The Utah Jazz selected guard Danté Exum with the fifth overall pick of the first round and added forward Rodney Hood with the 23rd overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, held Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The 6-6, 188-pound native of Melbourne, Australia, Exum averaged 18.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists with the Australian National Team at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship in Prague. The 18-year-old led his team to the semifinals and was named to the 2013 U19 World Championship All-Tournament team.
In 2013, Exum guided his high school, Lake Ginninderra College, to the Australian School Championship. In addition, he participated in the 2013 Nike Hoop Summit for the World Select Team.
Exum’s father, Cecil, won an NCAA Championship with the University of North Carolina in 1982 alongside Michael Jordan and James Worthy, and was later selected by the Denver Nuggets in the 1984 NBA Draft.
Exum joins centers Enes Kanter and Rudy Gobert as the third international player on the current roster and becomes the sixth active Australian born player in the NBA.
Hood spent two seasons at Duke University after starting his collegiate career at Mississippi State University. A 2014 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Second Team selection, the Meridian, Miss., native averaged 16.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range in 35 games his sophomore season. He also earned a spot on the conference’s All-Academic Team.
Duke’s team captain in 2013-14, Hood redshirted the 2012-13 season after transferring from Mississippi State. While at Mississippi State, he was selected to the 2012 All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team.
The 21-year-old Hood becomes the first Duke product ever to be drafted by the Jazz.
Exum will wear jersey number 11 for the Jazz, while Hood will wear number No. 6.
