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After weeks of anticipation and endless pundit projection, the 2008 NBA Draft finally arrived Thursday.

And with the 12th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft the Sacramento Kings selected… Jason Thompson.

The 6-foot-11 power forward joins the Kings exciting young nucleus that already includes Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Spencer Hawes and Quincy Douby.

The senior out of Rider averaged 20.4 points and 12.1 rebounds while being named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year (MAAC), leading the MAAC in rebounding and ranking second in scoring.

"He's just a tremendous all-around player for a big guy," Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie said. "One of the things that really impressed us is his ability to dribble the ball, pass the ball and run the floor along with that size. So we think, again, that he'll be a very multidimensional type of player for us and it gives us another young big to go along with Spencer (Hawes) as we try to move forward to improve the team."

Thompson was the first collegiate senior taken in the 2008 NBA Draft and became the first 12th overall pick in franchise history.

Sacramento followed up its choice of Thompson with two more senior selections in the second-round. The Kings selected University of Virginia point guard Sean Singletary and Georgetown small forward Patrick Ewing Jr. with the 42nd and 43rd overall picks, respectively.

After Chicago selected point guard Derrick Rose and Miami chose power forward Michael Beasley, the Timberwolves rounded out the top three with O.J. Mayo, completing a freshman sweep of the top three picks for the first time in NBA Draft history.

Check back with Kings.com soon for more Kings Draft coverage!

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