TUSCALOOSA ?? Among the men hoping their dream will come true on Thursday and will hear their name called by the NBA when it holds its annual draft is former University of Alabama forward Jermareo Davidson. The 6-foot-10 Atlanta, Ga., native played all four seasons for the Crimson Tide and was an All-Southeastern Conference player.
The 2007 NBA draft begins on television on ESPN at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 28. Davidson plans to be in his hometown of Atlanta for the draft.
“I would like to say thanks to everyone back in Alabama for supporting me,” said Davidson who averaged 14.0 points and 8.2 rebounds this past season. “This process has been tough and exciting at the same time, because you only get one chance to do this so the pressure is big. I’m working hard to achieve my goal to become an NBA player. I have had many workouts with teams and I look forward to Thursday and starting my professional basketball career.”
The University of Alabama has had 31 players drafted and a total of 38 former players make it to the NBA. Alabama’s last drafted player was Mo Williams who went in the second round and was the 47th overall pick in the 2003 draft. He’s a free agent now and has been playing for the Milwaukee Bucks since August of 2004. The Crimson Tide has had 14 players selected in the NBA’s 1st round, the latest of those being Gerald Wallace who was the 24th overall pick of the 2001 draft, selected by Sacramento. He’s also a free agent this summer after playing since June 2004 with the Charlotte Bobcats.
Alabama had four active players in the NBA this past season, Williams with the Bucks, Wallace with the Bobcats, Antonio McDyess with the Pistons and, Robert Horry with the San Antonio Spurs. Horry, who is Alabama’s all-time leading shot blocker, has won seven NBA World Championships. A first round draft pick (11th overall) by the Houston Rockets following his senior season at Alabama in 1992, Horry won two world championships with the Rockets (1994, 1995), three with the LA Lakers (2000, 2001, 2002) and now two with the Spurs (2005, 2007). It’s the most NBA World Championships by any active NBA player.
Tide coach Mark Gottfried has had three of his Tide players drafted, Wallace in 2001 in the 1st round by Sacramento, Rod Grizzard in the 2nd round by the Washington Wizards in 2002, and Williams by the Jazz in the 2nd round in 2003. Others continue to play in European leagues, including 2003 Alabama graduate Erwin Dudley who was the Turkish league’s Center MVP, and All-SEC players Kennedy Winston (Greece), Chuck Davis (Turkey), Kenny Walker (Poland), and Earnest Shelton (Turkey) among others.
