| Devean George was a
D3hoops.com All-American. Augsburg athletics photo |
The Los Angeles Lakers made Augsburg's Devean George the first D-III player taken in the first round of the NBA draft and the first player taken since 1991 when they took him with the No. 23 pick.
The first-team All-American is Augsburg's second-leading scorer
of all time, with 2,258 points. George averaged 28.2 points and
11.7 rebounds for the Auggies, who advanced to the second round of
the NCAA Tournament.
"When he started out and went to school, no one really wanted him
... now he's 6-6, almost 6-7 and a really versatile player," said
Lakers GM Jerry West. "He can really shoot the ball from the
outside. We think he could be the kind of player that would be able
to play very successfully for Phil (Jackson). What matters is if a
kid can play at this level and not where he goes to school."
George particpated in five NBA team workouts in a six-day span
leading up to the draft. On June 25 and 26, he was in Chicago
working out with the Bulls; June 27, he worked out for the Atlanta
Hawks; June 28 for the Utah Jazz; June 29 for the Lakers. On the
morning of June 30 he was in a three-team "open workout" in New
Jersey before returning to Minneapolis in the evening for the NBA
Draft. He had already worked out for Minnesota, Indiana, Houston,
Miami, New York and Toronto.
Lebanon Valley's Andy Panko went undrafted.