In Play Magazine
Khris Middleton Selected 39th and Kim English 44th
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club has selected Andre Drummond with the with the ninth pick in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft held on Thursday, June 28. The club also selected Khris Middleton with the 39th pick and Kim English with the 44th pick in the second round.
“We are pleased to draft Andre Drummond with the number nine pick,” said Joe Dumars, Pistons President of Basketball Operations. “He’s a player with good size and physical tools and we look forward to seeing him grow within our organization. We’re real pleased to add Khris Middleton and Kim English in the second round. They’re two young players that will give us quality depth at the wing positions.”
Drummond, a 6-11, 279-pound center from the University of Connecticut, averaged 10.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 2.7 blocks as a freshman for the Huskies. In 34 games, he shot a team-high 53.8% from the field and ranked third in blocks (2.7) in the Big East Conference. Drummond recorded a season-high 24 points (11-12 FG), eight rebounds and five blocks vs. Holy Cross (12/18). Drummond also earned two Big East Big East Rookie of the Week honors last season by scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds vs. West Virginia (1/9) and 18 points (9-12 FG) with seven rebounds at Georgetown (2/1). A native of Mount Vernon, N.Y., he was rated the No.1 high school prospect by Scout.com, No.2 in the ESPNU Top-100 and led St. Thomas More (Conn.) to the 2011 Prep National Championship.
Middleton, a 6-7 junior from Texas A&M, averaged 13.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season. In 87 career games, he averaged 11.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 rebounds as a collegian. Middleton averaged 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists as a sophomore and earned Second Team All-Big 12 and All-Districts selections.
English played four seasons at Missouri and averaged 14.1 points (.521 FG), 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists as a senior. He scored in double figures in 26-of-35 games last season including seven games with 20-plus points. English shot 39.4% from beyond the arc last season and shot better than 36.0% from three-point range in each of his four years. He earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors as a senior and was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 Big 12 Tournament.
