Trey Murphy III was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 17th pick in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft on Thursday.
Murphy III is the ninth Virginia player selected in the NBA Draft since 2012, joining Mike Scott (2012), Joe Harris (2014), Justin Anderson (2015), Malcolm Brogdon (2016), Devon Hall (2018), De’Andre Hunter (2019), Ty Jerome (2019) and Kyle Guy (2019).
Hunter, Anderson and Jerome were first-round selections, while Scott, Harris, Brogdon, Hall and Guy were drafted in the second round.
Murphy III is also the 11th UVA player to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, joining Barry Parkhill (1973), Wally Walker (1976), Jeff Lamp (1981), Ralph Sampson (1983), Olden Polynice (1987), Bryant Stith (1992), Cory Alexander (1995), Justin Anderson (2015), Hunter (2019) and Jerome (2019).
Murphy III transferred to Virginia after two seasons at Rice. The 6’9”, 206-pound junior averaged 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds as Virginia (18-7) captured its 10th ACC regular-season championship and made its seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Murphy III became the first UVA player in history in the 50-40-90 Club, shooting 50.3 percent from the field, 43.3 percent from 3-point range and 92.7 from the free throw line.
Murphy III reached double figures in 17 contests, including a season-high 21 points, (6-for-8 3-pointers) vs. Towson. Murphy III ranked seventh in the ACC in 3-point field goals made (2.1) and was named to the All-ACC Academic Team.
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Chris Graham
