The Timberwolves took Georgia Tech's Josh Okogie with their first-round pick (20th overall) in the NBA draft on Thursday night.
Okogie, a 6-4 guard, was third-team All-ACC in 2017-18 as a sophomore after making the league's all-freshman team in 2016-17.
He averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the Yellow Jackets last season and is known as a strong defender. An NBA.com profile says he is a shooting guard with a 7-foot wingspan.
According to NBA.com's Christopher Dempsey, "Okogie can give a team some good defensive possessions right now, and a few flashes of what he can be as an offensive force, but he'll need some time to grow into a player on the court for significant minutes."
Okogie, 19, was born in Nigeria but grew up in Georgia, where he was an all-around athlete at Shiloh High School. He played on the USA Basketball team that finished third in the 2017 FIBA under-19 world championships.
Okogie, who missed part of his sophomore season after finger surgery, had a strong NBA draft combine in Chicago. He had the highest max vertical leap among players at the combine and faster three-quarter-court sprint.
After the combine, Okogie said he would stay in the draft. He did have a workout with the Timberwolves and several other teams.
"(Teams) love the fact that he's got a long wingspan. They love the fact that he's a year younger, he did well at the combine. They love his character," Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "I think as people got to know him better, upfront, personally, they fell in love with his character."
