KXXV-TV News Channel 25 - Central Texas News and Weather for Waco, Temple, Killeen | Lakers take A&M's Chinemelu Elonu in second round of NBA draft

Lakers take A&M's Chinemelu Elonu in second round of NBA draft

Texas A&M Media Relations

NEW YORK -- Former Texas A&M center Chinemelu Elonu was taken by the Los Angeles
Lakers in the second round of Thursday night's NBA Draft.

The NBA champions chose the 6-foot-10 Elonu with the 59th overall pick. Elonu earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors last season after averaging 9.8 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds and 53 blocked shots. He set a school record by making 66.5 percent from the field and was named the Big 12's most improved player.

"I was getting a little nervous when there were only a couple of picks left, but I decided early in the night to just leave it all in God's hands," Elonu said. "I was with a lot of friends and family and they gave me a lot of support. It's an honor to be drafted by the NBA champions. I think I can learn a lot from their big men and become a better player. It's also a exciting to have a chance to play for a great coach like Phil Jackson. I just want to thank everyone at A&M for all they did for me and for making this possible."

A&M has now had a player chosen in four of the last five NBA Drafts. The others were Antoine Wright in 2005 (first round to the New Jersey Nets), Acie Law IV in 2007 (first round to the Atlanta Hawks) and DeAndre Jordan in 2008 (second round to the Los Angeles Clippers). Prior to Wright's selection in 2005, A&M had not had a player drafted since Winston Crite in 1987.