All three Arizona Basketball freshmen hear names called in NBA Draft

With the 2020 NBA Draft finally here, all three Arizona Basketball freshmen waited patiently to hear their name called, however, it was well worth it.

It has been a wild year for the NBA and in particular Arizona Basketball, as the Wildcats had their season shut down prior to starting the NCAA Tournament due to the Corona Virus pandemic. Because of the effect of the pandemic, that also meant that the NBA Draft would be pushed back as well.

Well, after much anticipation, the Draft came and went on Wednesday evening, and it was certainly an eventful one for Arizona Basketball to say the least.

Arizona Wildcats

With all three highly touted freshmen participating in the draft from home, all were seemingly ready, hoping to hear their name called and begin the next steps in the career.

Up to this point, it has been a long journey, and as we all saw, their journey continues, as all three Wildcats were drafted in the NBA Draft. It is worth noting, that this was the first time this had happened since 2001 when Richard Jefferson, Gilbert Arenas and Michael Wright were all drafted.

With no lottery picks for the Wildcats this year, luckily it didn’t take too long to hear our first name called in the evening, as Josh Green went No. 18 overall to the Dallas Mavericks.

Just four picks later, it was Zeke Nnaji’s turn. Dressed in traditional Nigerian attire, the former Wildcat big man will be heading to the Mile High City, as Zeke was selected No. 22 overall by the Denver Nuggets.

Now it was just a matter of waiting to hear where Nico Mannion would go. Once considered a potential lottery pick, this year has been unkind to Nico. Seeing his stock fall throughout the year in the Mock Drafts, on Wednesday evening, Nico would fall even more.

Nico would have to wait until the No. 48 overall pick to hear his name called, where he was selected by the Golden State Warriors.

Teaming up with former Wildcat Steve Kerr in the Bay, Nico was the third and final Wildcat selected in the evening, and completes a rather successful day for the Arizona Basketball program.

At Zona Zealots, we are excited to see our Cats succeed and find homes and will be watching them as the continue their careers beyond on Arizona! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!