June 24, 2010
Predraft Workout Interview With Knicks
STANFORD, Calif.- Coming off one of the most memorable seasons in school history, senior Landry Fields was selected in the 2010 NBA Draft on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Fields was chosen in the second round, as the 39th overall pick by the New York Knicks. The 6-7 guard/forward from Long Beach, Calif., is the first Cardinal player selected in the NBA Draft since sophomores Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez were taken 10th and 15th overall, respectively, two years ago.
Fields becomes the 31st NBA/ABA Draft choice in Stanford men's basketball history. He is the first Stanford player to be chosen as a second round selection since Jarron Collins was tabbed at No. 53 by the Utah Jazz in 2001.
Stanford has now totaled nine NBA Draft selections since 2000, third-best behind UCLA (15) and Arizona (13) among Pac-10 schools. Fields joined Washington's Quincy Pondexter, who was selected 26th overall in the first round by Oklahoma City, as the only Pac-10 players drafted.
After averaging just 7.1 points and 3.7 rebounds through his first three years combined, Fields broke through for one of the best seasons in school history as a senior in 2009-10. Named to the USBWA All-District Team and NABC All-District 20 First Team, Fields became the first Stanford player since Brook Lopez in 2007-08 to be honored with a spot on the All-Pac-10 First Team.
Ranked eighth in the nation in scoring (22.0 ppg), Fields was Stanford's first Pac-10 scoring champion since Casey Jacobsen in 2001-02. In addition to leading all Pac-10 players in 20-point games (21), double-doubles (13) and minutes played (36.3 per game), Fields nearly snagged the league rebounding title, finishing second (8.8 per game) to USC's Nikola Vucevic (9.4 per game). Fields also led the Cardinal in free throws and attempts (179-257), blocks (25) and steals (51).
Fields' stellar senior season was highlighted by unbelievable consistency. He scored in double-figures in all 32 games, becoming the first Stanford player to reach double-figures in every game of the year since Adam Keefe in 1991-92 (29 games). Fields finished his senior campaign with 704 total points, representing the third-best single-season total in school history, trailing only Adam Keefe (734 in 1991-92 and 709 in 1990-91). He notched nine consecutive 20-point games from Nov. 24-Jan. 2, becoming the only Stanford player since at least 1960 to achieve the milestone. Fields wrapped up his career with 1393 total points, good for 17th on the all-time list.
Stanford relied heavily on Fields' scoring prowess last year. Fields combined with sophomore Jeremy Green to provide the Cardinal with an explosive 1-2 punch, accounting for 55.8 percent of the team's scoring. Fields and Green trailed only Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis of Houston (41.1 ppg) and Adnan Hodzic and Josh Slater of Lipscomb (39.8 ppg) as the highest scoring duos in the country. Fields and Green tallied 1,236 combined points to comprise the highest scoring tandem in school history, passing Todd Lichti and Howard Wright (1,182 points in 1988). It was also the third time in school history that a pair of teammates scored 500 or more points each during the same season.
A Communication major with a 3.03 GPA, Fields was just as successful in the classroom. He was tabbed the 2009-10 Toyo Tires Pac-10 Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year (criteria: senior receiving a degree, 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA, significant athletic contributor). Additionally, Toyo Tires donated $1,000 to the school's athletic department scholarship fund. Fields also earned Pac-10 All-Academic accolades this past season for the first time in his career.
Fields becomes the first NBA Draft selection under head coach Johnny Dawkins, who has compiled a 34-32 mark during his first two seasons at the helm.
New York also seleted Andy Rautins of Syracuse with its other selection at No. 38.