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Devean George makes NBA history for Augsburg By Don Stoner For most basketball players at Division III-level institutions like Augsburg, hopes of someday playing in the NBA are just dreams. But for 1999 graduate Devean George, the dream became real, and he may some day play alongside Michael Jordan and others with household names in basketball. On June 30, George made NBA history when he became the first-ever NCAA Division III basketball player selected in the first round of the NBA draft. The Los Angeles Lakers made the Auggie forward the 23rd overall. No Division III player has been selected in the draft since 1991, and George is only the fourth in history. Two other Augsburg players, Dan Anderson '65 and Greg Boone '81, were drafted by NBA teams in later rounds. Anderson played for the ABA's New Jersey Nets; Boone never played in the NBA.  "It hasn't sunk in yet," George said, during a press conference on the night of the draft at his agent's office in Minneapolis. "I don't realize what I just did. It was going against all odds, really, being from a Division III school and being selected in the first round. It hasn't hit me yet. I feel proud and proud of myself for how hard I worked through this whole process." George, a two-time All-American and two-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year, was considered one of the top players in Division III basketball during his career at Augsburg, where he blossomed from a 5-foot-10 high school senior to a 6-8 college senior. He ended his career with the second-most career points (2,258) and rebounds (868) in school history, while his career scoring average (23.5 ppg) was best in school history. Auggie teams were 71-25 in games he played during his career, including a 46-8 mark (37-3 in MIAC games) during the past two seasons, when the Auggies won two MIAC regular-season titles and qualified each year for the NCAA Division III national playoffs. "It means more for Devean, obviously, than it means for anyone else," said Augsburg men's basketball coach Brian Ammann '85, the school's all-time leading scorer. "It's a big coup for us as a coaching staff and for Augsburg as a school. "I know it's a dream come true for Devean. We talked about it a lot, how the dream wasn't there four years ago. We were just talking about him getting a degree. But then the dream started coming back. He took advantage of that and everybody's proud of him." George's pro prospects grew after his collegiate career ended, when he was the last player of 64 selected to the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational in April. At the first pre-draft camp, George was named to the All-Tournament Team. 
He also played for the Harlem Globetrotters in a series of three games against a college all-star team. Despite missing the Chicago pre-draft camp in early June with a sprained ankle, he still was able to work out for more than a dozen teams and receive strong interest from at least 20 teams. George will join a Lakers club coached for the first time by legendary coach Phil Jackson, and he was Jackson's first pick as head coach. George worked out for the Lakers the day before the draft. "I got a good vibe from the workout. After doing some of the drills and running through the triangle offense with Phil, he had me do some things over and over again because I think he believed I was lucky the first time I did it," he joked. George said that draft night, at his apartment before the draft party, was a bit tense, especially when teams who seemed impressed with him - Utah, Atlanta and Houston - passed on him. "It's been a long process, starting since my last game, to try to get where I am today," George said. "Being at Augsburg, it means a lot. I'm happy for what I did for the school, putting the school on the map and getting it some national attention." 
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