SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have selected Livio Jean-Charles with the 28th overall pick and Deshaun Thomas with the 58th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.
Jean-Charles, a 19-year-old Frenchman, spent last season playing for Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne of the French Pro-A League. In 29 games, the 6-9 forward averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes. In April 2013, he participated in the Nike Hoop Summit where he was named the Most Outstanding Player after a 27-point, 13-rebound effort. In the summer of 2012 he averaged 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds for France in the European U20 Championships.
Thomas, an early entry candidate, spent three seasons at Ohio State University. As a junior he was named an Associated Press Third Team All-American and was a First Team All-Big 10 selection while leading the conference in scoring. In 37 games the 6-7 forward averaged 19.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 35.4 minutes. In four NCAA Tournament games he averaged 22.3 points and was selected to the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team.
For his career with the Buckeyes, Thomas appeared in 113 games, averaging 14.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in 27.0 minutes. He finished ranked ninth on OSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,630 points and eighth in three-pointers made with 143. Thomas played in three NCAA Sweet 16s, a pair of Elite Eights and one Final Four with Ohio State.