June 24, 2010
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The number “seven” was both lucky and unlucky for ex-Lobo Darington Hobson during the 2010 NBA Draft.
First, anytime you leave one of the more dynamic basketball programs in America after your junior year and jump into the NBA Draft, you want to hear your name called in the first round and grab that guaranteed contract.
That didn’t happen for the former Lobo.
Hobson, who led the University of New Mexico Lobos in rebounding, scoring and assists in their run to the 2010 Mountain West title, missed the first round by seven spots. The versatile, 6-foot-7 wing was plucked out of the talented field by the Milwaukee Bucks with the seventh pick of the second round — 37th overall. The NBA Draft’s first round is No. 1 through No. 30 and the second round is No. 31 through No. 60.
But this is where a little “luck” might come into play for Hobson in his battle to make the Bucks roster and earn a contract to replace the scholarship he left behind in Albuquerque. The Bucks went into the draft projected to pick up some perimeter scoring, which was considered one of Milwaukee’s weaknesses this past season.
The Bucks likely will do some off-season trading and the NBA market is dotted with talented free agents, but Hobson was the only true perimeter player the Bucks drafted with their four picks. The other three Bucks-to-be are warriors of the paint.
The Bucks’ only first-round pick was 6-11 Larry Sanders of Virginia Commonwealth. Sanders is a late-bloomer, who didn’t pick up the game off hoops until his sophomore year in high school. He probably is considered a bit of a project at the NBA level, but Sanders, a feared shot blocker in college, gives the Bucks some needed potential at the power forward spot.
The Bucks next three picks all came in the second round. After Hobson at 37, the Bucks grabbed 7-foot Jerome Jordon (No. 44) of Tulsa, and Oklahoma’s 6-9 Keith Lee “Tiny” Gallon (No. 47). Already there is talk on NBA blogs that the Bucks will trade one of those second-round big boys in return for a scorer.
Milwaukee beefed up its scoring earlier in the week by trading away a 2010 second-round draft pick to the Nets in exchange for Chris Douglas-Roberts. The 6-7 wing presents a challenge for Hobson on the Bucks’ perimeter. Douglas-Roberts also represents a player with skills similar to Hobson, who made it at the NBA level after being drafted in the second round.
Douglas-Roberts was a No. 40 pick in 2008. The knock on him coming out of college (Memphis) was that a lot of his inside scoring wouldn’t carry over to the NBA game. The former Net proved he could finish in the NBA paint. His projected salary in 2010-11 at Milwaukee is around $850,000.
Hobson also used a lot of inside moves in leading New Mexico in scoring and being named the Mountain West Player of The Year. Can the willowy Hobson’s inside game be effective at the NBA level against the NBA behemoths of the paint? That might depend on how much Hobson hits the weight room and the dining room table.
The plus for Hobson is that he also proved to be an effective scorer on the perimeter and showed above-average passing ability for a wing. His unselfish play is a plus and he said he plans to put on muscle and weight this summer while he works to improve his outside shooting.
Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles was quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as saying: “Hobson is another interesting player. He can handle the ball out on the floor, he has great vision. He’s got some size and length. He loves to play. He was a guy who frankly we were surprised he was there where he was (No. 37).”
Said Hobson: “This is a great feeling. Now, it’s a matter of going out and proving it.”
Hobson, a third team Associated Press All-American as a UNM junior, was the 30th New Mexico player to be drafted into the NBA.
Hobson is the first Lobo drafted since J.R. Giddens in 2008 (30th overall to Boston). The versatile Hobson became the second player to be drafted since Steve Alford took over the program three years ago.
UNM has had three players drafted since 2005. Toby Roybal was the first Lobo drafted in 1956 by the New York Knicks. Ex-Lobos Luc Longley and Michael Cooper earned several NBA titles — Longley with the Chicago Bulls and Cooper with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hobson, from Las Vegas. Nev., became the first player in New Mexico history to lead the team in scoring (15.9 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg) and assists (4.6 apg) in a season. Hobson was also named second Team All-America by FOXSports.com and third Team All-America by Sporting News.
The Bucks posted a 46-36 record last year, finishing second in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. They made the playoffs as the sixth seed, falling to Atlanta 4-3, in the first round. Hobson is the first UNM player to be drafted by Milwaukee.