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HomeSportsFormer APSU Basketball Star Chris Horton headed to the NBA Development League

Former APSU Basketball Star Chris Horton headed to the NBA Development League

APSU Sports Information

APSU Men's Basketball - Austin Peay State UniversityNew York, NY – Former Austin Peay State University standout Chris Horton was picked by the Grand Rapids Drive with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the NBA Development League Draft, Sunday.

Horton, the ninth player in Division I history with 1,700 points, 1,200 rebounds and 300 blocked shots, put a stamp on his APSU career in a big way this spring.

Former Austin Peay Basketball player Chris Horton picked in the first round of NBA Development Draft, Sunday. (APSU Sports Information)
Former Austin Peay Basketball player Chris Horton picked in the first round of NBA Development Draft, Sunday. (APSU Sports Information)

Horton completed his Austin Peay career by averaging 18.8 points, shooting 59.9 percent from the floor, and 12.0 rebounds per game—fifth best nationally.

Horton led all Division I in offensive rebounding (4.92/game) and was fourth nationally in double-doubles (25), the last coming against Kansas in the NCAA tournament after Horton led Austin Peay to an OVC Tournament Championship—the first by a No. 8 seed in OVC history.

He graduated as Austin Peay’s all-time (325) and single-season (100) leader in blocked shots.

After getting a long look with the Miami Heat during the Summer League tour in Orlando and Las Vegas, Horton now finds himself joining a Grand Rapids squad that can certainly use his skillset—the Drive ranked last in the D-League in rebounds (40.8 rpg) and blocks (2.6 bpg) last season.

Horton hopes to follow in the footsteps of other Ohio Valley Conference legends who jumped from the D-League to the NBA—Philadelphia’s Robert Covington (Rio Grande Valley Vipers, 2013-14), Philadelphia’s Isaiah Canaan (Rio Grande Valley Vipers, 2013-15), Golden State’s Ian Clark (Bakersfield Jam, 2013-14; Idaho Stampede, 2015) and Oklahoma City’s Cameron Payne (2015) have each spent time in the D-League during their professional careers.

Covington, a former Tennessee State standout, was Grand Rapids first-round pick in 2014-15, the franchise’s first season in Michigan but signed with the 76ers before playing a game for the Drive.

The Atlanta native was not alone among former OVC players who heard their names called Sunday; Eastern Kentucky’s Jarelle Reischel (round two, pick five) will join Salt Lake City.

For Governor fans wishing to follow Horton’s path as he attempts to make the NBA, most NBA D-League regular season games are streamed live on YouTube and NBADLeague.com and available on demand – both at no cost. Nationally televised games are not available live on YouTube, but are available for archive viewing.

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