PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The duo of Wichita State’s Landry Shamet and Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans III, along with Tulane’s Melvin Frazier and SMU’s Shake Milton, were selected in the 2018 NBA Draft on Thursday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The four selections are the most in The American’s history, surpassing the output from the 2017 and 2014 NBA Drafts, when the conference saw three players selected in both years. The first round selections of Shamet, to Philadelphia, and Evans III, to Golden State, mark the first time the conference has had multiple first round selections.  

Shamet averaged 14.9 points and 5.2 assists on his way to honorable mention All-America honors from the Associated Press. He made 44.2 percent of his three-point shots, 48.9 percent overall.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2017-18, Shamet earned first team all-conference honors for a Shocker team that finished 25-8 and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Shamet hit a school-record 2.62 threes per game and ranked 13th nationally in three-point percentage (.442). He also led The American in assists (5.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5).

Just two picks after Shamet’s name was called, Cincinnati’s Evans III heard his name called by the reigning NBA champion Warriors. He averaged 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 31 minutes per game and hit 38 percent of his career three-pointers at the college level. Evans' productivity and versatility played a huge role in Cincinnati having one of the best seasons in the program's history, going 31-5 and earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Evans earned first team all-conference honors in 2017-18 and ranked among the conference leaders in eight categories: assist-to-turnover ratio (ninth at 1.8), three-point field goal percentage (10th at .370), steals (10th at 1.3), blocks (10th at 1.0), free throw percentage (11th at .754), assists (13th at 3.1), scoring (16th at 13.0) and minutes played (21st at 30.8) while scoring in double figures 28 times.

Frazier enjoyed a breakout junior campaign in 2017-18 and was named American Athletic Conference Most Improved Player of the Year and was an all-league second team pick. He also garnered NABC All-District Second Team honors and Louisiana Sports Writers Association First Team recognition, while being named MVP of the Jamaica Classic and The American’s Player of the Week once.

For the year, Frazier scored 20 or more points 10 times and posted four double-doubles. He led the Green Wave in field goal percentage (.556), scoring (15.9 per game) and steals (65) and was second in rebounds (5.6) and third in assists (2.9) per contest. His 2.2 steals per game led all players in the conference and ranked 19th nationally and his 65 steals were the fifth most in a single season in program history and the most by a Tulane player in 21 years.

Milton, who was on the 2017-18 Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Lute Olson and Bob Cousy watch lists, played the first 22 games before missing the rest of the season with a broken right hand. Before the injury, he was among the conference’s leaders in scoring (18.0, 3rd), assists (4.4, 3rd), steals (1.4, 10th), 3-point percentage (.434, 5th), 3-pointers made (2.5, 2nd), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9, 8th), free-throw percentage (.847, 2nd) and minutes (36.4, 2nd). He was one of just 12 players nationally to average at least 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds (4.7) and 4.0 assists (4.4).

Even with missing the last 11 games, he was named NABC All-District 25 Second Team, USBWA All-District VII and All-American Athletic Conference Second Team after being the 2017-18 Preseason American Player of the Year.

 
American Athletic Conference Players Chosen in the 2018 NBA Draft

Round	Overall	Player	Pos.	School	NBA Team
1 1 2 2	26 28 35 54	Landry Shamet Jacob Evans III Melvin Frazier Shake Milton	G SF G G	Wichita State Cincinnati Tulane SMU	Philadelphia Golden State Orlando Dallas (*traded to Phila.)