By CHUCKIE MAGGIO and JOHN LIKANJE
Throughout the 1990s, while Obi Toppin’s new employer was firmly ensconced in championship contention, the Atlantic 10 made a habit of sending its best players to the NBA Draft.
The A-10 boasted 18 NBA draftees in the decade, eight of whom were first-rounders, including four lottery picks (Temple guard Mark Macon in 1991 and forward Eddie Jones in 1994, UMass big man Marcus Camby in 1996 and Rhode Island forward Lamar Odom in 1999). In comparison, the league featured four first-rounders in the 1980s and just two in the 1970s.
Eight A-10 players have heard their name in the first round in the 21st century, and two of them were on the same 2003-04 St. Joseph’s Hawks team. Of the conference’s 21 draftees since 2000, nine played for Temple or Xavier; those schools left for the American Athletic Conference and Big East, respectively.
Toppin, the No. 8 overall selection in Nov. 18’s NBA Draft, was the league’s first first-round pick since St. Joseph’s forward DeAndre’ Bembry in 2016 and first top-10 selection since Odom. For the Brooklyn native who attended Ossining High School in Westchester County, being picked by the New York Knicks made the moment even more special.
Dayton’s prodigious 2019-20 season not only restored some of the national legitimacy the league lost when the Owls and Musketeers departed in 2013, it presented the A-10’s first star since Jameer Nelson. Toppin’s ascent from overlooked high schooler and first-year redshirt to New York Knick has the potential to lend credibility to NBA hopefuls like former Dayton teammate Jalen Crutcher and Saint Louis senior Javonte Perkins.
The A-10 has represented well in the Association. Camby made the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team, landed on the All-Defensive Team four times and was the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year. Odom, who scored 12,781 career points, made the NBA All-Rookie First Team, starred on the 2009 and 2010 Los Angeles Lakers championship teams and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011. Nelson was an All-Star in 2009, helping lead the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals and averaging 11.3 points per game in a
14-year career.
Camby was a Knick for four seasons, including the 1998-99 team that won the Eastern Conference, while New York also drafted A-10 alumni like St. Bonaventure’s Mark Jones and Penn State’s Mike Lang in the 1980s. But no Knicks-Atlantic 10 connection has more stakes attached to it than Toppin’s future with the rebuilding orange and blue.
Dayton’s 41st player to be taken in the NBA Draft, Toppin has a legitimate opportunity to have a bigger impact than Camby. Toppin is the most hyped Knicks prospect since Kristaps Porzingis in 2015 and for good reason, too.
Besides being a local talent and great scorer, the 6-foot-9 forward possesses the skill set necessary for a frontcourt player to succeed in the modern NBA: a solid frame (Toppin is listed as 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds), a good rebounder (6.6 boards per game at UD) and ability to space the floor (41.7 percent three-point shooter in college). The floor spacing is especially important for a Knicks squad which was 27th in the league in three-point percentage (33.7 percent) and last in both three-pointers made per game (9.6) and total makes (631).
Along with RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson, Toppin seeks to lead his hometown franchise back to relevancy for the first time since fellow Brooklyn native Carmelo Anthony did so in 2013.
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