Kansas’ Jalen Wilson Selected No. 51 in NBA Draft
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson was selected No. 51 overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night.
Wilson was the second Jayhawks player taken on Thursday night, and he joined two other players selected by the Nets — Alabama forward Noah Clowney and Duke guard Dariq Whitehead, both of which were selected in the first round.
Wilson was Kansas’ 32nd Consensus All-America First Team selection and won the Julius Erving Award as the national small forward of the year. For his career he finished No. 27 in points (1,475), No. 14 in rebounds (802), No. 9 in double-doubles (28), No. 21 in 3-point field goals made (140) and No. 11 in 3-point field goals attempted (443).
Last season he was the unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team selection. He became the fourth Kansas player to lead the Big 12 in scoring (20.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) in the same season and the third Jayhawk in the Bill Self era to average 20 or more points for a season (Frank Mason III, 20.9 ppg in 2016-17 and Wayne Simien, 20.3 ppg in 2004-05).
Wilson won a national title with the Jayhawks in 2022.
The Big 12 had a good night in the first round, as five players from current and future teams were selected. Houston’s Jarace Walker went No. 8 overall to the Washington Wizards, though he was later traded to the Indiana Pacers. UCF’s Taylor Hendricks went No. 9 to Utah.
Kansas guard Gradey Dick went No. 13 to Toronto. Baylor guard Keyonte George joined Hendricks in Utah when he was selected No. 16. And, Houston’s Marcus Sasser went No. 25 to Memphis, but was later traded to Detroit.
In the second round, Kansas State forward Keyontae Johnson was taken No. 50 by Oklahoma City.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
