Magic draft EWU's Tyler Harvey with 51st overall pick

By foxsports
Published

The Magic went to a small school for their second-round pick in Thursday night's NBA draft, selecting Tyler Harvey out of Eastern Washington University with the 51st overall selection.

Here's some more on Harvey from KXLY in Spokane:

Harvey averaged 23.1 points per game and shot better than 40 percent from three as a junior this past season.

(H/t to KXLY.)

Photo Credit: Michael Hickey/Getty Images

“I am very happy for Tyler,” said Eastern head coach Jim Hayford. “He has worked so hard, and I know as he learns about the next level he will work only harder. I join every EWU fan and friend in congratulating him and thanking him for getting his degree and helping us build a strong program.”

Orlando finished last in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference a year ago, closing the year 25-57. The Magic drafted another shooting guard in the first round – 6-foot-8 Mario Hezonja from FC Barcelona Basquet in Spain.

The Magic were just 25th out of 30 NBA teams in scoring in the 2014-15 season, averaging 95.7 points per game. They were 16th in 3-point shooting (34.7 percent), with forward Channing Frye leading the team and ranking 18th in the league (39.3 percent, 120-of-304). Evan Fournier was the team’s top 3-point shooter from the guard position (31st in the league at 37.8 percent, 85-of-225).

Harvey was a walk-on to the Eastern program in the fall of 2011 in Hayford's first year as head coach. After a redshirt season and playing sparingly in EWU's first 13 games, he was a high-scoring mainstay for the Eagles in the final 71 games of his 84-game career (67 as a starter). He led NCAA Division I in scoring (23.1) and 3-pointers made per game (4.00) in the 2014-15 season.