Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

NBA Draft:

Former Runnin’ Rebel Brandon McCoy goes undrafted

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Steve Marcus

UNLV’s Brandon McCoy returns to the court after a timeout against UNR in the 2018 Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship at the Thomas & Mack Center Thursday, March 8, 2018. McCoy left UNLV after one season.

Brandon McCoy came to UNLV with a plan to play one season of college basketball, then move on to the NBA. That one-and-done blueprint took a slight detour on Thursday, however, when the former Rebel did not hear his name called in the NBA Draft.

Sixty players were chosen, but McCoy was left on the board when all was said and done. Even after averaging 16.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game as a freshman, there were enough questions about McCoy's pro potential to drop him out of the second round.

UNLV struggled defensively with McCoy on the floor in 2017-18, and he did not display much of an outside shot during the season, attempting just nine 3-pointers and making three. He shot better during team workouts leading up to the draft, but not enough to entice an NBA franchise to select him.

McCoy earned Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors, and shortly after the season he declared for the draft. He hired representation at that time, and that prevented him from returning to school during the pre-draft process. The 20-year-old was initially viewed as a candidate to be selected in the first round, but his stock dropped steadily leading up to Thursday.

After the draft, it was reported by Yahoo Sports that McCoy had agreed to join the Milwaukee Bucks as a free agent. The 7-foot center will likely be playing for a roster spot during next month's Las Vegas Summer League.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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