McDonogh graduate DaJuan Summers had to wait about three hours before hearing his named called in Thursday night's NBA Draft, although the anxious moments were definitely worth it to him.

The Detroit Pistons selected the Georgetown University star in the second round, 35th overall.

"I am sure he is very excited," said Donta Evans, who coached Summers for two years at McDonogh and had been talking to him leading up to the draft. "He's been dreaming about this since he started playing basketball."

Now that the draft is over, Summers will likely turn his attention to getting ready to play in the NBA Rookie Summer League in July.

Don't be surprised the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward will be eager to prove the doubters wrong. He expected to among the first 30 picks in the draft instead of falling to the early part of the second round.

Second-round picks don’t receive guaranteed contracts like first-round selections.

"This will just provide another chip on his shoulder for him to play through," Evans said.  "I know he believes that he was a first-round talent. I am sure there will be even more motivation for him since he went in the second round."

Summers decided to enter the draft after his junior season in which he averaged a team-high 13.6 points and 4.1 rebounds while showing a nice touch from three-point range (38.5 percent).

He helped the Hoyas to the NCAA tournament as both a freshman and sophomore, averaging 11.1 points per game in 2008 after being named to the All-Big East rookie team when the Hoyas advanced to the Final Four in 2007.

---

user comments (0)