MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The best defensive player in college basketball the last two seasons has found a home in the NBA. 
 
West Virginia guard Jevon Carter, who won the inaugural Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year award at this year's Final Four, was the 32nd overall pick in the second round of tonight's NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. The general manager of the Grizzlies is West Virginia native Chris Wallace.
 
The Maywood, Illinois, resident becomes just the fourth Bob Huggins-coached player at West Virginia to be drafted by an NBA team, joining Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks in 2010 and Joe Alexander in 2008.
 
"Carter was one of the best defenders in college basketball, being the centerpiece of West Virginia's full-court press," wrote ESPN.com NBA Draft analyst and reporter Jonathan Givony."No one did a better job of slowing down Trae Young in the Big 12. He picks up 94 feet, is a menace in the passing lanes and generally makes life difficult for opponents."
 
Givony listed Carter's potential role in the NBA as an "agitator."
 

Congrats to Jevon Carter on being selected by the @memgrizz with the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 #NBADraft! #HailWV pic.twitter.com/TPsaKHK1we

— WVU Basketball (@WVUhoops) June 22, 2018

His brilliant four-year career at West Virginia saw him become the first major college player and just the fifth ever to score more than 1,500 points (1,758), grab more than 500 rebounds (538), hand out more than 500 assists (559) and make more than 300 steals (330) during his career.
 
Carter's senior season in 2018 saw him average a team-best 17.3 points per game in leading West Virginia to its third NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in his four seasons at WVU. The Mountaineers reached the Big 12 Tournament championship game three straight seasons, including this year's championship game loss to Kansas, and they posted an outstanding 47-25 record in conference play during Carter's four seasons wearing a WVU uniform.
 
He made the All-Big 12 Defensive Team four straight years, he was a two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and he was a unanimous choice on this year's All-Big 12 First Team.
 
Jevon scored a career-high 33 points against Oklahoma State and tallied 20 points or more in a game 24 times for his career. Carter became just the 12^thplayer in school history to be named first team All-America when he was named to the 10-member John Wooden All-America team and his name sits at or near the top of nearly every major statistical category in school history. He owns the season and career WVU records for steals.
 
Carter becomes the 35^thplayer in school history to be selected in the draft and the highest since Alexander was the eighth overall choice in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
 
Only eight WVU players (Mark Workman, No. 1 in 1952, Hot Rod Hundley, No. 1 in 1957, Lloyd Sharrar, No. 12 in 1958, Bob Smith, No. 19 in 1958, Jerry West, No. 2 in 1960, Rod Thorn, No. 2 in 1963, Ron Williams, No. 9 in 1968 and Alexander) have gone higher than Carter.
 
He is just the fifth Mountaineer player taken since the NBA Draft was pared to two rounds in 1989.
 
Carter was the fourth Big 12 player taken in this year's draft after Oklahoma's Trae Young (No. 5), Texas' Mohammed Bamba (No. 6) and Texas Tech's Zhaire Smith (No. 16).
 
This year's annual event was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
 
Below is a complete listing of West Virginia's NBA Draft history:
 
Year, Player, Round (Pick), Position, Team
2018, Jevon Carter, 2nd Round (32), G, Memphis Grizzlies
2010, Da'Sean Butler, 2^ndRound (42), G, Miami Heat
2010, Devin Ebanks, 2^ndRound (43), F, Los Angeles Lakers
2008, Joe Alexander, 1^stRound (8), F, Milwaukee Bucks
1997, Gordon Malone, 2^ndRound (43), F, Minnesota Timberwolves
1987, Eric Semisch, 7^thRound (154), F, Philadelphia 76ers
1986, Dale Blaney, 4^thRound (92), G, Los Angeles Lakers
1984, Tim Kearney, 3^rdRound (65), C, Portland Trailblazers
1983, Greg Jones, 3^rdRound (49), G, Indiana Pacers
1983, Russel Todd, 6^thRound (120), F, Milwaukee Bucks
1982, Phil Collins, 7^thRound (161), C, Boston Celtics
1981, Greg Nance, 7^thRound (140), F, Detroit Pistons
1980, Lowes Moore, 3^rdRound (52), G, New Jersey Nets
1978, Maurice Robinson, 9^thRound (177), F, Atlanta Hawks
1977, Tony Robertson, 4^thRound (88), G Los Angeles Lakers
1976, Stan Boskovich, 8^thRound (140), G, Golden State Warriors
1975, Jerome Anderson, 3^rdRound (53), G, Boston Celtics
1974, Bob Hornstein, 7^thRound (126), F, Milwaukee Bucks
1972, Wil Robinson, 4^thRound (54), G, Houston Rockets
1968, Ron Williams, 1^stRound (9), G, San Francisco Warriors
1968, Dave Reaser, 7^thRound (85), F, San Francisco Warriors
1967, Bob Benfield, 6^thRound (60), C, New York Knicks
1964, Tom Lowry, 11^thRound (87), C, Philadelphia 76ers
1963, Rod Thorn, 1^stRound (2), G, Baltimore Bullets
1963, Jim McCormick, 6^thRound (49), G, Cincinnati Royals
1961, Lee Patrone, 6^thRound (53), G, Detroit Pistons
1960, Jerry West, 1^stRound (2), G, Minneapolis Lakers
1959, Bob Smith, 3^rdRound (18), F, Minneapolis Lakers
1958, Lloyd Sharrar, 2^ndRound (12), C, Philadelphia Warriors
1957, Rod Hundley, 1^stRound (1), G, Cincinnati Royals
1956, Willie Bergines, 11^thRound, F, Syracuse Nationals
1953, Jim Sottile, 7^thRound, G, Rochester Royals
1952, Mark Workman, 1st Round (1), C, Milwaukee Hawks
1952, Harry Moore, 6^thRound, F, Syracuse Nationals
1950, Ed Beach, 5^thRound, F, Minneapolis Lakers
 
Bold face type - played in NBA