Courtesy: Bob Jordan/TheACC.com http://www.gopack.com/ J.J. Hickson was taken with the 19th pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
RALEIGH, N.C. – J.J. Hickson fulfilled a life long dream Thursday night, when he was taken in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft. Hickson was the 19th selection overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. A freshman, Hickson becomes the youngest player in school history to be selected in the NBA Draft.
With Hickson’s selection on Thursday, NC State has now had three first round picks in the last four NBA Drafts, Julius Hodge (No. 20 in 2005) and Cedric Simmons (No. 15 in 2006). Overall, Hickson is the 60th player in Wolfpack history to be drafted, and the 14th first round pick NC State has had dating back to 1950.
“We couldn’t be happier for J.J. and his entire family,” said head coach Sidney Lowe. “He has worked so hard to get to the next level, I see nothing but success in his future. I’m sure all NC State fans will enjoy watching him in the NBA hopefully for many years to come.”
J.J. Hickson, NC State, 6-9, 235-pound Forward – First Round (19th overall) by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Hickson is the third NC State player in the last four years, and 14th overall, to be selected in the first round ... a unanimous first All-ACC Freshman team selection ... led all ACC freshmen in scoring (14.8) a year ago ... also led the ACC and was 18th nationally in field goal percentage (.591) ... finished second in the ACC and was 50th nationally averaging 8.5 rebounds per game ... the 8.5 rebounds per game average ranked 11th all-time among ACC freshmen.
Hickson set an ACC freshman record scoring 31 points in his first collegiate game ... made all 12 of his field goal attempts and pulled down seven rebounds in State’s 66-47 win over William & Mary on Nov. 15, 2007 ... set a second ACC freshman single-game record with 23 rebounds in a 71-64 loss to Clemson on Feb. 16.
Hickson is the 16th ACC player selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, including five first-round selections.
ACC NOTES With Hickson’s selection by the Cavaliers, the ACC has had at least one first round draft pick in each of the last 20 NBA drafts ... the last time that the ACC did not have a player selected in the first round of the NBA draft was 20 years ago (1988) ... Hickson is the 420th ACC player to be selected in the NBA draft, including 149 first round draft pick.
Previous NC State First Round Selections 2006-Cedric Simmons (New Orleans) 2005-Julius Hodge (Denver) 1996-Todd Fuller (Golden State) 1992-Tom Gugliotta (Washington) 1986-Chris Washburn (Golden State) 1983-Thurl Bailey (Utah) 1980-Charles “Hawkeye” Whitney (Kansas City) 1977-Kenny Carr (Los Angeles Lakers) 1975-David Thompson (Atlanta) 1974-Tommy Burleson (Seattle) 1959-John Ritcher (Boston) 1956-Ronnie Shavlik (New York) 1951-Sammy Ranzino (Rochester)
Courtesy: Bob Jordan/TheACC.com
