Virginia Tech men's basketball player Nickeil Alexander-Walker was selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday night. He went with the 17th pick in the draft, while Justin Robinson signed as a free agent with the Washington Wizards and Ahmed Hill will play with the Brooklyn Nets on its Summer Leage team.
Alexander-Walker becomes the first Hokie to be drafted in the first round since Dell Curry in the 1986 draft, by the Utah Jazz. Alexander-Walker is just the second Hokie ever drafted in the first round in the common draft era. He is the first Hokie to be drafted since Erick Green was selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, by the Jazz.
Alexander-Walker played two seasons for the Hokies, averaging 13.5 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. He started all 67 games in which he played and shot .464 from the field and .383 from three-point range.
As a sophomore in 2018-19, Alexander-Walker was named third team All-ACC, while leading the Hokies in scoring (16.2 ppg) and assists (135 assists). He helped lead the Hokies to the Sweet 16 of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. He appeared in the NCAA Tournament in both of his Virginia Tech seasons. He was the MVP of the 2018 Charleston Classic and the ACC Player of the Week on Nov. 19. He is the first early entrance NBA draft pick for the Hokies.
It is expected that Alexander-Walker will be traded from the Nets to the New Orleans Pelicans (through the Atlanta Hawks) once the NBA business year begins on July 6. He becomes the seventh ACC player selected in the first 17 picks of the 2019 NBA Draft.
UPDATE - Friday, June 21, 2019
Robinson has signed a free agent contract with the NBA's Washington Wizards. The deal is reported as being a multi-year contract and was agreed to shortly after the draft was completed late Thursday night.
The Manassas, Virginia native graduated from Virginia Tech in May with a degree in communications. He is the all-time leader in career assists for the Hokies, despite missing 12 games this season with a foot injury.
He returned to action in the NCAA Tournament and helped lead the Hokies to a berth in the Sweet 16. He completed his Virginia Tech career with 1,383 points, 22nd on the all-time scoring list. He averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game as a senior.
Hill will play for the Brooklyn Nets this summer, with their Summer League team in Las Vegas.
Hill, a native of Augusta, Georgia, finished his career averaging 11.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. His most points in a game came versus Saint Louis on Nov. 16, 2017, when he dropped 26 points. One of the better 3-point shooters to don the maroon and orange, Hill's career high triples was six, which he did five times.
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Gallery: (6/20/2019) 2019 NBA DRAFT BARCLAYS CENTER