Henry Ellenson from Marquette was taken No. 18 overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2016 NBA Draft.
NEW YORK – BIG EAST Player of the Year Kris Dunn of Providence and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Henry Ellenson of Marquette were two of four conference standouts selected in the 2016 NBA Draft held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Thursday. Both were picked in the first round. Isaiah Whitehead of Seton Hall and Ben Bentil of Providence were chosen in the second round.
Dunn was taken fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ellenson went to the Detroit Pistons with the 18th selection. Whitehead was selected 42nd overall by the Utah Jazz, then immediately traded to his hometown Brooklyn Nets. The Boston Celtics took Bentil with the 51st selection.
Dunn, a 6-3 junior from New London, Conn., is the highest Friar draft pick since Marvin Barnes was chosen second in 1974. The versatile guard made a habit of filling the stat sheet. This past season, he ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring – coincidentally behind the league’s three other draftees -- with a 16.4 average. Dunn led the league in steals and was fifth nationally with a 2.5 mark. He ranked second in the BIG EAST in assists with a 6.4 mark and pulled down 5.7 rebounds per game. For the second straight season, he posted a triple-double in a game. Dunn also won his second straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Award. He is the only guard in the history of the league to earn Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the same season and he did it twice. Dunn is the sixth player in BIG EAST history to win Player of the Year honors more than once.
Ellenson, a 6-11 freshman, was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week eight times this past season, the third highest total in BIG EAST history. He finished third in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 17.0 average and was first in rebounding at 9.7. He won the league rebounding crown with a 9.7 mark in conference games. Ellenson, a native of Rice Lake, Wis., led the BIG EAST with 18 double-doubles. He also earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors, becoming the first freshman to make the first team since Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony in 2002-03. Ellenson is only the second Marquette player to be an NBA lottery pick. In 2003, Dwayne Wade was selected fifth.
Whitehead was the leader in Seton Hall’s season that ended with a 25-9 record and the school’s first NCAA appearance in 10 years. He was second in the league in scoring with an 18.2 average and third in assists at 5.1. In March, the sophomore guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., won the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the BIG EAST Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player while leading Seton Hall to its first title since 1993, defeating eventual national champion Villanova 69-67 in the championship game. Whitehead is Seton Hall’s first NBA Draft pick since 2001.
Bentil, a 6-9 sophomore forward from Wilmington, Del., led the BIG EAST in scoring in all games with a 21.2 average and won the league scoring crown with a 22.9 mark in conference play. He was fourth in rebounding with a 7.7 average in BIG EAST play. Bentil was a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection and was named BIG EAST Most Improved Player. Two seasons ago, he averaged 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds. Bentil scored at least 20 points in 21 of 35 games this past season.