BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Taurean Prince was selected by the Utah Jazz with the No. 12 pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday night at Barclays Center. The Jazz reportedly agreed to trade Prince’s draft rights to the Atlanta Hawks prior to the selection.
Prince became the third-highest NBA Draft selection in Baylor history, trailing only Ekpe Udoh (No. 6 in 2010) and Vinnie Johnson (No. 7 in 1979). He joined Udoh as the only lottery picks from Baylor since the system debuted in 1985.
Prince’s selection gives Baylor six NBA draft picks in the last five years, tied for sixth-most nationally in that span, trailing only Kentucky (19), Duke (10), Syracuse (10), Kansas (eight) and North Carolina (eight). The Bears’ six selections are tied with Arizona, UCLA, Louisville, Michigan and Michigan State.
Baylor was once again the only Texas team to have a player drafted. The Bears have accounted for six of nine NBA Draft picks from Texas teams over the last five years – North Texas, Texas and Texas A&M have had one draftee apiece in that span.
Prince is the first Baylor player drafted by the Utah Jazz, the 20th draft pick in program history and the sixth Baylor player drafted in the first round.
Six Big 12 Conference players were selected – Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield (No. 6), Prince (No. 12), Kansas’ Chieck Diallo (No. 33), Iowa State’s Georges Niang (No. 50) and Abdel Nader (No. 58) and Oklahoma’s Isaiah Cousins (No. 59).
Prince entered Baylor as an unheralded recruit out of San Antonio’s Warren High School. A late addition to the 2012 signing class that included Rico Gathers and Isaiah Austin, Prince developed from a player who averaged just 6.4 minutes per game as a freshman into a two-time All-Big 12 honoree who led the team with 15.9 points per game as a senior. He also graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in May, four years after enrolling at Baylor.
Prince played in the postseason in all four years at Baylor, guiding the team to NCAA Tournament berths in each of his last three seasons. He helped the Bears claim the 2013 NIT title and a 2014 NCAA Sweet 16 berth. BU went a combined 95-48 during his four-year career, and he ranks 13th on Baylor’s all-time scoring list with 1,321 career points.
BAYLOR NBA DRAFT HISTORY
YEAR NAMES, POS. RD PICK TEAM
1949 James Owens, G/F 2 21 Washington
1950 Don Heathington, F/C 9 - New York
1957 Jerry Mallett, G 4 31 Syracuse
1965 Spencer Carlson, F 10 79 St. Louis
1967 Darrell Hardy, C 3 21 Detroit
1971 William Chatmon, F 15 218 Buffalo
1979 Vinnie Johnson, G 1 7 Seattle
1982 Terry Teagle, G 1 16 Houston
1986 Carlos Briggs, G 4 79 San Antonio
1988 Michael Williams, G 2 48 Detroit
Darryl Middleton, F/C 3 68 Atlanta
1993 Alex Holcombe, C 2 44 Sacramento
1998 Brian Skinner, F/C 1 22 L.A. Clippers
2010 Ekpe Udoh, F/C 1 6 Golden State
2012 Perry Jones III, F 1 28 Oklahoma City
Quincy Acy, F 2 37 Toronto
Quincy Miller, F 2 38 Denver
2013 Pierre Jackson, G 2 42 Philadelphia
2014 Cory Jefferson, F 2 60 San Antonio
2016 Taurean Prince, F 1 12 Utah
MOST NBA DRAFT PICKS SINCE 2012
Kentucky – 19
Duke – 10
Syracuse – 10
Kansas – 8
North Carolina – 8
BAYLOR – 6
Arizona – 6
Louisville – 6
Michigan – 6
Michigan State – 6
UCLA – 6
BIG 12 NBA DRAFT PICKS SINCE 2012
Kansas – 8
BAYLOR – 6
Iowa State – 3
Oklahoma – 3
Oklahoma State – 2
Texas – 1
NBA DRAFT PICKS FROM TEXAS SCHOOLS SINCE 2012
BAYLOR – 6
North Texas – 1
Texas – 1
Texas A&M – 1
