The 6-9 245 Jeff Pendergraph was the first pick of the second round (No. 31 overall), and following his selection he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, who gave up guard Sergio Rodriguez, the draft rights to former Washington forward Jon Brockman (No. 38 overall) and cash.
In interviews leading up to the draft, Pendergraph didn’t hide his attraction to the Trailblazers. “I really like Portland,” he said in a recent DevilsDigest.com interview, “because I know coach Nate McMillan (father of ASU guard Jamelle McMillan), they have a good team and everything about that atmosphere is cool.”
Pendergraph culminated his four-year career with Arizona State averaging 12.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.04 bpg and a 58 percent shooting percentage. As the team's senior leader, he led the nation in field goal shooting at 66 percent and earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors. He set school records for games played (126) and started (120).
Pendergraph, along with James Harden were the first tandem of Sun Devils to be drafted in the same year, since 1983 when Byron Scott and Paul Williams were selected.