June 26, 2009

The ACC led all conferences with seven first-round draft picks in the 2009 NBA Draft - the Pac-10 was second with six ... since 1986, the ACC has had 88 players selected in the first round of the NBA draft, the Big East is second with 76 and the Pac-10 third with 67.

The ACC extended its streak of having at least one first-round draft pick in 21 consecutive NBA drafts … the ACC has had the most, or tied for the most, first-round picks in the NBA draft in five of the of the last eight years and in 11 of the last 17.

National Champion North Carolina had three players (Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington) selected in the first round for the second time in five years … Wake Forest’s James Johnson and Jeff Teague became the first Demon Deacon duo to be selected in the first round of the same NBA Draft … for the second time in three years, Florida State had a first round draft pick as Toney Douglas became FSU’s 10th overall first round pick.

Duke has had at least one player selected in 11 of the past 12 years … Florida State has had at least one player selected in five of the past six years … North Carolina has had six “Lottery Picks” over the last four years … 20 of the last 25 North Carolina players selected in the NBA Draft have gone in the first round … this year¹s draft marked the ninth time that two or more Tar Heels were chosen in the first round.

With the selection of North Carolina’s Ty Lawson by the Minnesota Timberwolves, 38 ACC Players of the Year have been drafted in the first round.

ACC PLAYERS DRAFTED IN THE 2009 NBA DRAFT

GERALD HENDERSON, Duke
Charlotte Bobcats No. 12, first round
The 28th Duke player to be selected in the first round and the first since Shelden Williams (No. 5, Atlanta) and J.J. Redick (No. 11, Orlando) were selected in the 2006 draft … with Charlotte’s selection of Henderson, Duke has had 14 first-round selections over the last 12 years … Henderson is the fifth ACC player (all first round picks) to be drafted by the Bobcats … becomes the 40th player selected in the NBA Draft under head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the 73rd overall NBA draft pick in school history.

Father Gerald was a third round draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs in 1978 … played 13 seasons in the NBA averaging 8.9 points and 3.6 assists per game.

Earned first-team All-ACC honors as a junior after averaging 16.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the ACC Champion Blue Devils … shot .450 from the floor and .761 from the free throw line … scored 10 or more points in 27 of Duke’s last 29 games.

TYLER HANSBROUGH, North Carolina
Indiana Pacers, No. 13, first round
The 37th North Carolina player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft and the first since Brandon Wright was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2007 draft … with three players selected, North Carolina has had 19 first-round selections in the last 19 years.

Hansbrough is fifth ACC player, and the second Tar Heel, to be drafted in the first round by the Indiana Pacers. Previous ACC players selected by the Pacers in the first were UNC’s Dudley Bradley (1979), Clemson’s Dale Davis (1991) and Georgia Tech’s Travis Best (1995).

Hansbrough was the first player in league history to be a four-time unanimous All-ACC selection … finished his career as the ACC’s all-time leading scorer with 2,872 points and was eighth in career rebounds (1,219) … along with NC State’s David Thompson (1973-75) and Virginia’s Ralph Sampson (1981-83), Hansbrough is one of only three ACC players to earn consensus All-America honors in three consecutive years.

JAMES JOHNSON, Wake Forest
Chicago Bulls, No. 16, first round
The 11th Wake Forest player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft and the first since Chris Paul was selected in the 2005 draft with the fourth overall selection … the Deacons have had four first-round picks over the last six years … Johnson is the 36th Wake Forest player drafted.

Johnson is 24th ACC player overall, and the eighth first round selection, drafted by the Chicago Bulls … Johnson is the 10th-highest drafted Deacon ever … Johnson is the first Deacon ever drafted by the Bulls.

A two-time third-team All-ACC pick, Johnson averaged 14.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for his career … as a sophomore in 2008-09, averaged 15.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and was third in the ACC in field goal percentage (.542).

TY LAWSON, North Carolina
Minnesota Timberwolves, No. 18, first round
The 38th North Carolina player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft … with three first-round selections in this year’s draft, North Carolina has had 19 first-round selections in the last 19 years.

Lawson is the fourth ACC player, and the second Tar Heel (Rashad McCants in 2005) to be a first-round selection by the Timberwolves.

The 2009 ACC Player of the Year, Lawson led the ACC in assists per game (6.6) and was ninth in scoring (16.6) … a first-team All-America selection by Basketball Times and SI.com and a second-team choice by The Sporting News and the AP, Lawson led the ACC in assists-to-turnover ratio (3.48:1).

JEFF TEAGUE, Wake Forest
Atlanta Hawks, No. 19, first round
The 12th Wake Forest player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft … the Deacons now have had four first-round picks over the last six years … Teague is the 37th Wake Forest player selected in the NBA draft.

Teague is the 32nd ACC player to be selected by the Atlanta Hawks … only the second Deacon ever drafted by the Hawks (Paul Long, 15th Round, 1966) … Teague and James Johnson and became the first Demon Deacon pair to be selected in the first round of the same NBA Draft.

A second-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore in 2008-09, Teague finished fifth in the ACC in scoring (18.8), seventh in assists (3.6), third in steals (1.9), ninth in free throw percentage (.817) ... was the 25th player in league history to total 1,000 or more points by his sophomore season.

WAYNE ELLINGTON, North Carolina
Minnesota Timberwolves, No. 28, first round
The 39th North Carolina player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft … with three first-round selections in this year’s draft, North Carolina has had 19 first-round selections in the last 19 years.

Ellington is the fifth ACC player, and the third Tar Heel to be a first-round selection by the Timberwolves.

A three-year starter and the 2009 Final Four MOP, Ellington averaged 15.8 points and 4.9 rebounds for the National Champion Tar Heels in 2008-09 … averaged 14.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 115 career games.

TONEY DOUGLAS, Florida State
Los Angeles Lakers, No. 29, first round
The 35th Florida State player and the Seminoles’ 10th first round pick to be selected in the NBA draft … Florida State has had five players selected (including two first-round selections) in the last six NBA drafts … Al Thornton was a first round pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2007.

A year ago, Douglas earned All-American Third Team and All-ACC First Team honors en route to being named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year ... the ACC Player of the Year runner-up, Douglas had 25 games of 20 or more points, led the ACC in scoring (21.3) and set a school single-season record with 751 points.

DANNY GREEN, North Carolina
Cleveland Cavaliers, No. 46, second round
Green was selected in the second round by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 46th overall pick … Green’s selection marks the second time ever that four Tar Heels have been selected in the first two rounds of the NBA Draft … in 2005, four UNC players were selected, all in the first round … Carolina has now had 96 players selected in NBA Draft history, the most of any ACC school … averaged 13.1 points and 4.7 rebounds while starting all 38 games for the National Champion Tar Heels.

JACK McCLINTON, Miami
San Antonio Spurs, No. 51, second round
The 17th Miami player to be selected in the NBA draft and the first since Guillermo Diaz was a second round pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2006 draft … McClinton, a two-time first-team All-ACC guard, finished first among ACC career 3-point field goal percentage leaders (.4400), second in free throw percentage (.900) … finished seventh on the school’s career scoring list with 1,702 points in three years.