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The Golden State Warriors have selected former Memphis Tigers big man James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Sources: Golden State is selecting James Wiseman with the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 19, 2020
Wiseman recorded impressive numbers with the Tigers, but the Nashville, Tennessee native has an interesting collegiate story to tell.
According to several reports, Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway paid for $11,500 in moving expenses to help Wiseman and his family move to the city of Memphis in 2017. These reports were refuted, and a legal battle with the NCAA ensued.
The NCAA eventually ruled that Wiseman would be eligible to return on January 12 after serving a 12-game suspension—if he donated $11,500 to a charity of his choice. However, after missing seven games due to the suspension, Wiseman announced that he would leave Memphis and prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft.
Wiseman played just three games with the Tigers, recording averages of 19.7 points on 76.9 percent shooting from the field, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. In his regular season debut, he racked up 28 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes of action.
It’s also worth noting that James Wiseman averaged 11.4 points and five rebounds per game for the United States at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Argentina, where he helped his team win a gold medal over Canada.
Despite his legal issues in college, James Wiseman was still projected to be a top pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. At 7-foot-1 and 250 pounds, he should provide instant rim protection for the —–. His 7-6 wingspan should come in handy when swatting shots, but he’ll likely need to work on his shot from the perimeter. Most bigs in today’s NBA are capable of stepping outside.