University of Connecticut Athletics
Five Huskies Earn Selection at the 2006 NBA Draft
6/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK, N.Y. (June 28, 2006)-- The University of Connecticut became the first school in the history of the NBA to have five players selected in the first two rounds of the draft and for the first time in school history, the Huskies had four players selected in the First Round. Sophomore and senior were each selected in the lottery portion of the First Round, while junior and junior were also selected in the First Round. Senior was taken with the 40th pick in the second round by the Seattle Sonics. The 2006 NBA Draft was held at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night.
Gay was selected with the No. 8 pick by the Houston Rockets. ESPN reported that his draft rights would be traded to Memphis for Shane Battier. Armstrong went to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets with the No. 12 selection. Williams was taken with the No. 22 pick by the New Jersey Nets and Boone was taken with the No. 23 selection, also by New Jersey. Brown went in the second round, with the 40th pick, to the Seattle Sonics.
UConn becomes only the third school in NBA history to have four players selected in the First Round of the draft, joining Duke (1999) and North Carolina (2005). The five draftees are the most in school history, surpassing the three Husky picks in 1996 and 1982. UConn has now had a total of 21 players drafted under head coach Jim Calhoun, 14 of those in the first round and nine lottery selections.
The lottery duo of Gay and Armstrong gives UConn nine total lottery selections in the past 12 years and marks the second time in three years that Connecticut has had a pair of lottery picks. Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon each went in the lottery in 2004. Including Charlie Villanueva in 2005, UConn has had five lottery selections in the past three drafts.
Rudy Gay gave up his final two years of eligibility to enter the draft. He was a consensus All-American selection, the sixth player in UConn history to earn consensus All-American recognition. He earned First Team honors from the NABC and the Rupp Award, and was one of four finalists for the Naismith National Player of the Year award. He earned Second Team All-America selection by the Associated Press, USBWA and ESPN.com. He was named to the All-BIG EAST, All-NABC and All-USBWA First Teams. He also earned a spot on the 2006 NCAA Washington, D.C. Regional All-Tournament team. He led the Huskies in scoring at 15.2 points per game and also averaged 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per contest. Gay appeared in 64 games in his two seasons, scoring 870 points, an average of 13.6 per contest.
The story of Hilton Armstrong is what college basketball used to be about. A little known recruit comes to school, bides his time behind more heralded teammates and continues to work hard and wait for his moment. Four years later, that player's opportunity arrives and he makes the most of it. Armstrong played in 131 games in his career at UConn, but will be remembered most for the final 34, when as a senior in 2005-06, he became one of the best defensive players in the country and one of the top all-around big men in Husky history. Hilton was named the 2005-06 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the fourth straight UConn player to take home the honor and joining Josh Boone, Emeka Okafor and Donyell Marshall as UConn winners of the prestigious recognition. He averaged 3.2 blocked shots per game, ranking among the top five in the nation and led the BIG EAST in blocks at 4.3 per league game. In addition to his defensive honor, Hilton was also selected to the USBWA All-District First Team and the All-BIG EAST and NABC All-District Second Teams. He had also started out his senior season in fine style, earning a spot on the Maui Invitational All-Tournament team after helping the Huskies to the tourney title.
Josh Boone appeared in 103 games in his three seasons as a Husky and averaged 9.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots in that time. He was a part of a Husky program that went 86-18 in three seasons, capturing two BIG EAST Regular Season titles, one BIG EAST Tournament title and the 2004 NCAA National Championship. Boone was the 2004-05 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.
Junior Marcus Williams also passed on his final year of eligibility. Williams appeared in 70 games in his three seasons at UConn and is the all-time assist per game leader in the history of the BIG EAST Conference. He averaged 9.0 points and 7.3 assists in his career at Connecticut. As a junior in 2005-06, Williams averaged 12.3 points and 8.6 assists, appearing in 23 games. He averaged 20.0 points and 8.8 assists in the NCAA Tournament, earning a spot on the NCAA Washington, D.C. Regional All-Tournament team. He totaled seven double-doubles and one triple-double on the year, while handing out eight or more assists in 16 of 23 games. His all-time assist average of 8.1 in BIG EAST games is easily No. 1 in conference history, surpassing Sherman Douglas of Syracuse, who averaged 7.0 assists per game in his career. Williams overall average of 7.3 assists is No. 1 all-time at UConn, outdistancing Doron Sheffer’s 5.5 assist per game total. Williams also holds the UConn single game assist record, totaling 16 assists at Notre Dame on January 30, 2005 and vs. Central Connecticut on December 22, 2004. Williams led the BIG EAST in assists as a sophomore and as a junior and finished No. 3 in the nation as a sophomore in 2004-05. His total of 8.6 per game in 2005-06 was enough to rank him No. 1 in the country, but he did not play in enough games to qualify for the NCAA statistics.
Denham Brown finished his career with his best season as a Husky and from beginning to end he made big plays and big shots that will be remembered by Husky fans forever. As a senior in 2005-06, Denham was at his best in the biggest moments. In November, Denham hit the game-winning basket in UConn's win over Gonzaga, giving the Huskies the title at the Maui Invitational. It was UConn's first in-season tournament title in 50 years and Brown was the key, averaging 15.7 points and earning a spot on the All-Tournament team. In March, Denham was there for a big shot again. In the NCAA Elite Eight vs. George Mason, Denham made a basket as time expired at the end of regulation to force overtime. Despite the eventual loss, it will go down as one of the most memorable shots in UConn history. Denham totaled 1,267 career points, putting him No. 25 in all-time UConn history. His 135 career games ranks No. 3 all-time. As a senior, Denham averaged 10.7 points and finished the year by reaching double figures in eight straight contests. He averaged 13.5 points in the NCAA Tournament.
