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Spencer Dinwiddie, the University of Colorado, and the NBA Draft
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June 28th
Detroit GM on Dinwiddie – “We felt he was a first round talent”
From the Detroit Free Press … Spencer Dinwiddie didn’t hesitate.
When he was asked to identify his position late Thursday night, the Colorado junior was emphatic.
“I view myself as a pure (point guard),” he said over the phone, after the Detroit Pistons picked him with their second-round pick, 38th overall, in the NBA draft.
“I think I showed that in college.”
The record will show that Dinwiddie, 21, was the first pick of the Stan Van Gundy era of Pistons basketball.
The Pistons get a talented guard with size that is able to get to the rim, distribute and score — a talent growing more and more important in today’s NBA of pick-and-roll basketball.
Dinwiddie could have been picked higher except for a left anterior cruciate ligament injury that forced him to miss the last 18 games of his junior season at Colorado. He is still recovering and won’t be able to play when the Pistons take the floor for summer league in two weeks.
Dinwiddie and the team offered no timetable. He had the surgery in January and when you consider the recovery period, it’s fair to say his debut could be long delayed.
“I talked to the coaching staff, and they said they don’t want me to set a direct timetable for my recovery,” he said. “That’s all I can say right now.”
Still, the Pistons were very comfortable taking a bit of a gamble on Dinwiddie.
“We’re very comfortable with the medical report, the stages he’s at in his recovery,” Pistons general manager Jeff Bower said at the practice facility. “Our medical team dug deep into it. We had all his records, where he’s at, conversations with his surgeon and therapist. All were positive and gave us the comfort that this was a player that very successful in his recovery.”
The team came away impressed after meeting with him via Skype on Wednesday.
“We think he’s got outstanding size for the point guard position, strength, very good feel for moving the ball and creating plays as well as obviously his scoring ability,” Bower said. “We felt he was a first-round talent. I know that’s a cliché, but we really had him targeted as a player that we very impressed with and if he was available (he was a possibility) so we think it was a good night for the organization.”
The Pistons now have five point guards on the roster (Dinwiddie, Brandon Jennings, Will Bynum, Chauncey Billups and Peyton Siva). But the team isn’t expected to pick up its contract option on Billups for next season, Bynum could be traded, and Siva’s contract isn’t guaranteed.
Because they lost their first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets in a 2012 trade, draft night lacked its usual sizzle for the Pistons.
Van Gundy said earlier this week that he would seek a hardworking, high-character prospect with an identifiable skill.
Players with character issues need not apply.
“At the very top of our list — and we’ve talked about this a lot — is going to be character and as part of that, hard work,” Van Gundy said. “We’re not going to take a flyer on guys that have character problems right now.
“I think we’ve agreed we want a guy where we can identify what his skill is, what his game is, how he’s going to help — instead of, ‘wow, he’s a great athlete and maybe we can teach him to do something.’”
Before his injury, Colorado was 14-2 with Dinwiddie leading the way with 14.7 points and 3.8 assists per game.
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June 26th
Spencer Dinwiddie a Piston
The Mayor is going to Detroit.
Following in the footsteps of Chauncey Billups, who was selected by Boston but made his name in Detroit, Spencer Dinwiddie is now a Piston. Chosen with the 8th pick of the second round (38th overall), Dinwiddie becomes the 32nd Buff in CU history to be an NBA draft pick (full list below). The Detroit/Fort Wayne NBA franchise has now chosen five Buffs in its history, the most of any NBA franchise (full list below).
From cubuffs.com … Spencer Dinwiddie said he was forgoing his senior year at the University of Colorado to pursue his boyhood dream to play in the NBA, and on Thursday evening he took a big step toward that dream as the Detroit Pistons selected him with the No. 38th pick of the second round at the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The 6-6 junior point-guard from Woodland Hills, Calif. watched the NBA Draft at home with his friends and family. “I’m really happy to be joining a new team, a new family in the Detroit Pistons,” Dinwiddie said. “I’m looking forward to the challenges that await. As for not being picked in the first round, things happen for a reason, it is, what it is. I can’t wait to get started.”
Spencer Dinwiddie becomes the third CU player since 2011 to be selected in the NBA Draft. It was also the first and only pick for the Pistons of the 2014 NBA Draft. “We felt going into the draft, Spencer was going to be a late first round, early second round pick. Certainly he went a little bit lower than I expected,” CU men’s basketball head coach Tad Boyle said. “Detroit got a heckuva of player, a guy who’s a solid NBA point-guard in the future and has a chance to be a star in the league. “I really believe that Spencer has all the makings of being a terrific player for Detroit. I think with the new regime with the Pistons, it’s a fresh start for them, and certainly going to be a fresh start for Spencer. We are extremely excited for him and his family, and very proud of him.”
Projected as a second-round selection or not at all by most NBA analysts, Dinwiddie missed the last 18 games of the 2013-14 season with an ACL injury (left knee) that required reconstructive surgery. Dinwiddie called the decision to leave CU “very difficult (and) bittersweet. I love everything about this place – I love the guys, the coaches . . . but I was weighing the chance to do something special. It’s the best thing to do in terms of my future.” A sample of Dinwiddie’s June positioning among the Top 100 draft prospects: NBADraft.net – 29th pick; CBSSports.com – 30th overall; ESPN.com – 38th overall; DraftExpress.com – 40th overall.
Dinwiddie, who averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals during his college career, becomes the third CU underclassman in the last four years to exit early for the NBA Draft.
It’s the fifth time (most of any NBA team to select CU players) that the Pistons have selected a CU player in the draft (three times by Detroit; twice: Fort Wayne). In addition to Dinwiddie, the others selected were Rob Gonzalez (No. 147, Detroit/NBA, 1983); Jim Davis (No. 29 overall Detroit/NBA, 1964); Tom Harrold (fourth pick, Fort Wayne/NBA, 1955); and Charlie Mock (ninth pick, Fort Wayne/NBA, 1955).
Preceding Dinwiddie at CU who left early and were drafted in the first round since ’97 were Chauncey Billups, No. 3 in ’97 by Boston; David Harrison, No. 29 in 2004 by Indiana; and Alec Burks, No. 12 in 2011 by Utah, and Andre Roberson last season by Minnesota at No. 26 (later traded to Oklahoma City).
Since the NBA lottery first began in 1985, Burks (2009-11) and Billups (1995-97) are the school’s only two lottery picks. Billups and Burks were both sophomores when they declared for the NBA Draft.
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Six Pac-12 Players taken in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft … Aaron Gordon, Arizona, No. 4 overall to Orlando … Zach LaVine, UCLA, No. 13 overall, to Minnesota … Jordan Adams, UCLA, No. 22 overall to Memphis … C.J. Wilcox, No. 28 overall, to the L.A. Clippers … Josh Huestis, No. 29 overall, to Oklahoma City … Kyle Anderson, UCLA, No. 30 overall to San Antonio … Just the second time in school history in which UCLA had three first round picks (1979 being the other year) … Second round … Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado, No. 38 overall to Detroit … Nick Johnson, Arizona, No. 42 to Houston … Dwight Powell, Stanford, No. 45 to Charlotte.
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Dinwiddie No. 32 on the all-time list of Buffs drafted into the NBA
Below is a list of players from the University of Colorado who have been drafted by either the NBA or ABA. Those drafted by both the NBA and the ABA have an * beside their names. Players who played in the NBA this past season are in bold (Note: Chris Copeland, who played this year for the Indiana Pacers, was not drafted):
Chauncey Billups, No. 3 overall Boston/NBA, 1997
*Scott Wedman, No. 6 overall KC-Omaha/NBA, 1974
*Cliff Meely, No. 7 overall San Diego Clippers/NBA, 1971
Alec Burks, No. 12 overall Utah Jazz/NBA, 2011
Jay Humphries, No. 13 overall Phoenix/NBA, 1984
Shaun Vandiver, No. 25 overall Golden State/NBA, 1991
Andre Roberson, No. 26 overall Minnesota/NBA, 2013 (traded to Oklahoma City)
Pat Frink, No. 27 overall Cincinnati/NBA, 1968
David Harrison, No. 29 overall Indiana/NBA, 2004
Jim Davis, No. 29 overall Detroit/NBA, 1964
Ken Charlton, No. 32 overall Cincinnati/NBA, 1963
Spencer Dinwiddie, No. 38 overall Detroit/NBA, 2014
*Jim Creighton, No. 39 overall Seattle/NBA, 1972
Donnie Boyce, No. 42 overall Atlanta/NBA, 1995
Jaquay Walls, No. 56, Indiana/NBA, 2000
Alex Stivrins, No. 75, Seattle/NBA, 1985
Chuck Williams, No. 77, Philadelphia/NBA, 1968
Chuck Gardner, No. 81, Baltimore/NBA, 1966
Joe Cooper, No. 96, New Jersey/NBA, 1981
Wilky Gilmore, No. 98, St. Louis/NBA, 1962
Dave Logan, No. 139, Kansas City/NBA, 1976
JoJo Hunter, No. 146, Milwaukee/NBA, 1981
Lee Haven, No. 146, Portland/NBA, 1974
Rob Gonzalez, No. 147, Detroit/NBA, 1983
Larry Vaculik, No. 168, Denver/NBA, 1978
Jacques Tuz, No. 173, San Diego/NBA, 1982
Emmett Lewis, No. 181, Denver/NBA, 1979
Brian Johnson, No. 212, Phoenix/NBA, 1981
Other Selections
Tom Harrold, fourth pick, Fort Wayne/NBA, 1955
Burdette Haldorson, fifth pick, Milwaukee/NBA, 1955
Tom Mock, ninth pick, Fort Wayne/NBA, 1955
Wayne Tucker, ninth pick, Tri-Cities/NBA, 1951
Robert Doll, St. Louis/NBA, 1946
ABA
*Scott Wedman, No. 2 overall Memphis/ABA, 1974
*Cliff Meely, first round pick, Denver Nuggets, 1971
*Jim Creighton, additional round choice of Dallas, 1972
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The NBA/ABA draft Round-by-Round Breakdown (35)
1st Round: 8 (4-for-5 with players leaving early, Spencer Dinwiddie the first to not be picked in the first round)
2nd Round: 3 (including Dinwiddie)
3rd: 2
4th: 2
5th: 2
6th: 2
7th: 1
8th: 2
9th: 5
14th: 1
23rd: 1
Other NBA draft picks: 4
ABA: 3
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Breakdown of CU players drafted, by NBA Team (32)
Detroit (3)/Fort Wayne (2): 5
Sacramento/Cincinnati (2)/Kansas City (1)/KC-Omaha (1): 4
Atlanta (1)/Tri-Cities (1): 2
Denver: 2
L.A. Clippers/San Diego (2): 2
Indiana: 2
Milwaukee: 2
Phoenix: 2
St. Louis: 2
Seattle: 2
Boston: 1
Golden State: 1
Minnesota: 1
New Jersey: 1
Philadelphia: 1
Portland: 1
Utah: 1
Washington/Baltimore (1): 1
ABA (3)
Memphis: 1
Dallas: 1
Denver: 1
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CU Players on rosters throughout the world in 2013-14:
Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons)
Carlon Brown (Israel)
Alec Burks (Utah Jazz)
Sabatino Chen (Taiwan)
Dominique Coleman (Finland)
Chris Copeland (Indiana Pacers)
Austin Dufault (Czech Republic)
Marcus Hall (Turkey)
Cory Higgins (D-Leauge, Erie BayHawks)
Levi Knutson (Spain)
Michel Morandais (France)
Marcus Relphorde (Finland)
Andre Roberson (Oklahoma City)
Richard Roby (Japan)
Dwight Thorne II (Croatia)
Nate Tomlinson (Australia)
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