Big East Standouts to Hear Names at NBA Draft

[Brad]

MANY BIG EAST STANDOUTS EXPECT TO HEAR THEIR NAMES AT NBA DRAFT

Most experts agree that at least six players from the BIG EAST will be taken in the first round, which would tie the most in conference history

June 26, 2006

Providence, R.I. - Ten years ago, with a league-best six players taken in the first round and eight overall, the 1996 NBA Draft had a strong BIG EAST flavor to it. That draft proved to be a historical one for the conference, but the bar may be set even higher this year.

According to draft experts from several different Web sites and publications, including Chad Ford of ESPN.com, the BIG EAST is likely to tie and could break the 1996 mark of six first-round draftees in `06.

The NBA Draft is set to take place on Wednesday, June 28 at 7:00 p.m. EDT from Madison Square Garden, which has been the home of the BIG EAST Championship since 1983. ESPN will televise the event in its entirety.

Connecticut and Villanova, 2005-06 BIG EAST Regular Season Co-Champions, could be among the league's most represented teams in the draft. UConn's Hilton Armstrong (last year's BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year) Rudy Gay and Marcus Williams have the potential to be lottery picks, and most agree that they will all be taken in the first round. The Wildcats' Randy Foye (reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year) could also be a lottery pick, and Kyle Lowry is projected as a late first-round selection. Rutgers' Quincy Douby, who won the league scoring title last season, rounds out the list of BIG EAST players who are consensus first-round predictions.

According to Ford's June 26 mock draft, Cincinnati's James White, Connecticut's Josh Boone and West Virginia's Mike Gansey are among those who also could be chosen in the first round.

Should that mock draft hold true, no other conference would match the league's six first rounders.

Entering the 2006 draft, Syracuse is first among current BIG EAST schools with a total of 26 players selected since 1980. St. John's is second with 25, followed by Georgetown (24), Connecticut (21), Providence (16), Seton Hall (10), Pittsburgh (9), Notre Dame (3) and West Virginia (1).

The '96 draft marked the largest number of BIG EAST players chosen in the first round and overall since the draft was cut to two rounds in `88. The `83 draft had the most league players chosen with 15 in eight rounds.

 

The following is a complete list of draft-eligible players who could be selected in the second round:

Player (School)

Eric Hicks (Cincinnati)

Rashad Anderson (Connecticut)

Denham Brown (Connecticut)

Brandon Bowman (Georgetown)

Taquan Dean (Louisville)

Steve Novak (Marquette)

Chris Quinn (Notre Dame)

Carl Krauser (Pittsburgh)

Donald Copeland (Seton Hall)

Kelly Whitney (Seton Hall)

Solomon Jones (USF)

Gerry McNamara (Syracuse)

Allan Ray (Villanova)

Kevin Pittsnogle (West Virginia)

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[bulls96go]

how many did we have?

congrats to sojo and usf!