June 27, 2008

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.-- USC's O.J. Mayo was taken by Minnesota with the third pick overall in the 2008 NBA Draft, followed in order by UCLA teammates Russell Westbrook to Seattle and Kevin Love to Memphis to lead a record seven Pac-10 players drafted in the first round. The previous high for the Pac-10 was five first round selections, which occurred twice - 1979 and 2001.

It was the first time three Pac-10 players were among the first five selections of the NBA draft.

With STANFORD's Brook Lopez selected 10th by the New Jersey and ARIZONA's Jerryd Bayless picked 11th by Indiana, Pac-10 players comprised five of the 14 lottery picks. Stanford's Robin Lopez was chosen 15th by Phoenix and CALIFORNIA's Ryan Anderson selected 21st by New Jersey.