NEW YORK – In the 2023 National Basketball Association Draft held Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., the BIG EAST had five players selected over the course of the draft, with three in the first round. It marks the 41^st time in 44 years, the BIG EAST had at least one player selected in the first round.
 
Both the five BIG EAST selections in the pair of rounds and three picks in the first round are the most since 2018, when Villanova, fresh off winning its second National Championship in three seasons, had three players drafted in the opening round.

The 2023 National Champions were the first BIG EAST team to have a player selected, as Jordan Hawkins of the Connecticut Huskies was selected 14^th overall by the New Orleans Pelicans. The sharpshooting guard became the 15^th NBA lottery pick in program history, after leading the Huskies to the program’s fifth National Championship and earning Most Outstanding Player accolades of the NCAA West Regional, in addition to being an All-Final Four Pick.
 
The 2023 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year was the next BIG EAST player to hear his name called Thursday night, as the Houston Rockets used the No. 20 overall selection to draft Villanova freshman sensation Cam Whitmore. The 6-7 Whitmore averaged 27.3 minutes, 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 26 games. An injury to his right (shooting) thumb in October kept him sidelined for eight weeks. The native of Odenton, Md., did not make his Villanova debut until a Dec. 5 victory over Oklahoma at Wells Fargo Center. Overall, Whitmore is the 14^th Wildcat to be drafted in the 21^st Century and the ninth to be picked in the opening round.
 
Junior forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper of the Marquette University men's basketball program was the 24th overall selection in the Draft by the Sacramento Kings, a pick that will be traded to the Dallas Mavericks. The Montreal, Quebec, native is the program's 58th draft pick all-time, but just the ninth Marquette player to be selected in the first round.  MU has had 57 players previously selected in the NBA Draft, beginning with Gene Berce (New York) in 1948.  The most recent pick was Henry Ellenson (18th overall) by the Detroit Pistons in 2016.
 
After averaging 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game as a freshman at Clemson, Prosper developed into a first-round selection in two seasons under head coach Shaka Smart and his staff.  Prosper started 25-of-32 contests in 2021-22, contributing 6.6 points and 3.3 boards per outing.  His breakthrough campaign came last season when he started all 36 outings and averaged 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor, to lead Marquette to both a BIG EAST regular season and tournament crown.
 
With the No. 34 selection, and fourth pick of the second round, the Charlotte Hornets drafted Xavier guard Colby Jones, a pick that will be traded to the Sacramento Kings. Edmond Sumner, currently with the Brooklyn Nets, was XU's last NBA Draft pick as a second-round selection in the 2017 draft by New Orleans, which traded his rights to the Indiana. Jones is Xavier's 40th all-time NBA Draft choice, including the 16th XU player selected in either the first or second round.
 
Jones, who played three seasons at Xavier, was selected to the 2022-23 All-BIG EAST Second Team by the league coaches and by the Associated Press, while helping lead Xavier to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. As a junior Jones won the 2022 NIT MVP Award as he led the Musketeers to the National Invitation Tournament Championship at Madison Square Garden.
 
Rounding out the BIG EAST selections, with the No. 36 overall pick, the Orlando Magic picked UConn guard Andre Jackson Jr., as a selection that will be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.
 
Hawkins and Jackson became the 46th and 47th UConn players drafted since 1965. It is the first time since 2014 that UConn had multiple players selected in the NBA Draft.

BIG EAST Players in 2023 NBA Draft
Round (Overall)           Player                                                             Team
1 (14)                             Jordan Hawkins, UConn, G                            New Orleans Pelicans
1 (20)                             Cam Whitmore, Villanova, F                           Houston Rockets
1 (24)                             Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Marquette, F          Sacramento Kings (Traded to Dallas Mavericks)
2 (34)                             Colby Jones, Xavier, G                                   Charlotte Hornets (Traded to Sacramento Kings)
2 (36)                             Andre Jackson, Jr., UConn, G                        Orlando Magic (Traded to Milwaukee Bucks)