Nets select Noah Clowney with No. 21 pick, Dariq Whitehead with No. 22 pick in 2023 NBA Draft
With the No. 21 and No. 22 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Nets have selected forward Noah Clowney out of the University of Alabama and guard Dariq Whitehead out of Duke, respectively.
Clowney, a 6-foot-10, 210 pound big man averaged 9.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game over 36 games (all starts), and earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors. He posted three double-doubles and contributed eight double-digit rebounding games for the Crimson Tide, leading the team in rebounding 14 times and in blocks eight times.
The 18-year-old can play both power forward or center, giving the Nets a modern day frontcourt player who has plenty of room to develop behind center Nic Claxton. Clowney was ranked by ESPN as the No. 68 overall recruit in the Class of 2022, but drew scouts' attention during his freshman season in Tuscaloosa due to his high motor, defensive versatility, and rebounding skills.
When asked if he has a player comp in the NBA, Clowney said he didn't but named one player he does enjoy watching.
"I like Jaren Jackson, he guards multiple positions," Clowney said after he was drafted. "He’s bigger than me so I won’t compare myself to him but I like to pick bits and pieces of players’ games and build myself."
"I love the length that he has. When you have a 7-foot-3 wingspan, I can't teach that," Nets GM Sean Marks said after the draft. "You know, our coaches can teach a lot of things, but they can't teach that.
"I love the fact that he's doesn't shy away from shooting from the outside. He's very versatile, can play a couple of different positions out there. You get a young man in here who's 18 years old, I've never limited anybody and said what they can do and can't do."
Whitehead, also 18 years old, has great size at 6-foot-7, 220 pounds and averaged 8.3 points per game on 42.1 percent shooting (42.9 percent from three) over 28 games (seven starts) for the Blue Devils.
The Newark, N.J. native became a consensus five-star recruit at the legendary Montverde Academy in Florida and was ranked by ESPN as the No. 2 overall player in the Class of 2022. He won the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award during his senior season of high school, and was also named the McDonald's All-American Game MVP.
Whitehead missed time at the beginning of the college season due to foot surgery, and recently underwent a second procedure in May. He is expected to be full recovered and ready for the start of the 2023 season, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
"Dariq is a young man that we've been following for a long time," Marks said. "Unfortunately, his time at Duke was slightly cut short and maybe he didn't play what he would have expected to play. But when you have a young man like that come in with such high expectations, and still be able to produce at a level that you say there's something special in there.
"I think he was second in his class coming out and we're super excited to add a terrific young person. He's about all the right things. We've talked about culture over the years and so to add young men like this with the existing group that we have and to watch them and see them develop."
