Houston's Jarace Walker and Marcus Sasser Taken in NBA Draft First Round

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POSTED: June 22, 2023 -- 11:55 p.m. CT

Houston Cougars Men's Basketball stars Jarace Walker and Marcus Sasser began their professional careers after being selected in the First Round of the 2023 NBA Draft inside Barclays Center on Thursday evening.

Walker was taken at No. 8 by the Indiana Pacers while Sasser was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the No. 25 pick. They became the 47th and 48th Men's Basketball student-athletes, respectively, to be selected in the NBA Draft and the first since guard Quentin Grimes was taken with the 25th pick of the First Round by the New York Knicks.

Walker and Sasser also were Houston's 13th and 14th First-Round Draft picks in school history.

Both student-athletes played key roles in leading the Cougars to a 33-4 overall record, the American Athletic Conference regular-season championship with a school-record 17-1 mark, the nation's #1 ranking for seven weeks and the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2022-23.

At No. 8, Walker was the highest Cougar taken in the NBA Draft since Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Houston Rockets in 1984.

NOTES:

• This was the first time two Cougars were selected in the NBA Draft First Round since 1984. That year, Olajuwon was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Houston Rockets while guard Michael Young was taken with the 24th pick by the Boston Celtics.
• This marked the first time since 1987 that a pair of Cougars was chosen in the NBA Draft. That year, center Greg Anderson was taken with the No. 23 overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs while guard Rickie Winslow was a Second-Round selection by the Chicago Bulls.
• Walker and Sasser became the 16th and 17th NBA Draft picks under Head Coach Kelvin Sampson during his award-winning career. They also became the fifth and sixth First-Round selections in Sampson's career and his second and third with Houston.
• This marked the first time Sampson had two student-athletes taken in the NBA Draft since Indiana's Eric Gordon (First Round, No. 7, Los Angeles Clippers) and D.J. White (First Round, No. 29, Detroit Pistons) in the 2008 Draft.

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