June 25, 2009

For the second year in a row, four Conference USA men's basketball players were selected in the NBA Draft. C-USA Freshman of the Year Tyreke Evans of Memphis was the No. 4 overall pick to the Sacramento Kings. Three others were selected in the second round Jermaine Taylor of UCF (No. 32), Robert Vaden of UAB (No. 54) and Evans' former Tiger teammate Robert Dozier (No. 60).

With Evans' fourth pick, the Tigers have had NBA lottery selections in back-to-back years for the first time in the program's history. Last year, Chicago picked Derrick Rose with the No. 1 overall pick (C-USA's second top pick in a NBA Draft). Evans is the sixth Memphis player to be an NBA lottery pick since it started in 1985.

Evans - a first-team All-Conference USA selection - was college basketball's 2008-09 consensus National Freshman of the Year, taking home seven National Freshman of the Year awards. He received the National Freshman of the Year accolade from ESPN.com, U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), The Sporting News, CBSSports.com, FoxSports.com, CollegeHoops.net and NaismithLives.com. Evans is the first freshman in Tiger basketball history to earn consensus National Freshman of Year distinction. The 6-foot-6 guard was named to five Freshman All-America teams, including CollegeHoops.net, NaismithLives.com, The Sporting News, CBSSports.com and FoxSports.com.

Evans was also a finalist for the 2008-09 Wooden Award and Oscar Robertson Trophy - both National Player of the Year honors. He was the only freshman to be listed among the finalists for both awards.

The 2009 C-USA Tournament MVP, Evans led the Tigers in scoring (17.1 ppg) and steals (77). He averaged 5.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists, while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 71.1 percent from the free throw line. The nine-time Conference USA Rookie of the Week finished the 2008-09 season ranked among the league leaders in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, assists and steals. He finished 2008-09 first on the Memphis all-time freshman steals list with 77 swipes (eighth-most on the Tiger career list). He is also second on the Tiger all-time freshman scoring chart with 632 points.

Taylor, the 2009 C-USA Player of the Year, was selected by Washington with the 32nd overall pick - the second selection of the second round on the shooting guard. He was then traded to the Houston Rockets. An All-America selection, Taylor ranked third nationally in scoring at 26.2 points per game as a senior in 2008-09. He became the second NBA Draft pick in UCF history, joining Bennie Shaw, who was selected in the ninth round by Milwaukee in 1976.

Taylor averaged a league-record 29.1 points against conference foes. He scored a school-record 812 points during the campaign and led the Knights in scoring in 29 of their 31 contests. Taylor scored at least 20 points in 24 of UCF's 31 games, totaling nine 30-point performances and one 40-point contest. He shot 48.0 percent overall and made 37.6 percent of his attempts from deep, connecting on 92 3-pointers, which ranked fourth on the school's single-season register. Taylor was also the squad's top rebounder at 5.2 per game.

As a senior, he was selected to the Basketball Times All-America Third Team and received Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention recognition. An All-C-USA First Team pick, he was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches and United States Basketball Writers Association all-district teams. On five occasions, he received C-USA Player of the Week honors.

Taylor concluded his career with 1,979 points, a UCF Division I record. That mark was also good for fourth on the C-USA career list. He averaged 16.2 points during his career and made a school-record 251 3-pointers.

Following the conclusion of the season, Taylor excelled on the pre-draft circuit. At the Portsmouth Invitational in April, he led the event in scoring, averaging 21.3 points to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. Earlier that month, he totaled 23 points to garner team MVP honors at the Hershey's College All-Star Game in Detroit.

Vaden was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats with the 24th pick in the second round (54th overall), then subsequently traded to Oklahoma City where he will begin his NBA career.

Vaden becomes the second Blazer in the last two years to be selected in the second round, joining Walter Sharpe, who was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 32nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Vaden, who played two seasons with the Blazers after transferring from Indiana following his sophomore season, leaves UAB as one of the top players in school history. During his two-year career, he became the fastest player in UAB history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, reaching the feat in his 50th game as a Blazer. He closed his UAB tenure with 1,295 points, which ranks 12th in school history, and 2,010 points in his four-year career.

A two-time All-Conference USA honoree and 2008 C-USA Newcomer of the Year, led Conference USA this past season in three pointers made a game (3.29) and total threes made (112). He finished the year fifth in the league with 17.6 points per game, while adding 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He set single-season school records for points (695), threes made (142) and threes attempted (355) during his junior campaign in 2007-08. Vaden also tied the single-game school record when he torched the nets for 41 points in a win at UTEP (2/27/08). He finished the year with an average of 21.1 ppg.

Now as a member of the Thunder, Vaden will reunite with former Indiana teammate D.J. White. Vaden and White were teammates at IU from 2004-06 under current UAB head coach Mike Davis.

Dozier was selected by the Miami Heat with the 60th and final pick of the draft in the second round. A 2008-09 All-Conference USA second team pick, he also earned 2009 Conference USA All-Tournament Team and All-Defensive Team honors. As a senior, Dozier was the Tigers' second-leading scorer (12.9 ppg) and rebounders (7.5 rpg) and led the squad in blocks (61) and field goal percentage (51.9 percent). He shot 72.1 percent from the free throw line and had 47 steals (third on team).

He completed his career as a member of the winningest four-year class in NCAA Division I history with 137 wins (137-14 record). The Lithonia, Ga., native helped lead Memphis to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to four Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights, one Final Four and a championship game appearance. Dozier was also a member of four-consecutive Conference USA regular season and tournament title teams. He finished his career No. 13 on the Memphis all-time scoring chart with 1,381 career points, and was also in the top 10 on the Tiger career lists for rebounding (No. 5 with 961 boards) and blocked shots (No. 6 with 228 blocks). Dozier is one of six players in Tiger history to have 1,000 points and 900 rebounds.

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