Former Vanderbilt basketball center Liam Robbins signs with Pelicans as undrafted free agent | Report
Former Vanderbilt basketball center Liam Robbins signed with the New Orleans Pelicans after going undrafted in Thursday night's NBA Draft, according to a report from Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype.
Robbins, a 7-foot center, was named First Team All-SEC and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 15 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.15 blocks per game in his final season with the Commodores. He showed 3-and-D ability as he shot 50% from the field and made 36% of his 3-point attempts in 2022-23. But his draft stock was dampened by an extensive injury history.
During his final three seasons in college, one at Minnesota and two at Vanderbilt, Robbins missed significant time with lower leg issues. In 2021-22 he played in just 15 games while dealing with a stress reaction in his foot and an ankle sprain. He was healthy for most of 2022-23, but missed four games midseason with a bone bruise in his foot, then missed the entire postseason after suffering a broken leg during the Commodores' penultimate game of the regular season, a win over Kentucky.
The last Vanderbilt players to be drafted were Aaron Nesmith and Saben Lee in 2020; Nesmith was a first-rounder and Lee a second-rounder. They are also the only two players to get drafted under current coach Jerry Stackhouse, though neither was a Stackhouse recruit.
There were seven former Vanderbilt players who appeared in the NBA in the 2022-23 season, including Scotty Pippen Jr. Pippen was not drafted but signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022 after a decorated Commodores career.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt basketball's Liam Robbins to sign with New Orleans Pelicans
