Michigan State University Athletics
6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Denzel Valentine became Michigan State's first lottery pick since Jason Richardson in 2001, and Deyonta Davis was selected with the first pick of the second round at the 2016 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Chicago Bulls selected Valentine at pick No. 14, while the Boston Celtics drafted Davis with the 31st overall pick, but a proposed trade has the Celtics sending his draft rights to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Valentine and Davis become the 17th and 18th Spartans drafted to play for Coach Tom Izzo and the 16th and 17th since the 2000 NBA Draft. Valentine becomes the ninth first rounder under Coach Izzo.
The Spartan duo joins Jamie Feick (1996-2nd round), Mateen Cleaves (2000-1st round), Morris Peterson (2000-1st round), Jason Richardson (2001-1st round), Zach Randolph (2001-1st round), Andre Hutson (2001-2nd round), Marcus Taylor (2002-2nd round), Erazem Lorbek (2005-2nd round), Shannon Brown (2006-1st round), Maurice Ager (2006-1st round), Paul Davis (2006-2nd round), Goran Suton (2009-2nd round), Draymond Green (2012-2nd round), Adreian Payne (2014-1st round), Gary Harris (2014-1st round) and Branden Dawson (2015-2nd round) as NBA Draft picks under Izzo. All-time, Michigan State has had 61 players selected in the NBA Draft, including 19 first rounders.
"I'm just very excited to be a part of the Chicago Bulls organization, and ready to get started," said Valentine. "I know they've got a lot of good players already there, but I'm just ready to go in and contribute the best I can and try to get as many wins for the organization."
When asked what lesson Coach Izzo taught him that will stick with him, Valentine didn't talk about a basketball skill, but rather an approach to the game.
"Definitely just being passionate and having that goal every single day you come to practice or every single day you wake up," explained Valentine. "Just having one goal in mind and letting nothing get in the way of it, and that's how I'm going to be and that's how I was raised. So that's how I'm going to be for the rest of my life."
A native of Lansing, Michigan, Valentine averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists in becoming the only player in NCAA history to average 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists since the assist became an official statistic in 1983-84. He is the first player to lead the Big Ten in overall scoring and assists since Iowa's Andre Woolridge in 1997. He ranked fourth in the nation in assists (7.8 apg), eighth in 3-point field goals per game (3.35) and 11th in 3-point field-goal percentage (.444).
A consensus First-Team All-American, Valentine was named National Player of the Year by the Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Basketball Times, Sports Illustrated, USA TODAY Sports and NBC Sports. He was the recipient of both the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award as presented by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and the Senior CLASS Award. He captured the Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year and the MSU George Alderton Male Athlete of the Year Awards.
Valentine became the eighth Spartan to be named Big Ten Player of the Year, and was a unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten selection. He led the Spartans to the 2016 Big Ten Tournament Championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament after averaging 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists in the three games.
His senior season began on a strong note, posting his first career triple-double in the second game of the season with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists against No. 4 Kansas. Nine days later, he posted another triple-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Boston College. Valentine led the Big Ten with 12 double-doubles. In games which he started, Valentine made or assisted on 50.9 percent of Michigan State's field goals. His 241 assists rank as the third-best single-season total at MSU and the most by a Spartan senior, while his 104 made 3-pointers are the fourth-best single-season total. His 19.2 ppg scoring average is the best at Michigan State since Maurice Ager averaged 19.3 in 2005-06. He led MSU in scoring in 18 games, in rebounds in 12 games and in assists in 27 games (including the final 18 contests), leading in all three categories in six games.
Valentine finished his career with 1,645 points, 856 rebounds and 639 assists, becoming the first player in Big Ten history to record 1,300 points, 700 rebounds and 500 assists. In MSU history, he ranks third in career assists (639), third in career games played (144), fourth in career 3-point field goals made (265) and attempted (650), ninth in career rebounds (856), tied for ninth in career games started (117) and 11th in career scoring (1,645). He is the only player in Michigan State history to rank in the career Top 10 in both assists and rebounds.
In his lone season at Michigan State, Davis established a school freshman season record with 64 blocks, ranking second on the MSU single-season chart. He started 16 of the final 17 games of the season, and averaged 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 35 contests. He ranked second in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage (.598) and third in blocked shots (1.8 bpg).
"The pick doesn't mean anything," said Davis. "It's how you come out and play. I'm going to just play with a chip on my shoulder."
Davis also appreciated the support he received from Coach Izzo as he was waiting for his name to be called.
"He was just motivating me, telling me to stay positive, keep my head up," explained Davis.
Davis opened his career by becoming the third Spartan freshman to record a double-double in his collegiate debut with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Florida Atlantic, adding five blocks. Later in the season, he established a MSU freshman single-game record with six blocks at Northwestern. A two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Davis scored in double-figures in 12 games and grabbed double-figure rebounds in four contests. He blocked at least one shot in 25 games, including 18 with two or more rejections, and 11 contests with three or more blocks.
