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.”
