And with the 59th pick, the Detroit Pistons select Deron Washington

Congrats to Deron Washington, who was picked in the second round of tonight’s NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. Deron was the first Hokie picked in the NBA Draft since Eddie Lucas was drafted 58th overall by the Utah Jazz in 1999.

I have to admit that I was surprised by the pick, only because the so-called experts were not calling for it. ESPN.com writes, “Washington is one of the most athletic guards in the draft — an explosive leaper, but just a so-so player. I doubt he’ll stick, but he does have physical tools.” We’ll see about that.

Here is a list of all the Hokies ever drafted:

1. Chris Smith, 14th overall, 1961, Syracuse (2nd round)
2. Dell Curry, 15th overall, 1986, Utah (1st round)
3. Allan Bristow, 21st overall, 1973, Philadelphia (2nd round)
4. Wayne Robinson, 31st overall, 1980, LA Lakers (2nd round)
5. Bimbo Coles, 40th overall, 1990, Sacramento (2nd round)
6. Larry Cooke, 46th overall, 1976, Atlanta (3rd round)
7. Keith Colbert, 56th overall, 1986, Philadelphia (3rd round)
8. Eddie Lucas, 58th overall, 1999, Utah (2nd round)
9. Deron Washington, 59th overall, 2008, Detroit (2nd round)

Niemo’s Notes:

Hey!Â Now I’veÂ arm-curled a NBA Draftee!Â So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.
Based on trends, does this mean another Hokie won’t get drafted until 2017?Â (1990 - Coles, ‘99 - Lucas, and ‘08 - Washington)
With the way Detroit plays (suffocating defense), Deron has the right system for him.Â He has a chance to make the squad, but it is an up-hill battle.Â He needs to be a lockdown defender in the NBA Summer Leagues and into camp.
It is interesting to look at that list above and realize VT has only had one 1st Round selection ever.Â Even Bimbo Coles, who was VT’s first ever Olympian while at Tech and went on to haveÂ a long NBA career, was a 2nd-Rounder.
# of duke and unc players drafted combined: 0; VT: 1.Â File that under “may never see that again.”Â And yes, I realize hansbrough, Lawson, and Ellington all would have been drafted had they stayed in it, but they didn’t.
The ACC only had 4 players drafted total and only J.J. Hickson of nc state (#19 overall)Â went in the first round.Â uva’s sean singletary and md’s james gist went in the 2nd Round with Deron.Â By comparison, the ACC had 6 First-Rounders last year alone and 9 players drafted overall.Â In 2006, it was 3 First-Rounders and 6 overall for the ACC.

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The Wick
June 27th, 2008
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2 Responses to “And with the 59th pick, the Detroit Pistons select Deron Washington”

Comment #1490 | June 30th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
goodraisin Says:

What do you all think about J.J. Hickson’s chances to be good in the NBA. I was surprised that a guy who led his ACC team in scoring and rebounding his freshman year (don’t quote me on that) fell so far in the draft. I’m a Cleveland fan so I’m cool with it, and I’m hoping he can at least replace the production of Joe Smith when the Cavs push him out to pasture. I’m just not sure if he’s a power forward or a small forward in the NBA.
Comment #1492 | July 1st, 2008 at 10:37 am
Niemo Says:

I smell bust. Well, at least I don’t see him as a “winner”. I don’t like his drive - he seems just as happy scoring 20 and losing as he does scoring 8 and winning. Maybe LeBron, who has an intense focus on winning, can motivate him. But I see J.J. as a poor man’s Derrick Coleman right now. Good player who doesn’t care, just wants his.

And because he was just a freshman this year, he’s likely 2-3 years away from being really productive anyway. He’ll have to play SF at first since he won’t be physically ready and I don’t see him responding well to getting beaten up every night in the low post. So he might be leaving Cleveland by then.

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2 Responses to “And with the 59th pick, the Detroit Pistons select Deron Washington”

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