NBA Draft Blog: Four Heels, two Deacs and a Blue Devil get drafted, State left out

By Ryan Craig
Jun 26, 2009

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Update 12:05am - Miami chooses Dozier with last pick:

In the NFL Draft they call him Mr. Irrelevant, the last guy chosen - the NBA isn't that creative.

In either case, the Heat take Robert Dozier with the last selection of the draft.

Dozier has made more headlines lately with his SAT scores and their lack of authenticity in the eyes of the Georgia University administration, but now he'll be looking to make a roster down in South Beach.

Update 12:00am - L.A. drafts Chinemelu Elonu, Vaden bought by Oklahoma City:

I don't know why they call it a trade if it's just for cash considerations - isn't that just buying?

Anyway, Elonu is a perfect example of a kid that should have stayed in school, but he's made his bed and now he'll hope to sleep in it somewhere near L.A. and not in Europe after not making an NBA roster.

Update 11:54pm - Boston takes Lester Hudson

Hudson was the nation's second-leading scorer last season behind Stephen Curry and a pretty good defender. I don't know why more teams don't go with picks like this rather than take 17-year old international guys that are probably never going to come to America.

Hudson is also the only kid in college history to register a quadruple-double - not bad.

Meawhile, L.A. sends Patrick Beverley to Miami for a future second round pick and cash - exciting.

Update 11:50pm - Ahmad Nivins heading to Dallas:

Also, Emir Preldzic is going to Phoenix.

I can honestly say I have nothing to say about these guys.

Good luck to Phoenix's play by play guy on that name.

Update 11:45pm - Patrick Mills finally off the board:

But not before Nando De Colo and Robert Vaden who went to San Antonio and Charlotte.

I can't believe Mills didn't go earlier than this - he's a good scorer. Mills broke his hand and missed a lot of the conference season late in the year - like Price, that injury probably did him in draft-wise.

Update 11:38pm - A.J. Price taken by Indiana:

Price had a bad knee injury last year - it's all speculation as to where he could have gone without it, but one would think he might have done better than number 52 overall.

Update 11:35pm - McClinton taken by the Spurs:

Not a bad pick here for San Antonio - we all know the kid can shoot.

Sergiy Gladyr and Goran Suton went before him to Atlanta and Utah, respectively.

Update 11:27 - Taylor Griffin taken by Phoenix:

Now that's cool.

Taylor was probably only there to cheer on his brother, and all of a sudden his name gets called by Phoenix in the middle of the second round.

Good luck to a kid who was always great about cheering on his younger, better, brother.

Update 11:25pm - Minnesota uses 6th pick of their night to take Henk Norel

First things first - Portland sends Sergio Rodriguez, John Brockman and cash to the Kings for Jeff Pendergraph.

Norel, on the other hand, is another international player that made the trip - ESPN seems to think he'll spend a few more seasons across the pond before playing in the league.

Update 11:19pm - Danny Green goes to Cleveland:

Carolina's fourth guy finally gets taken - can you imagine the pregame antics with Shaq, LeBron and Danny Green around? That would be worth the price of admission alone.

Green adds something Cleveland lacked in the playoffs this year - the ability to guard multiple positions on the perimeter. I've always thought he was more valuable than people gave him credit for - I expect him to make a roster and contribute in the league.

Update 11:17pm - Minnesota takes Nick Calathes:

Calathes is rumored to have signed with a professional team in Greece, so this pick is interesting.

I guess this is a good thing if you're the Calathes family - you can leverage that pro offer from Greece (where he has duel citizenship) against one from the pros. Normally, the second round guys don't get automatic deals, but he can make a team match that figure and guarantee it in order to get him to play on this side of the Atlantic.

Win-win for Nick.

Update 11:14pm - Budinger finally picked:

Chase Buddinger goes to Detroit.

What happened with this guy? Wasn't he supposed to be an athletic marvel with a jump shot? Talk about falling stock - many people thought this guy would go in the lottery, and suddenly he's on the verge of being a professional basketball vagabond. Not good.

Houston buys another pick, by the way - this time it's Sergio Llull.

Update 11:11pm - Patrick Beverley, Marcus Thornton headed to L.A. and Miami respectively:

Beverley is from the Ukraine while Thornton comes out of LSU.

Update 11:05pm - Jodie Meeks headed to Milwaukee:

Meeks probably saw the writing on the wall - the John Wall, that is.

Seeing that playing time and shots were going to be an issue next year, Meeks probably just figured he'd take a chance and stay in the draft. As it turned out, he didn't get a guaranteed contract, but his numbers weren't going to get any better next year.

Update 11:01pm - Taylor goes to Houston for cash, Charlotte takes Derrick Brown:

Houston didn't have a pick this year, so they bought Jermaine Taylor from Washington.

Brown apparently put up 185 pounds more than 20 times at the combine - not bad.

Update 10:58pm - Jerebko taken by Detroit:

Jonas Jerebko goes in the second round to the Pistons.

It's amazing that a kid that plays in Sweden can make the trip to be taken in the second round, and yet Brandon Jennings, a kid from the U.S., can't muster the courage to sit out there and be drafted tenth.

Update 10:53pm - John Brockman stays in the Northwest:

The former Washington Huskies forward won't have to move far to start his pro career. He adds depth to the Blazers front court, but with Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge up front, his minutes will likely come off the bench.

Update 10:51pm - DeJuan Blair to San Antonio:

Not a bad pick by the Spurs - I think his muscle will help take some of the beating off of Tim Duncan.

His knees kept him from being a first-rounder, but his rebounding is second to none.

Update 10:48pm - updating a few picks:

Jermaine Taylor, only the second UCF guy ever to be picked, goes to the Wizards with pick number 32.

He was followed by Dante Cunningham to the Blazers, Sergio Llull to Denver and DaJuan Summers to Detroit.

Update 10:32pm - Jeff Pendergraph to Sacramento:

Pendergraph is a solid forward. The second round will see plenty of guys like this - good players whose ceilings might not be as high as some of the early first rounders.

Portland apparently like him enough to trade for him - they're sending Sergio Rodriguez and the 38th pick to Sacramento for him.

Update 10:23pm - Christian Eyenga goes to Cleveland:

If you're good enough, they will find you - that's the bottom line.

Eyenga can jump out of the gym, but he's as raw as it gets - he played for the same club that Rubio did, but he was an entire division lower.

This is where underclassmen kick themselves for leaving school. Guys like Chase Budinger and DeJuan Blair probably thought they were a lock for the first round and a guaranteed contract - apparently not.

Update 10:16pm - Toney Douglas goes to the Lakers:

It's been reported that the Knicks have bought this pick from the Lakers for$3 million - in essence, the Lakers picked Douglas for the New York.

Douglas is a phenomenal defender and is a great value at the end of the first round.

Update 10:11pm - Ellington to the Timberwolves:

How about another guard? Why not?

It doesn't look like Lawson is going to stay in the Midwest, but it bears noting that the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted both of the members of the Carolina backcourt.

Update 10:03pm - DeMarre Carroll goes to Memphis:

Carroll might be a reach here, but he was All-Big Ten first team last year at the forward position.

His nickname, "Junkyard Dog," says it all I think.

Update 10:00pm - Taj Gibson goes to the Bulls:

Gibson was considered a bubble first-round pick whose decision to leave Southern Cal was made a lot easier by Tim Floyd's decision to resign amidst the mess that has become that program.

Looks like the decision was a good one, as he joins a Bulls team that is stocked with young talent - just ask the Celtics who had to scratch and claw just to take out Chicago in the first-round of the playoffs.

Update 9:53pm - Oklahoma City goes with Rodrigue Beaubois:

Yeah.

I have no idea who this guy is, but ESPN compares him to Leandro Barbosa.

Works for me.

Dallas apparently knows him too because they've just traded Mullins for him.

Update 9:52: B.J. Mullins goes to Dallas:

Mullins is a project – he’s pretty much only in the draft because his family has money concerns.

This is a surprising pick to me because I would have thought that Dallas would want a big that could contribute right away to help out Eric Dampier on a team that doesn’t have much talented size on offense – then again, it’s hard for these teams to lay off guys with that much size.

Update 9:45pm - Omri Casspi is the Kings' pick:

He a member of the Israeli national team.

We're starting to see some of the international guys come off the board more frequently. I think teams got scared away by some of the busts from overseas in recent years - they aren't willing to chance high picks for the most part (Rubio aside), but late first round picks that don't cost as much money make more sense.

Update 9:39pm - Victor Claver chosen by Portland

The Blazers must have wanted Claver pretty bad - they traded three picks to move up two spots in the first round.

Trade three picks for a guy that's going to stay in Spain for a few more years? This is one that better pan out or it is a complete waste.

I understand the Blazers don't have too many needs, but it's not exactly like they just wont the title - I don't get it.

Update 9:33pm - New Orleans goes with Darren Collison:

Like it or not, the truth is that Collison is one of those guys that might have hurt himself by going back to school.

He was the "it" guy after UCLA's third straight Final Four, but when the Bruins fell back to Earth last year, so did the 6-foot-1 guard.

Update 9:28 - Maynor goes to the Jazz:

Maynor is most famous for beating Duke at the buzzer in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, but he's actually been a pretty good player for a number of years.

Update 9:23pm - Jeff Teague headed to Atlanta:

Teague was unstoppable in the beginning of the college season, but, like the rest of his team, hit a wall towards the end of the year.

Some had him as one of the top two point guards in the draft, and he would have been if he kept up his early-season pace. As it stands, Wake puts two guys in the league within the top 19 picks.

Update 9:18 Timberwolves choose Lawson:

How many point guards can a team take?

Someone has to be in Minnesota's ear right now trying to grab one of these guys.

ESPN just reported that the Wolves are moving Lawson to the Nuggets - that makes sense as they're the team that was likely to take the speedy floor general last year before he got into a little bit of legal trouble.

Update 9:13 - Holiday goes to Philly:

Finally, the former Bruin gets out of the Green Room - at least he had the guts to sit there unlike Jennings.

He's going to need more time than some of the guys that have gone ahead of him, but he has the potential to be better than most of those guys.

Update 9:09pm - James Johnson goes to Chicago with 16th overall pick:

Johnson goes before former teammate Jeff Teague in what might be a bit of an upset - Johnson's versatility is impressive, but he'll probably play mostly the four spot in the league.

Update 9:02pm - Austin Daye goes to Detroit:

Daye's father played for five seasons in the NBA, so you know he has the pedigree - he's another guy, though, that never quite lived up to his potential in college.

With his length, skills and mobility, he should have dominated the WCC.

Daye is the third guy already this draft whose father played in the league - Gerald Henderson and Stephen Curry are the other two.

Update 8:56pm - Earl Clark goes to Phoenix:

Brandon Jennings just showed up on stage instead of Earl Clark - I guess he didn't have enough confidence that he would be picked high enough to sit in the crowd with everyone else - that might say something about the kid.

Meanwhile, Earl Clark had all the talent, but he's one of those guys that can disappear in a game.

He can move for a big guy though, so he's a pretty good fit for the Suns.

Update 8:52pm - Hansbrough goes to Indiana:

The four-time All-American goes one pick after Henderson - doesn't it seem like those two are always connected?

Update 8:44pm - Gerald Henderson goes to Charlotte:

Michael Jordan takes Gerald Henderson.

Tyler Hansbrough had a chance to go the professional Tar Heels, a team that's taken Ray Felton and Sean May recently, but the team goes with the Dukie instead - interesting story line there.

Update 8:38 - Terrence Williams to the Garden State:

We heard rumors that Williams was promised by the Bobcats - I guess he won't have to that long.

A lot of people look at Williams as a bigger, stronger version of Gerald Henderson, hence the promise from Charlotte.

Update 8:33pm - Brandon Jennings goes to Milwaukee:

Jennings of course is famous for his high fade and his circumventing the new college rule by playing in Italy for a year.

A lot of people see Jennings as a guinea pig - if he went high in the draft after a so-so year overseas, a lot more players may go the Euro-route.

It seems like the reward was worth the risk in this case.

Update 8:27pm - DeMar Derozan goes to Toronto:

Talk about a guy that's gone under the radar - he's a classic example of a player that has a ton of upside but didn't show too much in his one year of college play. His work in the Pac-10 tournament earned him some serious money.

He becomes the ninth USC player drafted in the first round.

Update 8:20pm - New York takes Jordan Hill with the eighth pick:

And the fans at the Garden boo - what a shocker.

Hill is an athletic forward, but the Knicks already have David Lee - I figured they might go guard, but with Curry off the board they probably went best player available.

Update 8:16pm - Stephen Curry goes to Golden State:

The New York fans hate the pick - they were hoping Curry would be in their uniform come October.

1,245 threes to go until he matches dad's number of three-pointers in the league.

Update 8:10pm - Wolves take Johnny Flynn next:

I sense trade - why else would Minnesota take two point guards? Maybe the Knicks package their pick and they one they acquired from the Lakers for Flynn and then Minnesota takes their spot at number 8?

In case you don't remember, Flynn is the guy that played 67 minutes against UConn in the Big East Tournament this past year.

Update 8:03pm - Minnesota takes Rubio:

The Spaniard, who some say plays like Pistol Pete Maravich, goes to Minnesota.

No shock there - the Wolves needed guards and Rubio was probably the best on the board.

International picks have been hit (Nowitzki, Ginobili) and miss (Darko, Frederic Weis) over the years. Rubio distinguished himself with his efforts in the Beiking Olympics, but we'll see if he pans out.

Update 7:57pm - Sacramento choses Tyreke Evans:

Rubio falls again - Evans goes to Cali.

Evans is the latest player to go the "Memphis for a year and then to the NBA first round" route. Derrick Rose, SATs aside of course, went to Memphis for a year and then became last year's number one overall pick.

Rubio has to go to Minnesota now - they need guard help after their recent trades, specifically the one that sent Foye and Miller to Washington.

Update 7:52pm - Harden on his way to Oklahoma City:

James Harden goes third to Oklahoma City - Herb Sendek strikes again.

Harden is a very polished guard and he's carried the Sun Devils' program the last two years.

Update 7:46 - Thabeet to Memphis at number two:

Some people thought Ricky Rubio would go here, but the big man was the way to go. The Grizzlies have Mike Conley already and no size whatsoever - the 7'2" center takes care of that.

7:35pm - Surprise, surprise:

Blake Griffin goes number one to the Clippers. Now that that's out of the way, we can get down to real business - should be pretty fun from here on out.

One of the nice things about the NBA draft is the lack of time in between picks - the NFL draft takes forever because you get about four days in between picks. In the MLB draft everyone in the country gets picked, so they have to do it over three days.

Out of the three, I like the NBA draft the best - five minutes in between picks in the first round, two in between picks in the second. Let's be honest, you've scouted all year long - if you don't know who you're picking by now, you've got some issues. The only thing that might take some time is a trade, so I understand having five minutes and not 30 seconds.

Getting ready for the first pick:

OK, so the first selection might not have you on the edge of your seat, but things figure to pick up quickly after that. When you have a draft low on franchise players, there is a lot of potential for trades, busts, and surprise selections - I think we'll see all three tonight.

There figures to be a serious amount of drama in the next several hours, but one thing is for sure, we'll have a ton of local guys going in the first round.

Stephen Curry, Gerald Henderson, Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough, Jeff Teague, Danny Green, Ty Lawson, and James Johnson are all projected to be first round picks - not a bad collection of talent from the Old North State.

Stay tuned to WRALsportsfan.com for updates on our area guys throughout the night.

Most Recent Comments

RE: NBA Draft Blog: Four Heels, two Deacs and a Blue Devil get drafted, State left out

Awwww, it seems that State is left out of everything. NCAA Tournament appearances, NBA Draft picks, and All-American players. Sucks to be a State fan..

RE: NBA Draft Blog: Four Heels, two Deacs and a Blue Devil get drafted, State left out

State always seems to get left out...........oops, sorry - that just kind'a slipped out.

GO HEELS.

RE: NBA Draft Blog: Four Heels, two Deacs and a Blue Devil get drafted, State left out

I think billygoat was being funny, too. The fans ran Herb off. Yes, ASU offered a contract, but it could have been almost anyone. He was ready to go, rather than stay where he was not appreciated. It's true that State would always be middle-of-the-pack with Herb, but middle-of-the-pack would probably look pretty good right about now.
- Posted by uncfan1
It seem like you tarheel fans appreciated Sendek more than State or even possibly more than ASU too. So why dont you guys run off Roy an bring Sendek since you guys love him that much ?
- Posted by conrad27713

Nobody said we loved him. But, we can appreciate the fact that he accomplished more at State than Sid has, or probably ever will. And, no, we would not hire him because we can do better. It remains to be seen whether State can.
- Posted by uncfan1
An i dont think that you tarheel fans would have put up with a 11 yr losing coach like Sendek because you got rid of your coach befor Roy after 3 yrs. Lowe is bring in better player that Sendek could never get to come State in his 11 yrs. Again if you guys seem to think that Sendek is so great then hired him as yourself coach.
- Posted by conrad27713

We got rid of Matt more for off-court issues than on-court performance. And, again, we don't think Herb was great. Certainly, not for our standards. We can do better. It remains to be seen whether you can.

RE: NBA Draft Blog: Four Heels, two Deacs and a Blue Devil get drafted, State left out

I knew Costner didn't have a chance. I did think that Fells was a sleeper in the draft.

Looks like off to europe for these guys....

and as for the heels - congrats to Tyler and Ty

As for Ellington- he'll be on the bench and only god knows why someone picked Danny Green?? I think he needs to say thank you to Roy for getting him picked.
I'm sure Roy will be doing something for them in the future.
- Posted by ncguy

You got to be joking about Fells ! This guy really had no business ever playing in the ACC nor at any top 5 major conference in college bball. Maybe Fells could have play at some mid level conference in D 1. Now Costner had a serious chance in making it to thr NBA until he came all out of sharpe & could never get over Hicksons.

Ellington & Green will be very good soild NBA player an this is coming from a die harded State fan. But the real question is where does Hasbrough fit in at the Pacer with Troy Murphy being there.

RE: NBA Draft Blog: Four Heels, two Deacs and a Blue Devil get drafted, State left out

I think billygoat was being funny, too. The fans ran Herb off. Yes, ASU offered a contract, but it could have been almost anyone. He was ready to go, rather than stay where he was not appreciated. It's true that State would always be middle-of-the-pack with Herb, but middle-of-the-pack would probably look pretty good right about now.
- Posted by uncfan1
It seem like you tarheel fans appreciated Sendek more than State or even possibly more than ASU too. So why dont you guys run off Roy an bring Sendek since you guys love him that much ?
- Posted by conrad27713

Nobody said we loved him. But, we can appreciate the fact that he accomplished more at State than Sid has, or probably ever will. And, no, we would not hire him because we can do better. It remains to be seen whether State can.
- Posted by uncfan1

An i dont think that you tarheel fans would have put up with a 11 yr losing coach like Sendek because you got rid of your coach befor Roy after 3 yrs. Lowe is bring in better player that Sendek could never get to come State in his 11 yrs. Again if you guys seem to think that Sendek is so great then hired him as yourself coach.

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