Noah Clowney drafted in first round of NBA draft

Alabama had its second player picked in Thursday night’s NBA draft.

Forward Noah Clowney was taken 21st overall by Brooklyn Nets to join Brandon Miller as classmates taken in the opening round. They became the first Alabama duo taken in the opening round since 1995 when Antonio McDyess (2nd overall) and Jason Caffey (20th) did so.

Clowney and Miller are the sixth and seventh Alabama players drafted since Collin Sexton went eighth overall in 2018. Before that, the program had a 10-year drought for any draft pick with a first-round dry spell dating back to 2001 and Gerald Wallace.

Miller went to the Charlotte Hornets with the No. 2 overall pick earlier Thursday.

For Clowney, his rise to first-round status was somewhat different from Miller’s. The 99th-best recruit in the 247Sports rankings for 2022, the Roebuck, S.C. product didn’t have quite the hype as the McDonald’s All-American but Clowney quickly showed his potential. A 22-point night in a Dec. 3 win over South Dakota State included 5-for-12 shooting from 3-point range.

Outside shooting would be streaky for the 6-foot-10 forward who made 3-of-4 shots in a win at Arkansas before missing his next 20 in the five-game span that followed.

Clowney finished his freshman year scoring 9.8 points a game with 7.9 rebounds a night. One of his biggest performances came with a 16-point performance in a 71-65 win at then-No. 1 Houston on a day Miller struggled to 0-for-8 shooting from the field.

Alabama still has an outside shot at having a third player drafted Thursday with center Charles Bediako still in play.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook