Hornets select Nebraska's Bryce McGowens in second round of 2022 NBA Draft
Bryce McGowens accomplished his life-long dream on Thursday night, as he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets (via trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves) with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft in New York City.
In the process, the former freshman standout also achieved a number of Nebraska firsts.
Not only did the 6-foot-6 native of Pendleton, South Carolina, solidify his claim as the Huskers’ first one-and-done player, but he also became NU’s highest draft pick since 1998, when Tyronn Lue was taken 23rd overall by the Denver Nuggets (then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers).
“This day has been amazing,” McGowens told reporters during his post-draft press conference. “Getting the chance to be here and celebrate this with my family – this was my dream since I can remember. So just being able to be here and get drafted, it means everything to me. I thank God.”
The former five-star recruit out of Greenville (S.C.) Legacy Early College is NU’s third drafted player over the past four years and the second in a row under head coach Fred Hoiberg.
Dalano Banton was selected by the Toronto Raptors (46th overall, second round) in 2021 and Isaiah Roby went to the Detroit Pistons then Dallas Mavericks (45th) in 2019.
Prior to Roby, the Huskers went 20 years without a single draft pick between 1999 and 2019.
While McGowens went through his share of highs and lows in Lincoln last season, he still ended his lone campaign as one of the most accomplished true freshmen in program history.
A third-team All-Big Ten and first-team Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection, McGowens was the runner-up for the conference’s Freshman of the Year award, finishing behind Ohio State’s Malaki Branham.
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McGowens said the Nebraska freshman records for points scored in a game (29 vs. Rutgers) and in a season (522). He was named the Big Ten Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press.
He led NU and all Big Ten freshmen with 16.8 points per game while ranking second among the league’s freshmen with 5.1 rebounds. His scoring average ranked third nationally for true freshmen, and his 162 made free throws topped that category.
When all was said and done, McGowens finished in the top-10 of the Nebraska freshmen single-season charts in points, free throws made (first), free throws attempted (195, first), field goals made (160, second), 3-pointers made (40, sixth), and rebounds (161, fourth).
He had 11 games scoring 20 points or more, with seven coming in Big Ten play. His 17.3 conference scoring average was the highest by a Big Ten freshman since Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell in 2014-15.
McGowens was named the league’s Freshman of the Week eight times last season, the second-most in Big Ten history behind only Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger (12) in 2010-11.
