Courtesy of GoXavier.com
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Former Xavier University guard Edmond Sumner was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft. Sumner was the 22nd pick of the second round and the 52nd pick overall. New Orleans then traded the draft rights to Sumner to the Indiana Pacers in a draft night trade.
Sumner will see some familiar Xavier faces in the NBA, including David West, who won an NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors this past season. Semaj Christon (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Jordan Crawford (New Orleans Pelicans) are the two other former Musketeers that are active players, while James Posey has enjoyed success as a player as a two-time NBA Champion and as an assistant coach, winning an NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
Sumner is Xavier’s 15th former player to be selected in either the first or second round of the NBA Draft, including the 10th in the last 20 years. The latest prior to Sumner was Christon, a 2014 NBA Draft Second Round selection whose draft rights were traded on draft night to Oklahoma City. He was originally chosen by Miami.
The 6-6 Sumner, a 2016-17 Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection, led Xavier in assists at 5.0 apg. and was second on the team in scoring at 15.0 ppg. this past season before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 29 vs. St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. He earned a spot on the BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll after contributing career-high 28 points with eight rebounds and six assists in the win at Georgetown on Dec. 31. In all, he scored in double figures in 19 of his 21 games.
Following a redshirt year in 2014-15, Sumner broke out his freshman year in 2015-16, earning Kyle Macy Freshman All-America honors from collegeinsider.com after averaging 11.0 ppg. and 3.6 apg., which were both second on the team. Sumner was a unanimous selection to the 2015-16 All-BIG EAST Freshman Team by the BIG EAST coaches and named Second Team All-BIG EAST by CBS Sports and Bleacher Report. He earned USBWA Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Week honors after leading Xavier to a December comeback win at Wake Forest with 21 points and nine rebounds.
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