Seton Hall University Athletics - Official Athletics Website
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BROOKLYN – Seton Hall University men's basketball graduate Sandro Mamukelashvili '21 (Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia), capped off his tremendous collegiate career Thursday evening when he was selected 54th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the current world champion Milwaukee Bucks.
Mamukelashvili becomes Seton Hall's 29th all-time NBA Draft pick, and first-ever Pirate selected by the Bucks. Seton Hall men's basketball alumni have played 6,639 career games in the NBA, led by 2001 first-round pick Samuel Dalembert, who appeared in 886 games over a 13-year career.
Mamukelashvili is the second NBA draft pick under Pirates head coach Kevin Willard, joining 2016 selection Isaiah Whitehead, who went 42nd overall to the Utah Jazz and was subsequently traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
Mamukelashvili, who graduated from the University with a bachelor's degree in social and behavioral sciences, is coming off a decorated 2020-21 season for the Pirates, leading the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game, in rebounding at 7.6 per game and free throws made at 95. The versatile power forward was one of only two players in the BIG EAST Conference to rank in the league's top-5 in both scoring and rebounding and one of only two to rank in the top-15 in scoring, rebounding and assists (3.2 per game), both overall and in conference games only.
At season's end, Mamukelashvili was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, Haggerty Award Metropolitan Player of the Year, Associated Press All-America honorable mention, NABC and USBWA All-District, first-team All-BIG EAST and first-team All-Met Writers. He also was a finalist for the 2021 Karl Malone National Power Forward of the Year Award.
In February, Mamukelashvili became just the 45th Pirate in program history to reach the 1,000 career points milestone. Reaching 1,000 was a strong accomplishment for someone who only scored 87 points his freshman season, missed 10 games of his junior season due to injury and lost more games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He finished his career with an even 1,100 points, which ranks 38th all-time at Seton Hall. He also ranks 20th in program history with 651 career rebounds.
SETON HALL MEN'S BASKETBALL'S NBA DRAFT HISTORY
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*Actual draft round and overall information unavailable
^ Territorial picks were made prior to the NBA Draft officially beginning
! Rights were immediately traded to the Houston Rockets
# Rights were immediately traded to the Brooklyn Nets
