World Champion Lakers Take Elonu in Second Round of NBA Draft
Jun 25, 2009 | Men's Basketball
June 25, 2009
NEW YORK - Former Texas A&M center Chinemelu Elonu was taken by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of Thursday night's NBA Draft.
The NBA champions chose the 6-foot-10 Elonu with the 59th overall pick. Elonu decided last week to skip his final year of eligibility at A&M after graduating in May.
Elonu earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors last season after averaging 9.8 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds and 53 blocked shots. He set a school record by making 66.5 percent from the field and was named the Big 12's most improved player.
"I was getting a little nervous when there were only a couple of picks left, but I decided early in the night to just leave it all in God's hands," Elonu said. "I was with a lot of friends and family and they gave me a lot of support. It's an honor to be drafted by the NBA champions. I think I can learn a lot from their big men and become a better player. It's also a exciting to have a chance to play for a great coach like Phil Jackson. I just want to thank everyone at A&M for all they did for me and for making this possible."
A&M is the only Big 12 school to have a player drafted in each of the last three years. An Aggie has been chosen in four of the last five NBA Drafts. The others were Antoine Wright in 2005 (first round to the New Jersey Nets), Acie Law IV in 2007 (first round to the Atlanta Hawks) and DeAndre Jordan in 2008 (second round to the Los Angeles Clippers). Prior to Wright's selection in 2005, A&M had not had a player drafted since Winston Crite in 1987.
