SACRAMENTO, CA -- The Sacramento Kings tonight (Thursday, June 25th) selected University of Kentucky forward/center Willie Cauley-Stein in the first round (6th overall) of the 2015 NBA Draft.
An early entry candidate, the 7-0, 240-pound Cauley-Stein earned Consensus First Team All-American and Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2014-15. He finished his Wildcat career as the only player in school history to record at least 500 rebounds, 200 blocks and 100 steals. Cauley-Stein ranks second all-time in the UK record books with 233 blocked shots.
Cauley-Stein averaged 8.9 points (.572 FG%, .617 FT%), 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 39 contests for the Wildcats in 2014-15. He captured USBWA District IV Player of the Year, SEC Tournament MVP, First Team All-SEC and All-SEC Defensive Team honors. Kentucky, the SEC regular-season and tournament champion, became the first Division I team to reach the Final Four with an undefeated record (39-0) since UNLV in 1991.
This is only the second time a Kentucky player has been drafted by the Kings in the first round (2010, DeMarcus Cousins). In franchise history, the Kings have selected three players out of the University of Kentucky, the first being Bob Guyette, selected in the third round of the 1975 NBA Draft. For the seventh consecutive Draft, the Kings selected an early entry candidate.
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