The Orlando Magic have selected former USF Bulls forward Izaiyah Nelson with the No. 51 overall pick of the NBA draft. The pick was involved in a three-team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Washington Wizards. 

Nelson who averaged 15.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game in staying the Sunshine State to start his NBA career. 

“I really have a 3PT shot in my bag…im working on the 3PT and ball handling, once I get that I got the whole package, nobody can stop me. I watched Kevin Durant & Dennis Rodman…I have straight heart & belief in myself,” Nelson said. 

Nelson had career high 25 points in a 109-88 blowout of UTSA, the same game he showed off the athleticism that made him a draft favorite all season long. He paired that scoring outburst with his usual activity on the glass and on defense, the kind of two-way energy that turned heads all year in the AAC.

That kind of production is exactly why Nelson swept the conference’s top three individual honors this season Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year  becoming the first player in American Conference history to pull off that trifecta in a single year. He led the Bulls to the regular season and tournament titles, helped USF reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012, and capped it off with a 22-point, nine-rebound, three-block, two-steal performance in a first-round loss to Louisville.

Nelson becomes just the 10th USF player ever drafted, and the first since Dominique Jones went 25th overall to Memphis back in 2010. For a program that hasn’t heard its name called in 16 years, having a Bull picked again even at No. 51is a milestone in itself.