ISU Guard Haliburton Selected in First Round of NBA Draft
Last night was a dream come true for some of the best young basketball players in the world. They got to hear their names called by NBA commissioner Adam Silver during last night's NBA Draft. For the first time since 2012, and Iowa State Cyclone heard their name called early.
According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, former Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton was selected 12th overall by the Sacramento Kings in last night's NBA Draft. The last time a Cyclone was drafted in the first round was Royce White at number 16 back in 2012. The last time an ISU player was an NBA lottery pick was back in 2000 when Marcus Fizer was selected 4th overall by the Chicago Bulls.
The Gazette reports that the Kings loved the fact that Haliburton could play on and off the basketball. He averaged 15 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2.5 steals during his sophomore season at Iowa State. Former NBA front office executive Bobby Marks, now working for ESPN, said during last night's draft broadcast that Haliburton "has a high basketball IQ, he's a great kid, Sacramento just got a steal. This kids is going to be in the league for 15 years."
Sacramento finished 12th in a loaded Western Conference in 2020. Haliburton will play alongside another Iowa native, Harrison Barnes. Barnes played high school basketball in Ames before playing college ball at North Carolina.