Big 12 NBA Draft History: With the 7th Overall Pick...

Best Big 12 Player Drafted #7: Kirk Hinrich, Kansas Jayhawks, by the Chicago Bulls in 2003.
Heinrich was damn good at KU. Who good? He is one of 25 players to have his jersey hanging from the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse. Heinrich translated that success to a quick rise in the NBA, averaging double-digit scoring in seven of his eight years (the odd year was an injury plagued season where he netted 9.9 ppg, seven pts on the season shy of averaging an even 10... maybe we should round up...)

Other Notable Big 12 Players Drafted 7th: Chris Mihm, Texas Longhorns, by the Chicago Bulls in 2000.

Best Non-Big 12 Player Drafted 7th: Stephen Curry, Davidson Wildcats, by the Golden State Warriors in 2009.
Curry is a pure scorer, in a Golden State offense that craves scorers, so maybe his ppg are inflated, but I think he'd be a scorer regardless of the offense he ran. This was a tough choice, though, because if you like points, it seems that eight is the spot to draft. Besides Curry, there is Eric Gordon, Corey Brewer, Charlie Villanueva, Nene Hilario and Rip Hamilton. F the bunch, though, I think I'd want Curry on my squad.

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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