The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1504445
AUGUST 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 55 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE F or the third straight NBA Draft, Michigan basketball had multiple players selected, with wing Jett Howard being picked No. 11 overall by the Or- lando Magic and guard Kobe Bufkin go- ing No. 15 to the Atlanta Hawks June 22 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Michigan has had more than one selection in four of the last five and six of the last 11 drafts. That marked the fifth time in history that Michigan has had multiple first- rounders, with 2014 (Nik Stauskas and Mitch McGary), 2013 (Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr.), 1994 (Juwan How- ard and Jalen Rose) and 1990 (Rumeal Robinson, Loy Vaught and Terry Mills) being the other occurrences. It was the first time the Wolverines had multiple top-15 picks since 1994, 29 years ago, when Howard went No. 5 and Rose was taken No. 13. Michigan was the only school with more than one top-15 selection in 2023, and only four others had multiple first- round choices — Alabama, Arkansas, Houston and Duke, all with two. Juwan Howard, Michigan's head coach entering his fifth season, has now seen six of his players become NBA Draft picks, including five that he re- cruited out of high school (or interna- tionally). Howard has kept Michigan's strong NBA Draft tradition alive, after former head man John Beilein — the program's winningest coach — sent 11 players to the draft during his tenure from 2007-19. Michigan stands sixth nationally with 31 first-round picks in history, behind only Kentucky (58), Duke (55) North Carolina (53), UCLA (41) and Kansas (36). The Wolverines have had 11 first- round selections since 2013, which leads the Big Ten in that span (Indiana is sec- ond with six). Both Bufkin and Howard played for their respective franchises in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in mid- July. Bufkin played in five games, av- eraging 14.0 points, 3.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per contest. He made the game-winning shot in a 99-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Howard, meanwhile, saw time in three games, ❱ MICHIGAN IN THE PROS U-M Is Only School With Two Top-15 NBA Draft Picks In 2023 Freshman wing Jett Howard (left) was the No. 11 overall selection by the Orlando Magic and sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin (right) went No. 15 to the Atlanta Hawks in the 2023 NBA Draft held June 22 in Brooklyn, N.Y. PHOTOS COURTESY NBA.COM Sixteen Wolverines Drafted To Pro Leagues In 2022-23 Michigan surpassed its total from 2021-22 (15) by having 16 Wolver- ines drafted to six professional sports leagues in 2022-23, with one to the MLB, two to the NBA, nine to the NFL, two to the NHL, one to the WNBA and one to the Premier Lacrosse League. Four were taken in the opening round of their respective draft, led by hockey star Adam Fantilli at No. 3 overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets. U-M was the only school to have multiple top-15 NBA Draft picks, and the Wolverines' nine NFL Draft choices ranked third behind Geor- gia and Alabama (10 each). At No. 15 overall in the second round, Leigha Brown tied Naz Hillmon for the highest pick in program history, after Hillmon was chosen at the same spot by the same team last summer. Nick Rowlett became the second Wolverine to be selected in the PLL Draft and seventh U-M player to be drafted by a professional outdoor lacrosse franchise. Connor O'Halloran kept alive the Wolverines' 10-year streak with a player picked in the MLB Draft. — Clayton Sayfie U-M Athlete League Round Overall Pick Team Connor O'Halloran MLB 5 157 Toronto Blue Jays Jett Howard NBA 1 11 Orlando Magic Kobe Bufkin NBA 1 15 Atlanta Hawks Mazi Smith NFL 1 26 Dallas Cowboys Luke Schoonmaker NFL 2 58 Dallas Cowboys DJ Turner NFL 2 60 Cincinnati Bengals Jake Moody NFL 3 99 San Francisco 49ers Mike Morris NFL 5 151 Seattle Seahawks Olusegun Oluwatimi NFL 5 154 Seattle Seahawks Brad Robbins NFL 6 217 Cincinnati Bengals Ryan Hayes NFL 7 238 Miami Dolphins Ronnie Bell NFL 7 253 San Francisco 49ers Adam Fantilli NHL 1 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Gavin Brindley NHL 2 34 Columbus Blue Jackets Nick Rowlett PLL 3 23 Chaos Lacrosse Club Leigha Brown WNBA 2 15 Atlanta Dream