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WVU’s McBride Selected in 2021 NBA Draft
July 30, 2021 12:12 AM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – New York City is where Miles McBride is apparently headed.
West Virginia's sophomore guard was the 36th pick in the second round of this year's NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, but his draft rights were traded to the New York Knicks.
According to the New York Post's Mark Berman, the Knicks were extremely impressed with McBride's personal workouts and he speculated earlier this week that they might use one of their two first-round selections on him.
But New York traded both picks at No. 19 and No. 21, and ended up getting the draft rights to the Los Angeles Clippers' No. 25 choice Quentin Grimes, a 6-foot-5 guard from Houston.
The Knicks finished fourth in the Eastern Conference this year with a 41-31 record.
"They're going to get some real toughness," said ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas during Thursday night's draft coverage. "He is an excellent defender, very good on the ball, very good and aggressive with his pressure, good lateral quickness and a ton of grit.
"He's another high school quarterback; his mid-range game is really his go-to on the offensive end. He's only 6-2 and that may be the only thing you can say negative about him is he's not as big as you might like," Bilas added.
Several mock drafts had projected McBride as a late first round choice, but he ultimately ended up falling into the second round where contracts are not guaranteed.
McBride earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors after averaging 15.9 points, 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game during his sophomore season for the 19-10 Mountaineers, which lost to Syracuse in a third-round NCAA Tournament game in Indianapolis.
The Cincinnati resident played 60 career games over two seasons for West Virginia, averaging 12.6 points and shooting 41.9% from the floor.
He becomes the 41st player in school history to be drafted, and the fifth under coach Bob Huggins. The veteran coach's other draft picks at WVU include first-rounder Joe Alexander, and second-round picks Devin Ebanks, Da'Sean Butler and Jevon Carter.
Alexander was the eighth overall choice by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2008, Butler went No. 42 to the Miami Heat and Ebanks No. 43 to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010, and Carter was taken No. 32 by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018.
Incidentally, Carter was recently traded by the Phoenix Suns to the Brooklyn Nets before this year's draft.
Nine first-round selections were traded and 15 of the first 43 picks were dealt to other teams in a very trade-heavy draft.
West Virginia's sophomore guard was the 36th pick in the second round of this year's NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, but his draft rights were traded to the New York Knicks.
According to the New York Post's Mark Berman, the Knicks were extremely impressed with McBride's personal workouts and he speculated earlier this week that they might use one of their two first-round selections on him.
But New York traded both picks at No. 19 and No. 21, and ended up getting the draft rights to the Los Angeles Clippers' No. 25 choice Quentin Grimes, a 6-foot-5 guard from Houston.
The Knicks finished fourth in the Eastern Conference this year with a 41-31 record.
"They're going to get some real toughness," said ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas during Thursday night's draft coverage. "He is an excellent defender, very good on the ball, very good and aggressive with his pressure, good lateral quickness and a ton of grit.
"He's another high school quarterback; his mid-range game is really his go-to on the offensive end. He's only 6-2 and that may be the only thing you can say negative about him is he's not as big as you might like," Bilas added.
Several mock drafts had projected McBride as a late first round choice, but he ultimately ended up falling into the second round where contracts are not guaranteed.McBride earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors after averaging 15.9 points, 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game during his sophomore season for the 19-10 Mountaineers, which lost to Syracuse in a third-round NCAA Tournament game in Indianapolis.
The Cincinnati resident played 60 career games over two seasons for West Virginia, averaging 12.6 points and shooting 41.9% from the floor.
He becomes the 41st player in school history to be drafted, and the fifth under coach Bob Huggins. The veteran coach's other draft picks at WVU include first-rounder Joe Alexander, and second-round picks Devin Ebanks, Da'Sean Butler and Jevon Carter.
Alexander was the eighth overall choice by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2008, Butler went No. 42 to the Miami Heat and Ebanks No. 43 to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010, and Carter was taken No. 32 by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018.
Incidentally, Carter was recently traded by the Phoenix Suns to the Brooklyn Nets before this year's draft.
Nine first-round selections were traded and 15 of the first 43 picks were dealt to other teams in a very trade-heavy draft.
Players Mentioned
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