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Beloit's Kyle Weaver second-round choice in NBA draft

Kyle Weaver has earned a spot among the select few in Big Eight Conference basketball history.

The former Beloit Memorial High School standout, who helped revive the moribund Washington State University basketball program, is the first player from the Pac-10 Conference school to be drafted in 12 years.

Weaver was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats as the 38th overall pick in the second round of the NBA draft Thursday night, making him only the second player from the Big Eight high school conference where he grew up to be picked in 28 years.

The Orlando Magic drafted Reece Gaines, a former Madison West High School star, out of the University of Louisville in the first round as the 15th overall pick in 2003. The last Big Eight player to be drafted before that was Beloit’s Bill Hanzlik by the Seattle SuperSonics as the 20th overall pick in 1980.

Weaver is the first Washington State player to be drafted since Mark Hendrickson was taken as the 31st overall pick in the second round in 1996 by the Philadelphia 76ers. Hendrickson is now a pitcher for the Florida Marlins.

Weaver, a 6-foot-6 guard and the son of Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament legend LaMont Weaver, said he was pleased by the selection.

“A lot of things happened in the draft, but I know I ended my college career in Charlotte,” he said of an NCAA tournament loss to North Carolina last March, “and I get to start my pro career there.’’

Weaver will join a team that features another high-profile basketball star from Eastern Washington, Adam Morrison of Gonzaga, who sat out this season with injuries.

Charlotte also drafted point guard D.J. Augustin and forward Alexis Ajinca in the first round.

Weaver, who played for Beloit Memorial in the 2004 WIAA state tournament, started 103 of his 121 games at Washington State. After being recruited by former University of Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett and ultimately playing for Tony Bennett, Weaver became the 29th Cougar to score 1,000 points, finishing his career with 1,162 to rank 17th in WSU history.

Over his college career, he averaged 9.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

Weaver ranks on WSU’s all-time list in 11 other categories, including assists (second, 465) and steals (third, 188). He is believed to be the first athlete in Pacific-10 history to have at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 450 assists, 175 steals and 75 blocked shots in a career.

Weaver also recorded the first triple-double in WSU history with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Stanford in 2007. But he is best known as a defensive stopper who often shut down the best scorer on the opposing team.

As a senior, Weaver was named to the All-Pac 10 second team and the Pac-10 All-Defensive team. He was All-Pac 10 first-team pick as a junior and represented the United States in the 2007 Pan American Games.

Washington State was 26-9 this past season and 26-89 in Weaver’s junior year.

Weaver is the 29th Cougar to be drafted and just the ninth WSU player to be taken in the draft in the past 25 years.