DeMarre off to Memphis

Missouri forward DeMarre Carroll was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 27th overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA Draft. He is the first Tiger to be drafted since Linas Kleiza in 2005, who was also taken at #27. The 2009 NBA draft has capped off an amazing year for DeMarre, who topped the Tigers with 16.8 points per game and 7.3 boards. He also scored his 1000th point as a Tiger this year, having only played two seasons for Mizzou after transferring from Vanderbilt. Carroll led the University of Missouri to a school record 31 wins during his 08-09 campaign, and the teams first ever Big XII Title where he was named most valuable player of the tournament. The teams success did not end there, as they carried the momentum from the Big XII Tournament into the big dance, where Mizzou knocked off Cornell, Marquette, and highly touted Memphis before falling in the Elite Eight to the one-seed Connecticut. For his regular season efforts, Carroll was named first team All-Big XII along with the top overall pick, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffen. Carroll also received recognition for his work in the classroom, being the only Tiger to earn first team All-Academic honors for the Big XII, which requires a grade-point average greater than 3.2. Senior Matt Lawrence was named to the Big XII’s All-Academic second team. Carroll’s teammate, fellow senior Leo Lyons went undrafted, but may still sign with a team as a free agent. DeMarre was one of four players drafted this year from the Big XII, including brothers Blake Griffen (#1 overall) and Taylor Griffen (#48 overall) from Oklahoma, as well as Chinemelu Elonu (#59 overall) from Texas A&M. DeMarre Carroll is the 13th first round pick in Missouri history and the 40th player to go pro after being a Tiger.