June 29, 2007

ACColades

• The ACC led all conferences with six players selected in the first round.
• The ACC led all conferences with nine players selected overall.
• The ACC has had the most, or tied for the most, first-round picks in the NBA draft in four of the last six years and 10 of the last 15.
• Georgia Tech and Boston College each had two first-round selections for the first time in their school histories.
• Six ACC schools had at least one player selected; Boston College, Georgia Tech and North Carolina had two selections.
• The league's six first round selections are tied for the third-best total in ACC history.
• With the selection of Al Thornton in the first-round, Florida State has had at least one draft pick in each of the last four years.
• With the selection of Josh McRoberts in the second-round, Duke had had at least one player drafted in each of the past 10 years.
• The Charlotte Bobcats drafted the 2007 ACC Player of the Year (Jared Dudley) and ACC Rookie of the Year (Brandan Wright).
• With Jared Dudley's selection by the Charlotte Bobcats, 37 of the league's 54 Players of the Year have been drafted in the first round.
• Three of the ACC's six first round selections were freshmen.
• First Round Selections by Conference: ACC (6); Big Ten (4); Pac-10 (4); Big 12 (3); SEC (3); Big East (2); Big Sky (1); Conference USA (1); Mountain West (1).
• Total NBA Draft picks by Conference: ACC (9); SEC (8); Big East (6); Big 10 (6); Pac-10 (6); Big 12 (4); WAC (3); Atlantic 10 (1); Big Sky (1); Conference USA (1); Metro Atlantic (1); Mountain West (1).
• Since 1986, the ACC has produced 88 first-round selections, 19 more than the Big East and 30 more than the SEC.
• Over the past three years (2005-2007) the ACC has accounted for 22 percent of the college players selected in the first round ... 16 of the 72 college players selected in the first round have come from the ACC ... over the past three years the ACC has had 16 first round selections, the Big East is second with 11, followed by the Big Ten (8), Pac-10 (8), Big 12 (8) and the SEC (7).

Charlotte Bobcats No. 8 -- Brandan Wright, North Carolina
The 2007 ACC Rookie of the Year, Wright is the 36th Tar Heel selected in the first round of the NBA draft ... led the ACC in field goal percentage (.646) and averaged 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game ... is the fifth UNC lottery pick in the NBA Draft in the last three years, joining Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants, all of whom went in the first 14 picks of the 2005 draft ... Wright was later traded to the Golden State Warriors.

Philadelphia 76ers No. 12 -- Thaddeus Young, Georgia Tech
Honorable mention Freshman All-ACC in 2006-07, Young is the 15th Yellow Jacket selected in the first round and highest Tech player selected since Chris Bosh was the fourth overall selection in the 2003 draft ... averaged 14.4 points and 4.9 rebounds and scored 10 or more points in all but six games ... Young is the 10th ACC player selected by the 76ers in the first round.

L.A. Clippers No. 14 -- Al Thornton, Florida State
Unanimous first-team All-ACC selection as a senior in 2006-07, Thornton is the first Seminole to be selected in the first round since Bob Sura in 1995 and the ninth overall ... Thornton is the sixth ACC Player selected in the first round by the Clippers ... led the ACC in scoring (19.7) and was eighth in rebounding (7.2).

New Jersey Nets No. 17 -- Sean Williams, Boston College
Averaged 12.1 points and 6.9 rebounds before being dismissed from the team after 17 games ... was leading the ACC in blocked shots (5.0) ... the first Boston College player to be selected in the first round since Troy Bell was the 16th overall selection (Celtics) in the 2003 draft ... Williams is the seventh ACC player selected by the Nets in the first round.

L.A. Lakers No. 19 -- Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech
Runnerup to UNC's Wright in ACC Rookie of the Year balloting in 2006-07 ... unanimous All-ACC Freshman selection ... averaged a team-high 14.4 points and 5.8 assists while starting 31 of 32 games ... Crittenton is the 16th Yellow Jacket selected in the first round on the NBA draft.

Charlotte Bobcats No. 22 -- Jared Dudley, Boston College
The 2007 ACC Player of the Year, Dudley is the ninth Boston College player selected in the first round of the NBA draft ... led the ACC in scoring (19.0) and was second in rebounds (8.3) ... scored 2,071 points in his career.

ACC Second Round Selections

Portland Trailblazers No. 37 -- Josh McRoberts, Duke
Averaged 13.0 points per game ... led the Blue Devils and finished third in the ACC in rebounds (7.9) ... McRoberts, who entered the draft after his sophomore year,, is the 72nd overall NBA draft pick in Duke history ... the selection of McRoberts extends Duke's streak of having at least one player selected in the NBA draft to 10 consecutive years.

Orlando Magic No. 44 -- Reyshawn Terry, North Carolina
Averaged 9.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 2006-07 ... a two-year starter at small forward for the Tar Heels, Terry earned third-team All-ACC honors as a junior ... only the sixth ACC player drafted by the Orlando Magic ... the selection of Terry brings the total number of Tar Heels selected in the NBA draft to an ACC-best seven over the past three years.

Phoenix Suns No. 59 -- D.J. Strawberry, Maryland
Second team All-ACC as a senior in 2006-07 ... led the Terps in scoring (14.9), steals (2.0) and was in rebounds (4.4) and assists (3.5) ... Strawberry is the first Terrapin drafted in the NBA since Steve Blake was taken in the second round by the Washington Wizards in 2003 and is the first Maryland player to be taken by the Suns since they selected Mark Fothergill and Herman Veal in 1984.