Achiuwa, who was awarded the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year in March following his only season with the Tigers, is the team’s second first-round selection this year. Former center James Wiseman, who played just three games for Memphis before withdrawing after he was ruled ineligible and ordered to sit out 12 games, went second overall to the Golden State Warriors.
Achiuwa, the 6-foot-9 Nigerian, averaged 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks for the Tigers in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season. He registered 18 double-doubles and was the only freshman among the top-tier conferences to finish with a double-double average. “Precious is an interesting prospect. I don’t think when I first watched him play, I truly appreciated how talented he is,” said ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas. “It was only when Wiseman went out that you saw, man, ‘Achiuwa was way more than I thought.’ And, you know, he’s another guy that can really run, rebounds at a high level, long arms, he makes plays. He’s always moving and he’s got a high motor and he can shoot it.”Following Wiseman’s removal from the lineup (and subsequent departure), Achiuwa proved he could be productive as a small-ball five – something the 21-year-old eventually accepted as being his ideal path to the NBA.
“I’m very, very comfortable playing the four and small-ball five,” Achiuwa said last month. “That’s the way the NBA’s going right now. If you follow the bubble games, take Miami, for example. They have a small-ball five. Toronto, or you take the Celtics, they go small a lot of times. Even the Lakers went small against Houston. So, you know, that’s the trend where basketball is kind of turning to. I’m very, very comfortable playing the small-ball five.”
Achiuwa is Memphis’ 15th first-round draft pick in program history and 13th top-20 pick. Prior to Wiseman’s selection earlier Wednesday, Tyreke Evans (No. 4 in 2009) was the last Tiger taken in the first round.
