June 29, 2007
ATLANTA – For the first time in Georgia Tech basketball history, two Yellow Jackets were selected in the first round of Thursday’s National Basketball Association draft. Forward Thaddeus Young was selected 12th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers, while Javaris Crittenton was taken 19th by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tech, recently ranked No. 7 on a list of top NBA-producing colleges and universities by NBADraft.net, is poised to have six alumni active alumni in the league next year with those two joining Stephon Marbury (Knicks), Matt Harpring (Jazz), Chris Bosh (Raptors) and Jarrett Jack (Trail Blazers). That number could grow further if recent players such as Luke Schenscher, a teammate of Jack’s at the end of last season, and Will Bynum, who played overseas, can return to the league.
Young became the Yellow Jackets’ seventh lottery pick in the draft, joining John Salley (11th overall to Detroit, 1985), Tom Hammonds (No. 9 to Washington in 1989), Dennis Scott (No. 4 to Orlando in 1990), Kenny Anderson (No. 2 to New Jersey in 1991), Stephon Marbury (No. to Milwaukee in 1996, traded to Minnesota) and Chris Bosh (No. 4 to Toronto in 2003).
It also was the ninth time since 1965, the first since 1996, that Tech has had two players taken in the same draft.
Young, 6-8 native of Memphis, Tenn., tied for the team scoring lead as a freshman at 14.4 points a game, 16th in the ACC and tied for third among the league’s freshmen. Young also averaged 4.9 rebounds, was second on the team in assists, shot 47.8 percent from the floor and 41.9 percent from three-point range.
Crittenton, a 6-5 point guard from Atlanta, ended his Yellow Jacket career following a freshman year in which he tied for the team scoring lead at 14.4 points a game and finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in assists at 5.8 per game.
The two players helped lead Tech to a 20-12 overall record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years.
