MBK: Mullens Becomes Fifth Buckeye freshman in Three Years to go in NBA’s First Round – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – B.J. Mullens, a 7-foot center, became the fifth Ohio State freshman to be selected in the opening round of the annual National Basketball Association Draft in the last three seasons when the Dallas Mavericks selected the Columbus, Ohio, native with the 24th pick Thursday. He was then traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 2009 NBA Draft was held at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook, all freshmen from Ohio State’s 2007 NCAA runner up squad, were taken in the opening round of the 2007 NBA Draft.
Portland, with the first overall pick in 2007, selected Oden. He was the first Buckeye selected with the opening pick. Conley went to the Memphis Grizzlies with the No. 4 pick and Cook was selected by Philadelphia with the 21st pick of the opening round.
Kosta Koufos was taken by the Utah Jazz with the 23rd pick of the opening round a year ago.
Since 1947, 46 Ohio State basketball players have been drafted by NBA teams, including 21 first round selections.
Mullens joins Koufos, Oden, Conley, Cook and Michael Redd, now in his 10th year with the Milwaukee Bucks, as former Buckeyes currently active in the NBA. Redd recently earned a gold medal for the United States on the men’s senior national team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics last summer. He also was elected to the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame and will be inducted this fall.
Mullens averaged 8.8 points while connecting on 64 percent (120-188) shots from the field for the 22-11 Buckeyes in 2008-09. He averaged 4.7 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game. He blocked 37 shots, second to the 67 rejected by sophomore Dallas Lauderdale.
Ohio State made its 21st appearance in the NCAA tournament last season. The Buckeyes finished with a 10-8 record in Big Ten regular season play and advanced to the title game of the conference tournament, after beating Michigan State, the eventual runner up in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, in the semifinals. With 22 overall victories, the fifth-consecutive season with 20 or more wins, Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes, recorded his ninth-consecutive year with 20-plus wins as a collegiate head coach.
Ohio State’s NBA First Round Draft History
Year Player At OSU NBATeam Round (pick)1947 JackUnderman 1946-47 St.Louis 1 (7)1947 PaulHuston 1945-47 Chicago 1 (8)1950 DickSchnittker 1948-50 Washington Capitols 1(5)1961 LarrySiegfried 1959-61 BostonCeltics 1 (3)1962 JerryLucas 1960-62 CincinnatiRoyals 1 (6)1962 JohnHavlicek 1960-62 BostonCeltics 1 (9)1964 GaryBradds 1962-64 BaltimoreBullets 1 (3)1968 BillHosket 1966-68 New YorkKnicks 1 (10)1971 JimCleamons 1969-71 LosAngeles 1 (13)1980 KelvinRansey 1977-80 Chicago Bulls 1 (4)1981 HerbWilliams 1978-81 IndianaPacers 1 (14)1982 ClarkKellogg 1980-82 IndianaPacers 1 (8)1984 TonyCampbell 1981-84 DetroitPistons 1 (20)1986 BradSellers 1985-86 ChicagoBulls 1 (9)1987 Dennis Hopson 1984-87 New JerseyNets 1 (3)1992 JimJackson 1990-92 AtlantaHawks 1 (4)2007 GregOden 2007 Portland Trailblazers 1 (1)2007 Mike Conley Jr.2007 MemphisGrizzlies 1 (4)2007 DaequanCook 2007 Philadelphia 76ers 1(21)2008 Kosta Koufos 2008 UtahJazz 1 (23)2009 B.J.Mullens 2009 DallasMavericks 1 (24)
