UCLA's Kevon Looney, Norman Powell Selected in 2015 NBA Draft

UCLA's Kevon Looney, Norman Powell Selected in 2015 NBA Draft
UCLA’s Kevon Looney and Norman Powell were selected in the first and second rounds, respectively, of the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday evening, hosted at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Looney, a 6-foot-9 forward from Milwaukee, Wis., was chosen by the Golden State Warriors (No. 30 overall), the final first-round selection of the draft. Powell, a 6-foot-4 guard from San Diego, was selected in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks (No. 46 overall). Powell was subsequently traded to the Toronto Raptors.

With Looney’s first-round selection, this marked the third straight season in which the Bruins had a freshman selected in the draft's first round. In fact, UCLA is one of just three schools in the nation (along with Kansas and Kentucky) to have produced at least one freshman first-round pick in the past three consecutive drafts.

Looney became the fourth UCLA player selected in the NBA Draft’s first round in the last two seasons. Last year, three UCLA underclassmen – Zach LaVine, Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson – were drafted in the first round.

UCLA has now produced 114 all-time NBA Draft picks, including five selections in two seasons under head coach Steve Alford. The Bruins have had at least one player chosen in 17 of the last 19 NBA Drafts (spanning 1997 through 2015), logging 28 selections in the past 19 seasons.

Looney started all 36 games for UCLA in 2014-15, averaging 11.6 points and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds per game. He ranked second in the Pac-12 in rebounding (9.2 rpg) and offensive rebounds per game (3.4) while averaging 1.4 assists and 0.9 blocks per game. A second-team All-Pac-12 selection, Looney was also among seven student-athletes to secure Pac-12 All-Freshmen Team honors.

Powell, who graduated with his degree in history from UCLA earlier this month, played in all 141 games for the Bruins the past four seasons. In addition, he started in each of the Bruins’ last 75 consecutive games.

As a senior in 2014-15, Powell captured first-team All-Pac-12 acclaim after having led the Bruins in scoring (16.4 ppg). Powell earned USBWA All-District IX acclaim and was a three-time Pac-12 Player of the Week honoree (Nov. 24, Feb. 2 and March 2). He scored in double figures in 31 of UCLA’s 36 games and totaled at least 20 points in 14 contests.