Friday, June 29, 2012

Queens' Norfolk State product Kyle O'Quinn heads to Orlando Magic as 49th overall pick in 2012 NBA draft

Center who lead Norfolk State Spartans past No. 2 Missouri in historic NCAA Tournament victory looks to make big impact at the next level

QUEENS, New York -- Kyle O’Quinn became the darling of the NCAA Tournament’s first weekend by leading No. 15-seeded Norfolk State to an upset win over No. 2 Missouri.

It was a great story for the 6-10 Queens product, whose only scholarship offer out of Campus Magnet High was from the Spartans. And now the story has another great chapter after he was selected by the Orlando Magic in the second round of the NBA draft Thursday night.



The 6-10 center’s selection (No. 49) rounded out a strong night for the borough of Queens, which had three players taken. St. John’s Maurice Harkless went at No. 15 to Philadelphia. Doron Lamb, shooting guard from national champion Kentucky, was selected in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 42nd pick.

Iona point guard Scott Machado, a fourth Queens product, did not see his dream realized. After leading the nation with 9.9 assists per game and piloting the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament, he went undrafted. Machado, who also averaged 13.6 points and won the Haggerty Award as the metro area’s top player last season, likely will end up in some team’s camp as a free agent.



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