UO’s Leunen picked in draft

Published 5:00 am Friday, June 27, 2008

Maarty Leunen is going to get a chance in the NBA.

Leunen, a 6-foot-9-inch forward who starred at the University of Oregon and graduated from Redmond High School in 2004, was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 24th pick in the second round of the NBA draft, 54th overall.

Leunen, 22, was actually the second UO player selected in the 2008 draft. Fellow Oregon graduate Malik Hairston, a guard/forward, also was chosen in the second round, 48th overall by the Phoenix Suns.

A third member of the same class at Oregon, guard Bryce Taylor, was considered a draft candidate but was not among the 60 players taken.

Leunen said earlier this week that his workout with the Rockets in Houston was among the best of his trial sessions with eight NBA teams. He also had worked out for Minnesota, Phoenix, San Antonio, Miami, Dallas, Seattle, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Leunen twice led Redmond to the state basketball championship final. As a junior in 2003, he led the Panthers to the Class 4A state title and was named Oregon’s 4A high school boys basketball player of the year.

With the selection by Houston, Leunen is poised to join guard Aaron Brooks, his UO teammate for three seasons. Brooks was chosen by the Rockets in the 2007 draft.

Leunen was far from a lock to be drafted on Thursday — several mock drafts had him off the board entirely.

After a senior season in which Oregon lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Leunen impressed several teams with his performance at the NBA PreDraft Camp in Orlando, Fla., in May.

As a senior at Oregon, Leunen averaged 15.2 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game. He also shot 49 percent from the three-point line.