Walker, Brown Selected in NBA Draft
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami freshman Lonnie Walker IV and sophomore Bruce Brown, Jr. each were selected Thursday in the 2018 NBA Draft, held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Walker was selected with the 18th pick in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs, while Brown was picked in the second round with the 42nd overall pick by the Detroit Pistons.
Walker and Brown are the 21st and 22nd Miami players to be chosen in the NBA Draft. This marks the third time in program history that Miami has had two players selected in the same NBA Draft, joining the 1968 and 1970 seasons, but the first time in the current two-round format of the draft. Miami was one of nine schools with multiple players selected in the draft this season.
Walker is the fifth Miami player to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, joining Rick Barry (second overall, San Francisco Warriors, 1965), Tim James (25th, Miami Heat, 1999), John Salmons (26th, San Antonio Spurs, 2002) and Shane Larkin (18th, Atlanta Hawks, 2013).
A guard from Reading, Pa., Walker earned All-ACC Freshman Team honors this season. He was the first rookie to lead Miami in scoring since Darius Rice in 2000-01 and just the fourth in program history. In 32 games, including 19 starts, Walker averaged 11.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He also was named to the All-ACC Academic Team.
Walker stepped up in ACC play, averaging a team-best 13.6 points per contest. Walker also had a flair for the dramatic in conference play, hitting the game-tying layup with four seconds left in regulation in an overtime win over Louisville as well as the go-ahead field goals in the final minute in victories over Boston College and Virginia Tech.
A guard from Boston, Brown played and started in 19 games during the 2017-18 season, averaging 11.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He missed the final 12 games with a left-foot injury, which was diagnosed on Jan. 29. At the time of his injury, Brown led Miami in rebounds, assists and steals.
In two seasons at Miami, consisting of 52 games and 48 starts, Brown averaged 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He recorded his second career triple-double in the 2017-18 season opener against Gardner-Webb (10 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists). The triple-double was the third in program history and the 31st in ACC history as he became just the sixth player in league history with two career triple-doubles.
This also marks the fifth time in program history that Miami players have been selected in back-to-back NBA Drafts (1967-68, 1970-71, 2002-03, 2009-10). Davon Reed was picked 32nd overall last season by the Phoenix Suns with the second pick of the second round.
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