Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest in the NBA Draft
6/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 24, 2010
- Wake Forest has had 12 first-round selections in the NBA Draft, most recently James Johnson and Jeff Teague who both went in the first round in 2009.
- Johnson, who went 16th to the Chicago Bulls, and Teague, who went three slots later to the Atlanta Hawks, were the first pair of Demon Deacons to be taken in the first round of the same NBA Draft.
- Last year's draft marked just the second time that two Deacons were taken in the first two rounds of the same NBA Draft. The only previous occurrence came in 1984 when Anthony Teachey and Danny Young were both drafted in the second round.
- Wake Forest has had two or more players drafted in the same year six times: 1971 (Gil McGregor, Charlie Davis), 1977 (Skip Brown, Jerry Schellenberg), 1978 (Rod Griffin, Leroy McDonald), 1982 (Guy Morgan, Jim Johnstone, Mike Helms), 1985 (Kenny Green, Delaney Rudd) and 2009 (Johnson, Teague).
- The Deacons had a school-record three players drafted in 1982: Guy Morgan (2nd round), Jim Johnstone (3rd) and Mike Helms (7th).
- Wake Forest has had a total of five players selected in the past eight drafts: Darius Songaila by Boston in the 2002 second round, Josh Howard by Dallas in the 2003 first round, Chris Paul by New Orleans in the 2005 first round, Johnson by Chicago in 2009 and Teague by Atlanta in 2009.
- Five Deacons have been taken in the top 10 of an NBA Draft: Tim Duncan first overall to the Spurs in 1997, Paul fourth overall to the Hornets in 2005, Len Chappell fifth overall to the Syracuse Nationals in 1962, Rodney Rogers ninth overall to the Nuggets in 1993 and Dave Budd 10th overall to the Knicks in 1960.
- The NBA teams which have selected the most Wake Forest players are the Washington Wizards (formerly the Bullets) and the Boston Celtics, with four Deacons drafted apiece. The Washington franchise drafted Muggsy Bogues (1987), Kenny Green (1985), Frank Johnson (1981) and Jerry Schellenberg (1977). Boston drafted Skip Brown (1977), Dickie Hemric (1955), Songaila (2002) and Ron Watts (1965). The Wizards own the No. 1, No. 30 and No. 35 picks in the 2010 Draft, while the Celtics own the No. 19 and No. 52 picks.
- Five NBA franchises have never had a former Deacon suit up for them: the Charlotte Bobcats, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. Bogues was drafted by and played for the Charlotte Hornets before the team was relocated to New Orleans. Songaila was traded to the Timberwolves during the 2009 offseason but was then shipped to New Orleans before ever playing in Minnesota.
- Six former Deacons are currently on NBA rosters: Duncan with San Antonio, Howard with Washington, Johnson with Chicago, Paul and Songaila with New Orleans and Teague with Atlanta. This is the most Deacons to ever play in the NBA in the same season.
Highest-Drafted Deacons:
Tim Duncan, 1st overall by San Antonio in 1997
Chris Paul, 4th overall by New Orleans in 2005
Len Chappell, 5th overall by Syracuse in 1962
Rodney Rogers, 9th overall by Denver in 1993
Dave Budd, *10th overall by New York in 1960
Frank Johnson, 11th overall by Washington in 1981
Muggsy Bogues, 12th overall by Washington in 1987
Kenny Green, 12th overall by Washington in 1985
Dickie Hemric, *12th overall by Boston in 1955
James Johnson, 16th overall by Chicago in 2009
Rod Griffin, 17th overall by Denver in 1978
Jeff Teague, 19th overall by Atlanta in 2009
Randolph Childress, 19th overall by Detroit in 1995
Ronnie Watts, *20th overall by Boston in 1965
Josh Howard, 29th overall by Dallas in 2003
*Second round
