Washington Wizards Select Mizzou’s Jordan Clarkson in 2nd Round of NBA Draft

Update- 10:45 PM: Clarkson is now heading to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a draft-day trade. He’ll likely team with players such as Kendall Marshall, Kent Bazemore, and MarShon Brooks to provide the Lakers with young depth in the backcourt.

The Washington Wizards have selected Missouri combo guard Jordan Clarkson with the 46th pick overall in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. After projections that Clarkson could be taken late in the first round, it was a bit surprising that he dropped all the way to the middle of the second.

Clarkson, a 6-foot-5, 193-pounder who declared for the draft following his second season of on-court action, is the 48th Mizzou basketball player to be taken in the NBA Draft, and the first since Alex Oriakhi, who was taken with the 57th pick overall by the Phoenix Suns in 2013. (Oriahki has yet to play in the NBA, so Kim English, who was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2012 draft, is the last Mizzou player to make it as a pro.) He played one year with the Tigers after transferring from Tulsa, putting up an impressive performance by leading the team with 3.4 assists per game and finishing second on the squad with 17.5 points per game. Clarkson is seen as a player who could be a physical weapon if utilized correctly at point guard, and he has a solid shooting stroke.