You have to go back 11 years for the last time the Big East enjoyed a draft night like this.
It was 2013, the last time the league had three players chosen in the NBA draft lottery.
It happened Wednesday night, with Connecticut duo Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan going fourth and seventh, respectively, to the Spurs and Trail Blazers, and Providence star Devin Carter selected 13th by the Kings.
The conference had produced only three lottery picks over the previous seven drafts.
“It just says the Big East is probably the best conference in America right now,” Carter said. “I think the Big East is competitive every night from top to bottom. On any given night, anybody can beat you. The Big East is a different animal.”
Creighton wing Baylor Scheierman made it four first-round picks when he was chosen 30th by the Celtics.
Only the ACC had as many first-round picks as the Big East.
It was a particularly satisfying evening for Connecticut, winner of the past two national championships.
The last time the Huskies had two top-10 picks was 2004 when Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon went second and third, respectively.
Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer could wind up getting selected in the second round Thursday.
“I think it shows that we can take a top-10 player and help him even improve his stock, like Steph,” coach Dan Hurley said at the draft. “We can take a five-star and he can help us win a national championship and we can help him even improve his stock. And we can also take players that maybe weren’t considered early-entry players and sit here in the lottery with them and win championships together. We’re showing that we can do player development with all different types.”
The Big East is in the midst of a lot of positive things happening.
Hurley opted to stay put after flirting with the Lakers and the conference is expected to announce a new television deal at some point this week with Fox, TNT and NBC.
Wednesday was another big night.
