NEW YORK - Former San Diego State men's basketball player Jalen McDaniels has been selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2019 NBA Draft Thursday night at Barclays Center.
The forward from Federal Way, Wash., is the first Aztec since Xavier Thames in 2014 to be taken in the NBA Draft. The two-time All-Mountain West performer is also the 24th Aztec in school history to be taken in the annual event. In the Brian Dutcher era, McDaniels is the fifth player selected following Randy Holcomb in 2002, Kawhi Leonard in 2011, Jamaal Franklin in 2013 and the aforementioned Thames. Dutcher has now coached 19 NBA draft picks, which includes his time as an assistant coach.
McDaniels joins a Charlotte team that finished the 2018-19 season with a 39-43 record, ninth in the Eastern Conference and two games out of the playoffs.
During his sophomore season, McDaniels led SDSU in rebounds (281), rebounds average (8.3) defensive rebounds (214), field goals (212), field goal attempts (455) and steals (38). He was second on the team in total points (541) and scoring average (15.9).
Following the 2018-19 season, McDaniels was a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 17 first-team selection as well as a second-team honoree from both the Mountain West coaches and media members.
In 67 career games, 55 of which were starts including all 34 in 2018-19, McDaniels scored in double figures 48 times and broke the 20-point barrier nine times. He had 22 double-digit rebounding efforts which resulted in 20 career double doubles. He scored a career-high 30 points against UNLV on Jan. 26, 2019 and grabbed 15 rebounds at Illinois State (12-1-19), also a career high.
For his Aztec career, McDaniels averaged 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 67 games. He led SDSU to the championship game of the Mountain West Tournament in both his seasons on The Mesa, winning the championship in 2017-18 to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
With McDaniels being taken by the Hornets, San Diego State is one of 23 school nationally who had at least one play taken in the NFL, MLB and NBA drafts in 2019 and is the only school represented on that list which is not in a Power 5 conference..
Aztecs in the NBA Draft – Brian Dutcher
2002 - Randy Holcomb - San Antonio Spurs (2nd round, 29th pick, 57th overall)
2011 - Kawhi Leonard - Indiana Pacers (1st round, 15th pick, 15th overall)
2013 - Jamaal Franklin - Memphis Grizzlies (2nd round, 11th pick, 41st overall)
2014 - Xavier Thames - Toronto Raptors (2nd round, 29th pick, 59th overall)
2019 - Jalen McDaniels- Charlotte Hornets (2nd round, 22nd pick, 52nd overall)
Jalen McDaniels Drafted By Charlotte Hornets
