E-mail
Print
Georgetown forward DaJuan Summers, who grew up in Baltimore and played for McDonogh as well as the Cecil-Kirk Amateur Athletic Union team, will get a chance to fulfill his NBA dream after he was drafted 35th overall by the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night in the second round of the NBA draft.
"I'm very excited," said Summers, who celebrated draft night with his family and friends with a party in the Inner Harbor at the ESPN Zone. "That's where I wanted to go. Didn't think I'd go in the second round, thought it was the first. I told [Detroit president of basketball operations] Joe Dumars I wanted to be a Piston."
Summers, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward, had a bit of an uneven career at Georgetown. Although he was highly regarded coming out of high school, drawing a few comparisons to his idol, former Towson Catholic star Carmelo Anthony, Summers struggled a bit when it was his time to carry the team, failing to lead the Hoyas to the NCAA tournament last season, when he averaged 13.6 points and 4.1 rebounds.
In 91 games with the Hoyas, he had just one double double, which led many experts to project he would be a second-round pick.
But there were also a number of scouts who felt Summers might have been playing out of position in college and that he's more suited to playing small forward at the next level.
He has the size and ability to play small forward but will likely need to be more assertive with his offensive game and work on creating his shot.
His versatility might be his biggest asset, however. He handles the ball well, and he shot the three-pointer impressively in college (he made 38.5 percent of his attempts his final season at Georgetown), especially for a player his size.
Many scouts are hopeful he could blossom into a player like Trevor Ariza, who was a key component of the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA title run this season.
When asked what he planned to do with the money he earns, Summers said: "I have no idea. Something for my mom, of course, but I'm more worried about basketball and proving people wrong right now.
"All these hard years of work, it's about to pay off," he added.
Jack McClinton, who had and excellent career at the University of Miami after being a standout at Calvert Hall and South Kent, a Connecticut prep school, was also drafted in the second round, by the San Antonio Spurs with the 51st overall pick.
McClinton, a 6-1 shooting guard who averaged 19.3 points his senior season with the Hurricanes, watched the draft with his family and his girlfriend from his parents' house in Baltimore. Although he doesn't have great size, he was regarded as one of the best three-point shooters in the draft after hitting 45.3 percent of his attempts his senior season.
There had been some pre-draft speculation about McClinton regarding the Knicks, with some experts suggesting New York was targeting McClinton when they acquired the Lakers' first-round pick, the 29th overall.
Baltimore Sun reporter Aaron Wright contributed to this article.
"I'm very excited," said Summers, who celebrated draft night with his family and friends with a party in the Inner Harbor at the ESPN Zone. "That's where I wanted to go. Didn't think I'd go in the second round, thought it was the first. I told [Detroit president of basketball operations] Joe Dumars I wanted to be a Piston."
Summers, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward, had a bit of an uneven career at Georgetown. Although he was highly regarded coming out of high school, drawing a few comparisons to his idol, former Towson Catholic star Carmelo Anthony, Summers struggled a bit when it was his time to carry the team, failing to lead the Hoyas to the NCAA tournament last season, when he averaged 13.6 points and 4.1 rebounds.
In 91 games with the Hoyas, he had just one double double, which led many experts to project he would be a second-round pick.
But there were also a number of scouts who felt Summers might have been playing out of position in college and that he's more suited to playing small forward at the next level.
He has the size and ability to play small forward but will likely need to be more assertive with his offensive game and work on creating his shot.
His versatility might be his biggest asset, however. He handles the ball well, and he shot the three-pointer impressively in college (he made 38.5 percent of his attempts his final season at Georgetown), especially for a player his size.
Many scouts are hopeful he could blossom into a player like Trevor Ariza, who was a key component of the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA title run this season.
When asked what he planned to do with the money he earns, Summers said: "I have no idea. Something for my mom, of course, but I'm more worried about basketball and proving people wrong right now.
"All these hard years of work, it's about to pay off," he added.
Jack McClinton, who had and excellent career at the University of Miami after being a standout at Calvert Hall and South Kent, a Connecticut prep school, was also drafted in the second round, by the San Antonio Spurs with the 51st overall pick.
McClinton, a 6-1 shooting guard who averaged 19.3 points his senior season with the Hurricanes, watched the draft with his family and his girlfriend from his parents' house in Baltimore. Although he doesn't have great size, he was regarded as one of the best three-point shooters in the draft after hitting 45.3 percent of his attempts his senior season.
There had been some pre-draft speculation about McClinton regarding the Knicks, with some experts suggesting New York was targeting McClinton when they acquired the Lakers' first-round pick, the 29th overall.
Baltimore Sun reporter Aaron Wright contributed to this article.
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
