CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday selected guard Collin Sexton from the University of Alabama with the eighth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Sexton (6-3, 190) played one year collegiately at Alabama, averaging 19.2 points (second-most in SEC), 3.8 rebounds and a team-high 3.6 assists in 33 games (32 starts) during 2017-18. His 632 total points were the third-most for any player in a single season in school history as well as the most ever by an Alabama freshman. Sexton scored 10 points or more on 29 occasions, 20 points or more 16 times and 30 points or more in three contests. He set an Alabama freshman scoring record with 40 points, including 31 in the second half, on Nov. 25 against Minnesota, while also becoming the first Tide player to score 40 points in a game since 1979. Sexton also helped lead Alabama to its first NCAA tournament win since 2006 with a victory over Virginia Tech on March 15.
Following his freshman campaign, Sexton was named 2017-18 SEC Newcomer of the Year and Co-Freshman of the Year, becoming just the second Alabama player to ever earn the Freshman honor (Mo Williams, 2002). He also earned All-SEC First Team honors as voted by media, and was tabbed All-SEC Second Team and All-Freshman Team by SEC coaches. A 2017-18 AP Honorable Mention All-America selection, Sexton was additionally named to the SEC All-Tournament team after scoring a school-record 79 points over the Tide’s three games.
The Marietta, Ga. native played at Pebblebrook High School (Mableton, Ga.), where he was a 2016-17 Naismith High School All-American Second Team selection. He won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Zaragoza, Spain, and was named MVP of the tournament after leading Team USA in both scoring and assists.