C.J. Wilcox, who finished his University of Washington basketball career as the school’s second-leading career scorer, went to the Los Angeles Clippers with the 28th pick in the first round of Thursday’s NBA draft. The 6-foot-5 Wilcox, a Pleasant Grove, UT., native, is the first Husky taken in the first round since Terrence Ross went eighth to Toronto and Tony Wroten 25th to Memphis in 2012.
Wilcox scored 1,880 points during his five years in the Washington program and earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors as a junior and a senior. He also made the 2011 all-conference freshman team.
Wilcox connected on 301 3-pointers during his UW career, most in school history, including a single-season record of 90 during the 2013-14 season, when he averaged 18.3 points and 3.7 rebounds. He is the only player in school history to make more than 250 3-pointers and score more than 1,700 points.
Wilcox had 36 games at Washington in which he scored 20 or more points and 92 in which he tallied 10 or more. Wilcox notched 14 20-point games last season and a pair of 30-point efforts while posting double figures in 27 of his 32 games.
Wilcox scored a career-high 31 points against Colorado Jan. 12, which included a career-high seven 3-pointers. Wilcox also scored 30 against Boston College during a preseason tournament in New York City.
Earlier in the first round, Zach LaVine, a UCLA freshman point guard and a graduate of Bothell High School, was taken 13th by Minnesota. He was one of three Bruins selected. Shooting guard Jordan Adams went 22nd to Memphis and small forward Kyle Anderson was the last pick of the round, by champion San Antonio.
The highest Pac-12 Conference selection was Arizona forward Aaron Gordon, taken fourth by Orlando.
In the second round, Joe Harris, a shooting guard from Virginia and Chelan High School in central Washington, was taken 33rd by Cleveland.
Three other Pac-12 players were taken:
38, Detroit, Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado SG; 42, Houston, Nick Johnson, Arizona PG; 45, Charlotte, Dwight Powell, Stanford PF.
Wilcox is the 11th player from the University of Washington selected in the first round of the NBA draft and the seventh to have played under head coach Lorenzo Romar.
Washington’s First-Round Draft Choices
| Year | Player | Team | Pick | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Jack Nichols | Capitols | 12th | Championship ring with Celtics 1956-57 |
| 1953 | Bob Houbregs | Hawks | 2nd | 11.2 PPG for 1956-57 Fort Wayne |
| 1985 | Detlef Schrempf | Mavericks | 8th | 3-time All-Star; 16.9 PPG, 17 years |
| 1987 | Chris Welp | 76ers | 16th | Played 4 seasons for 3 franchises |
| 2005 | Nate Robinson | Suns | 21st | Won Slam Dunk Contest record 3 times |
| 2006 | Brandon Roy | T-Wolves | 6th | 3-time All-Star; 52 points Dec. 18, 2008 |
| 2007 | Spencer Hawes | Kings | 10th | Career-high 30 points Jan. 1, 2010 |
| 2010 | Q. Pondexter | Thunder | 26th | Career-high 22 points Nov. 30, 2013 |
| 2012 | Terrence Ross | Raptors | 8th | 10.9 points in 2013-14 season |
| 2012 | Tony Wroten | Grizzlies | 25th | 13.0 points in 2013-14 season |
| 2014 | C.J. Wilcox | Clippers | 28th | Scored 1,880 points for UW |
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2186467 https://sportspressnw.wpengine.com/?p=2186467">3 Comments
Stocking Probably Ballmer’s Team with a former Husky, I see.
Good ol’ NBA.
Always thinking 3 steps ahead.
oops
Very happy for CJ! I couldn’t guess where he’d get drafted but he’s more than worthy of going in the 1st and I’m glad he’s on the West Coast. Hopefully the Clippers will keep their winning ways while he’s there.