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Wednesday, Jun. 30
Rodney Buford
Drafted by:
Miami, Round 2, pick 53.
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EXPERT ANALYSIS
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"If you are looking for a sleeper in this years draft, Rodney Buford could be it. Buford is an athletic wing player that can get to the hole and finish, and is solid in transition. He was a match-up mess in the Missouri Valley because of his speed and jumping ability and his ability to run the floor and finish hard at the goal.
Bufords big question mark coming into this year was whether he could consistently hit the perimeter shot. The answer seems to be that Buford is a streaky shooter. Through the first part of the season, which included a win over Iowa, Buford was hitting his 3-point shot, but struggled at times later in the season. Buford can drift, and needs to show that he can get his own shot and hit the midrange jumper on the move.
A plus for him was that he was more adept at getting shots for his teammates Doug Swenson and Ryan Sears. Defensively, Buford can guard on the perimeter and is a good guard rebounder. The questions remain: Will he bring it every night? Where does he play? "
-- ESPN's Jay Bilas
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College: Creighton
Height: 6-5
Weight: 195 pounds
Position: Guard
/ Forward
Age: 21
(Nov. 2, 1977)
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wis.
Career highlights
Named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press as a senior
One of just three players in the 92-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to earn all-league honors four times
Named second-team All-MVC choice as a freshman in 1996 and earned first-team All-MVC honors in 1997, 1998 and 1999 joining MVC Hall of Famer Ed Macauley of Saint Louis (1946-49) and Wichita State great Cleo Littleton (1952-55) in earning All-MVC honors four times
Finished career as Creighton's all-time scoring leader with 2,116 career points, good for ninth place in MVC history
Also finished his career as Creighton's all-time leader in career field goal attempts (1739), career 3-point field goals (212), career 3-point field goal attempts (558) and career steals (195)
His steals total is the sixth-best mark in Valley history and his 3-point field goals total is seventh-best in league history
College highlights
Senior
Finished third in the MVC in both scoring (18.6) and rebounding (7.2) and was seventh with 1.9 steals per game
Scored at least 20 points 16 times, including an MVC single-game high of 40 points Dec. 30 vs. Bradley
The 40 points was the most by an MVC player since Northern Iowa's Cam Johnson touched Drake for 40 points on Feb. 12, 1994
In Creighton's two most-significant regular-season non-conference games -- wins vs. Iowa and Oklahoma State -- averaged 22.0 points on 60.7 percent shooting, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists
Produced three double-doubles, including 24 points and 11 rebounds in win at Iowa
The MVP of the 1999 Diet Pepsi MVC Tournament
Had 21 points and 13 rebounds vs. Evansville and scored nine points in a span of 1:31, turning a 48-48 tie into a 57-51 lead
A unanimous first-team All-MVC pick and was second in the voting for MVC Player of the Year
Junior
Led MVC with 18.9 ppg and finished sixth in the league with 7.3 rpg
Posted seven double-doubles during the season, including a 30-point, 10-rebound effort Dec. 30 at Northern Iowa
Scored 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting and added eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in Creighton's win vs. Nebraska
A unanimous first-team All-MVC pick and was second in voting for MVC Player of the Year
Tabbed first-team All-Midwest by Basketball Times
Sophomore
Averaged a career-best 19.6 ppg, third in the MVC
Was the only player in the MVC to rank among the league's top 10 in scoring and steals (tied for fifth) and in the top 15 in rebounding (15th) and blocked shots (14th)
Broke Creighton's sophomore single-season scoring record with 589 points
The previous record was 551 points by current Charlotte Hornets head coach Paul Silas in 1961-62
Earned his first career double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds at Indiana State
A first-team All-MVC pick
Freshman
Voted second-team All-MVC by the league media and was tabbed the Valley's Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year
Was MVC Player of the Week after a 36-point effort vs. Illinois State and was the first true freshman to grab the weekly honor since Tulsa's Shea Seals in 1993
Led the Bluejays with 14.5 ppg, including 17.9 points in his 11 starts
Broke Benoit Benjamin's freshman scoring record with 421 points
College statistics
SEASON |
G |
FGM |
FGA |
PCT |
FTM |
FTA |
PCT |
REB |
AST |
PTS |
AVG |
SEASON | G | FGM | FGA | PCT | FTM | FTA | PCT | REB | AST | PTS | AVG | 1995-96 | 29 | 158 | 342 | .462 | 59 | 81 | .728 | 122 | 41 | 421 | 14.5 | 1996-97 | 30 | 225 | 512 | .439 | 81 | 110 | .736 | 168 | 48 | 589 | 19.6 | 1997-98 | 28 | 189 | 446 | .424 | 99 | 138 | .717 | 204 | 58 | 530 | 18.9 | 1998-99 | 31 | 206 | 439 | .469 | 109 | 133 | .820 | 222 | 68 | 576 | 18.6 | TOTALS | 118 | 778 | 1739 | .447 | 348 | 462 | .753 | 716 | 215 | 2116 | 17.9 | Three-point field goals: 1995-96, 46-for-118 (.390); 1996-97, 58-for-153 (.379); 1997-98, 53-for-162 (.327); 1998-99, 55-for-125 (.440). Totals: 212-for-558 (.380). |
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