AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club has selected Greg Monroe with the seventh pick in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft held on Thursday, June 24. The club also selected Terrico White with the 36th pick.
“We are pleased to draft Greg Monroe with the No. 7 pick,” said Joe Dumars, Pistons President of Basketball Operations. “He’s a skilled player with a high basketball IQ and someone we feel can step in and make plays for us on the offensive and defensive end. We are also real pleased to add Terrico White who will have an opportunity to come in and help our team.”
Monroe, a 6-11 forward from Georgetown University, averaged 16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocks in 34 games as a sophomore for the Hoyas. The New Orleans, LA native was named to the Big East All-Tournament team after averaging 19.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists on .545 shooting from the floor while leading the Hoyas to the championship game. Monroe recorded 14 double-doubles last season (13 points/rebounds and one points/assists), led the team in scoring 13 times, in rebounding 30 times and in assists 15 times. He scored a career-high 29 points and tied career-high 16 rebounds at Villanova (1/17/10) and his career-high 12 assists at Providence (2/9/10) were the most by a center in Big East history.
As a freshman, Monroe was named Big East Rookie of the Year after averaging 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 2.5 assists in 31 games. He recorded 17 consecutive double-figure scoring games, including four doubles and scored a season-high 21 points while grabbing 10 rebounds at Notre Dame (2/28/09).
White, a 6-foot-5 guard from University of Mississippi, ranked second on the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game and averaged 4.6 rebounds a game last season. He scored in double figures in 26 of 35 games and scored 20-plus points six times. White scored a career-high-tying 29 points (11-18 FG) against Jacksonville State (12/29/09) and scored 27 points (11-20 FG) vs. Troy (3/17/10) in the NIT Tournament.
White earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors in 2009 when he averaged 13.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He averaged 18.4 points in SEC play and scored 20-plus points nine times, including a career-high 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting against Arkansas (3/4/09). A native of Memphis, TN, White was a member of the gold-medal winning United States under 19 National Team in the FIBA World Championship in the summer of 2009.