The Pacers started choosing some new players Thursday after having no picks in the NBA draft’s first round.
The team says it was glad to see 6’9″ Australian Johnny Furphy still on the board, and picked him. Furphy played 1 year of college, at Kansas.
Later in the 2nd round, Indiana selected Tristen Newton, who played at Connecticut, was the Most Outstanding Player of this spring’s Final Four, and was a key on both of UConn’s back-to-back national championship teams.
Then with the very next pick, the Pacers chose Enrique Freeman of Akron. He’s a 2-time MAC conference tournament MVP, and led the nation in rebounds last season, which helped make him MAC player of the year.