Vanderbilt guard/forward Aaron Nesmith was selected 14th overall by the Boston Celtics on Wednesday following his two stellar seasons on West End.
Nesmith became the sixth Commodore selected in the first round since 2012, which ranks second among Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools.
The former four-star recruit is the third and final member of the Commodore’s 2018 recruiting class to achieve his NBA dreams, as he joins Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Simi Shittu (Chicago Bulls organization) at the next level.
During his freshman year, Nesmith showed flashes of the player he would become by scoring 11 points per game and hitting 59 three pointers. But it was new head coach Jerry Stackhouse who helped Nesmith emerge into an All-American candidate his sophomore year.
He led the Commodores to early season success by scoring 23 points per game before his season was derailed in early January by a stress fracture in his foot. Despite only playing 14 games, he nailed seven or more three pointers on four separate occasions, ranked 10th in the SEC in total three pointers made (60) and set the Vanderbilt single-season record for three point percentage at 52.2 percent.
His sophomore campaign vaulted him up NBA Draft boards, and he declared for the NBA Draft shortly following the conclusion of Vanderbilt’s season in March.
He will now join the Celtics organization as they prepare for the NBA’s regular season beginning in late December.
Stay tuned to the Vanderbilt Hustler sports section on Twitter for 2020 NBA Draft news.
