping 20 or more points 11 times.  He scored a season-best 31 points on 11-15 shooting (.733) and added 10 rebounds against Appalachian State on Dec. 17 and also put up 30 points, including making 20-23 (.870) free throws, eight rebounds and three blocks versus Maryland on Feb. 29.

As a senior, Zeller became only the third ACC player to win Academic All-America of Year honors (Shane Battier, 2001; Todd Fuller, 1996). He also won the Skip Prosser Award in 2011 and 2012 as the ACC’s top scholar-athlete in men’s basketball and was a four-time Academic All-ACC selection. He finished his career at UNC with averages of 12.8 points on .542 shooting from the field and .777 from the free throw line, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game in 117 games (75 starts) and was a member of the Tarheels’ 2009 National Championship Team.

Azubuike, 28, has career averages of 10.5 points on .459 shooting from the field and .409 shooting from the three-point line, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 24.2 minutes per game in 208 games (83 starts).

Denver Nuggets add three players in 2012 NBA Draft

The Denver Nuggets selected Evan Fournier with the 20th overall pick, Quincy Miller with the 38th pick and Izzet Turkyilmaz with the 50th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Fournier, a 6-6, 190-pound guard from France, averaged 14.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals while playing for Union Poitiers Basket 86 last season.

The 19-year-old became the youngest player in French League history to score at least 20 points when he totaled 21 against SLUC Nancy on Feb. 5, 2011. He also was a member of France’s Under-20 national team and averaged 16.9 points at the 2011 U20 European Championship.

Miller, 19, averaged 10.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in his lone season at Baylor. The 6-9, 220-pound forward was named the 2012 Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Year while helping lead the Bears to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

With their final pick of the night, the Nuggets selected the 22-year-old Turkyilmaz out of Turkey. The 7-1, 220-pound foward most recently played for Bandirma Banvit and appeared in 26 games during the Turkish league as well as eight games for Bandirma in the Eurocup in 2011-12.

Brooklyn Nets acquire 3 in draft

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired the draft rights to Tyshawn Taylor, the 41st selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, from the Portland Trail Blazers and Tornike Shengelia, the 54th pick, from the Philadelphia 76ers, both in exchange for cash, Nets General Manager Billy King announced tonight.  In addition, the Nets selected Ilkan Karaman with the 57th overall pick.

Taylor (6’3”/185) was a four-year starter at Kansas scoring 1,580 career points, 14th most in KU history.  The Hoboken, New Jersey native averaged a career-best 16.6 points, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals as a senior.  He was a 2011-12 AP Third Team All America selection and an All Big 12 First Team pick.

Shengelia (6’10”/230) has been a member of the Republic of Georgia’s National Team since 2008.  He played the 2011-12 season for Belgacom Spirou where he averaged 8.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 18.4 minutes in 20 Belgium League games.  He helped his team qualify for Euroleague play, and posted 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds during nine games over the season. Shengelia represented the Republic of Georgia at 2011 Eurobasket, averaging 8.8 points and 4.6 boards for the Senior National Team.

Karaman (6’10”/236) is from Istanbul, Turkey and played for Galatasaray of the Turkish League.  In 2011-12, he averaged 10.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in 23 minutes per game.