The New York City area joined the party late in the first round of the NBA draft.
Ty Jerome, the New Rochelle native who played a critical role in Virginia’s run to a national championship, was drafted 24th overall by the Celtics, then traded to the Suns for a 2020 first-round pick.
The 6-foot-5 Jerome, a quality defender and high-level playmaker, becomes the first Iona Prep graduate to get drafted. He was a second team All-ACC selection who averaged 13.6 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds this past season and shot nearly 40 percent from 3-point range.
Seventeen picks later, Jerome’s friend and former AAU teammate, Eric Paschall, went 41st overall to the Warriors. A physical 6-8 wing capable of knocking down 3-point shots and defending multiple positions, the former Villanova star from Dobbs Ferry averaged 16.5 points and 6.1 rebounds this past season and was the lone Big East player drafted.
Bol Bol once was considered a top-five prospect, but his stock plummeted after he appeared in just nine games for Oregon due to a foot injury. He was the lone player invited to the green room not to have his name called in the first round.
The 7-2 big man and son of former NBA player Manute Bol ultimately was taken 44th by the Heat and traded to the Nuggets.
“I just want to prove everyone wrong and be the best player I can be,” Bol said.
The Suns’ first pick, North Carolina’s Cameron Johnson, surprised many experts — but it stunned Coby White, his college teammate.
When White, who was taken seventh by the Bulls, was asked about Johnson being drafted 11th, he was shocked. The 6-foot-9 sharpshooter was supposed to go late in the first round or even early in the second.
“Wow. Wow. Wow, bro!” White said. “That’s crazy. That’s so low, bro. Y’all know Cam? You don’t know how hard Cam worked. There’s a lot of people that doubt him. But wow, that’s crazy, bro. Wow, that’s so crazy. I’m so happy for him right now.”
At 23 years old, Johnson is older than his new teammate, Devin Booker. The pick was such a surprise, Johnson wasn’t even in attendance at Barclays Center. Earlier in the night, the Suns traded down from the sixth pick, obtaining Dario Saric and the Timberwolves’ first-round pick.
Duke became the second college program to have three players taken in the top 10 since 1966, joining Florida, which did it in 2007. Zion Williamson went first to the Pelicans, RJ Barrett was taken third by the Knicks and Cam Reddish went 10th to the Hawks.
Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura, taken ninth by the Wizards, is the first Japanese-born player to get drafted. Hachimura and Gonzaga teammate Brandon Clarke, taken 21st by the Thunder (then traded to the Grizzlies) became the first Gonzaga duo to go in the first round.
Kentucky has had at least two players taken in the first round of every draft since 2010 with forward PJ Washington (12, Hornets), guard Tyler Herro (13, Heat) and wing Keldon Johnson (29, Spurs) going this year.