Waters, Oni, Adams set to start pro careers
When Yale squared off against LSU in a first-round NCAA tournament game a few months ago in Jacksonville, Fla., it also wound up being a battle between a pair of soon-to-be NBA draft picks.
LSU point guard Tremont Waters, a New Haven native, and Yale guard Miye Oni were each selected in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft late Thursday night/Friday morning. Waters was taken by the Boston Celtics with the 51st overall pick; Oni went No. 58 overall to the Utah Jazz.
Waters, by the way, won that particular matchup back on March 21 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the first half as LSU held off a furious Yale comeback for a 79-74 victory. Oni struggled mightily, shooting just 2-for-16 from the floor and 1-for-10 from 3-point land.
It’s a whole different game now for both players, however. Waters and Oni figure to have uphill climbs making their respective 12-man rosters. They’ll both likely play for their teams in the upcoming NBA summer league and, at the very least, find a spot in the developmental G-League, with hopes of eventually earning a more permanent roster spot.
Meanwhile, UConn’s Jalen Adams is in a somewhat similar situation, even though he went undrafted. Adams has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the New Orleans Pelicans. Essentially, it’s a summer contract that can be converted to a regular-season contract or a two-way deal, or can expire at the end of training camp and allow Adams to become a free agent.
Adams can earn a bonus of $5,000 to $50,000 if he is waived by the Pelicans, signs with the G-League and is assigned to the Pelicans’ G-League affiliate and stays there at least 60 days. G-League salaries are about $35,000 for the five-month season.
Waters led LSU in scoring (15.1 ppg) and assists (5.8) this season and was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year. After helping LSU beat Yale in the NCAA tourney’s first round, he hit a last-second shot to give the Tigers a second-round win over Maryland and send them to the Sweet 16.
A 5-foot-10 point guard, Waters’ size was thought to be an issue, and there were questions whether he’d be drafted at all. But the dynamic point guard could end up being a steal for the Celtics. An NBA Western Conference scout told Hearst Connecticut Media earlier this week: “I like him. He played well when I saw him. He made a big improvement in the last year, playing his position. He shot the ball and gets where he needs to go.”
Waters, who attended South Kent Prep, then Notre Dame-West Haven for his final year of high school, becomes the first New Haven-born player selected in the NBA Draft since Scott Burrell in 1993. Before that, it was Earl Kelly in 1986. Greg Stokes (1985), Sly Williams (1979), Bruce Campbell (1978), John Williamson (1973) and Billy Evans (1969) are the other Elm City natives who have been drafted.
Oni, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, becomes the first Ivy League player drafted since Jerome Allen was taken by Minnesota in 1995, and the first Yale player selected since Chris Dudley was picked by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 1987 draft. He’s the second-highest Yale draft pick in NBA history, eclipsed only by Tony Lavelli, who was a first-round pick (fourth overall) by the Celtics ini 1949.
Oni, a 6-foot-6 guard from Northridge, Calif., led Yale in scoring and assists and was second in rebounding this season while leading the Bulldogs to an Ivy League title and their second trip to the NCAA tournament in four years.
Adams, a 6-3 guard, averaged a team-leading 17.7 points per game for the Huskies last season and finished with 1,657 career points, good for 12th on UConn’s all-time list.
The Huskies haven’t had a player selected in the NBA Draft since Daniel Hamilton was picked in the second round by Oklahoma City in 2016. david.borges @hearstmediact.com