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Milwaukee Selects Utah's Bogut No. 1 Overall in NBA Draft
"Adding the quality and the competitor in Andrew Bogut... we're solid in the center position," said Bucks GM Larry Harris
Sure was a g'day for Andrew Bogut.
The 7-footer from Australia was chosen first Tuesday night in the NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, becoming the first player in five years with U.S. college experience to be drafted No. 1 overall.
The 20-year-old Bogut, who played two seasons at Utah and was the college player of the year, straightened his tie, adjusted his suit jacket and took a deep breath in the moments before commissioner David Stern summoned him to the podium onstage at Madison Square Garden. When his name was called, Bogut raised a clenched right fist.
Utah is the first school to have players picked first in both the NBA and NFL drafts in the same year. Quarterback Alex Smith was drafted No. 1 by the San Francisco 49ers in April.
Milwaukee had been debating whether to take Bogut or North Carolina small forward Marvin Williams with the franchise's first overall No. 1 pick since 1994, when the Bucks selected Glenn Robinson. In the end, the lure of a versatile, athletic 7-footer with Olympic experience was too much to pass up.
"Basketball is a global game, just like soccer is a global game," Bogut said. "You see the Manu Ginobilis and Yao Mings of the world. We can play the game in every country."
The Atlanta Hawks chose Williams second, and the 19-year-old player flashed a bright smile at Stern while shaking the commissioner's hand. The 6-foot-9 small forward was a sixth man for the Tar Heels, who were expecting to have at least four players from their national championship team chosen in the first round.
Illinois junior point guard Deron Williams went third to the Jazz, who sent three first-round picks - Nos. 6 and 27 in this year's draft, plus a 2006 first-round pick - to the Trail Blazers earlier Tuesday. The 6-foot-3 Williams was the first of several point guards chosen in the first round.
New Orleans selected fourth and also chose a playmaker, picking Wake Forest sophomore guard Chris Paul, and the Charlotte Bobcats took North Carolina junior point guard Raymond Felton at No. 5. It marked the first time since 1999 that three point guards were picked among the top 10.
High school senior Martell Webster of Seattle Prep went No. 6 to Portland, making him the first prep player taken in a draft notable for its historical significance. It likely marked the final time high school players would be eligible to jump directly to the pros - the route chosen by Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, Jermaine O'Neal and others.
Under terms of the new six-year collective bargaining agreement to take effect in July, high school players will have to wait one year after their class graduates to become draft eligible.
The new agreement also reduces the length of guaranteed contracts for first-round picks from three years to two, with teams holding options for additional years. even with the reduced length of his first deal, Bogut will become a millionaire the moment he signs with the Bucks.
"It's one of the best days of my life, and my family's," Bogut said. "I am going to be a workhorse."
Connecticut sophomore forward Charlie Villanueva was chosen seventh by the Toronto Raptors, and the New York Knicks addressed their need for a big man by taking Arizona center Channing Frye - the first college senior selected - with the No. 8 pick.
Arizona State junior Ike Diogu went ninth to Golden State, and 7-foot high school senior Andrew Bynum of St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen, N.J., went 10th to the Los Angeles Lakers.
"Wow, man, I get to play with Kobe Bryant and get coached by Phil Jackson!" said Bynum, who was seated in the stands at Madison Square Garden rather than in the so-called green room near the main stage where most top prospects waited to hear their names called.
"It's very unusual that you can get a center in the draft," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. "With Andrew being 7-feet tall ... his skill level and athleticism, at the 10th pick, it was our best chance to get a center for the future. "Phil is completely on board with the decision. We felt it was too much of an opportunity to pass on."
Orlando selected center Fran Vasquez of the Spanish club Unicaja Malaga at No. 11, and the Los Angeles Clippers chose 18-year-old forward Yaroslav Korolev of the Russian club CSKA Moscow at No. 12.
Source: AP
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