***NOTE: No Big 12 player has gone 33rd overall***
Best Big 12 Player Drafted #32: Jackson Vroman, Iowa St. Cyclones, by the Chicago Bulls in 2004.
Vroman might not have been the best NBA player of all time - career 4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for his career - but Vroman was somewhat of a big deal in Iran. During the 2009 and 2010 season Vroman was named MVP of the Asian Championship in 2009, leading his squad to an Asian Championship, West Asia Championship and Iranian Super League championship. Not quite the NBA, but sometimes it's good to be a big fish in a small pond.
Other Notable Big 12 Players Drafted 32nd: Dexter Pittman, Texas Longhorns, by the Miami Heat in 2010.
Best Non-Big 12 Player Drafted 32nd: Rashard Lewis, Alief Elsik High School, by the Seattle Supersoncs in 1998.
The high school-to-NBA star probably should have played a year or two in college before making the jump to the pro league After his first two years, he looked to be another "Stay in School" statistic, averaging 2.4 points per game his rookie season and 8.2 ppg in his second. Since then, he's been the Rashard Lewis we've all come accustomed to seeing. Beginning with his third season he has started 743 of the 745 games he's played. His career scoring average, 16.7 ppg, is also twice his season average his second season and eight times what it was his "deer in a headlights" first season.
In preparation for the 2011 NBA Draft, each day until June 23 we'll count down the best Big 12 player drafted with each pick. This list only takes into account players who played in the Big 12, so it starts with the 1997 draft. In total 70 Big 12 alumni have been selected, filling 43 of the 60 possible slots.
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