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Isaiah Roby picked in 2nd Round, first Husker selected in NBA Draft since 1999
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A twenty-year drought for Nebraska basketball has come to an end.
On Thursday night, Nebraska basketball star Isaiah Roby was selected in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft, taken with the No. 45 pick by the Detroit Pistons, but will head to the Dallas Mavericks via trade. He’s the first Husker hoops player to be drafted since 1999, when Venson Hamilton was picked by the Houston Rockets.
Roby was a three-year player under Tim Miles in Lincoln, appearing in at least 30 games every season. In his junior campaign last season, Roby averaged career highs in points (11.8), rebounds (6.9), assists (1.9) and steals (1.3). He also averaged 1.9 blocks per game.
At times throughout his career, Roby proved to be a player who could score at will. That was apparent in the final month of the 2018-19 season, when he reached double figures in six of Nebraska’s final seven games. That included a season-high 28-point performance against Butler in the NIT.
Roby was the fifth player from the B1G selected in the NBA Draft. Romeo Langford (No. 14), Jordan Poole (No. 28), Carsen Edwards (No. 33) and Bruno Fernando (No. 34) also heard their names called Thursday.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB