BleedGopher
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per Marcus:
Minnesota basketball history was made during the 2020 NBA draft with four players from the talent-rich state hearing their names called, doubling the previous record.
One year later, Minnesota has another group of intriguing draft prospects waiting their turn.
The headliner is projected top-five pick Jalen Suggs, the athletic point guard gifted enough to lead Gonzaga as a freshman to the NCAA title game last season.
The next tier, Jericho Sims, McKinley Wright and Matthew Hurt, hope strong workouts and scrimmages help them join Suggs on draft night July 29.
"We're kind of looked at as a spot that isn't really known for producing top basketball players," Suggs said about the Minnesota hoops scene. "But you looked in the past couple of years what we put out – and the consistency. It's proof we have a lot of basketball talent."
In 2015, Minnesotans Rashad Vaughn and Tyus Jones were first-round picks. The state produced just one NBA draft pick over the next four years, but then last year, Zeke Nnaji, Tyrell Terry, Daniel Oturu and Tre Jones all heard their names called among the draft's 60 selections over two rounds.
Nnaji was a first-round pick. Oturu, the first Gophers player drafted in 16 years, went in the second round, along with Tre Jones and Terry.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
Minnesota basketball history was made during the 2020 NBA draft with four players from the talent-rich state hearing their names called, doubling the previous record.
One year later, Minnesota has another group of intriguing draft prospects waiting their turn.
The headliner is projected top-five pick Jalen Suggs, the athletic point guard gifted enough to lead Gonzaga as a freshman to the NCAA title game last season.
The next tier, Jericho Sims, McKinley Wright and Matthew Hurt, hope strong workouts and scrimmages help them join Suggs on draft night July 29.
"We're kind of looked at as a spot that isn't really known for producing top basketball players," Suggs said about the Minnesota hoops scene. "But you looked in the past couple of years what we put out – and the consistency. It's proof we have a lot of basketball talent."
In 2015, Minnesotans Rashad Vaughn and Tyus Jones were first-round picks. The state produced just one NBA draft pick over the next four years, but then last year, Zeke Nnaji, Tyrell Terry, Daniel Oturu and Tre Jones all heard their names called among the draft's 60 selections over two rounds.
Nnaji was a first-round pick. Oturu, the first Gophers player drafted in 16 years, went in the second round, along with Tre Jones and Terry.
With Jalen Suggs and Co., NBA prospects from Minnesota 'starting to rain down now'
A record four Minnesotans were picked in the 2020 NBA draft, and Suggs leads a list of prospects heading into this summer's draft.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!