Wednesday, Jun. 30
Rodney Buford
Drafted by:
Miami, Round 2, pick 53.

 
EXPERT ANALYSIS
  "If you are looking for a sleeper in this years draft, Rodney Buford could be it. Buford is an athletic wing player that can get to the hole and finish, and is solid in transition. He was a match-up mess in the Missouri Valley because of his speed and jumping ability and his ability to run the floor and finish hard at the goal.

Bufords big question mark coming into this year was whether he could consistently hit the perimeter shot. The answer seems to be that Buford is a streaky shooter. Through the first part of the season, which included a win over Iowa, Buford was hitting his 3-point shot, but struggled at times later in the season. Buford can drift, and needs to show that he can get his own shot and hit the midrange jumper on the move.

A plus for him was that he was more adept at getting shots for his teammates Doug Swenson and Ryan Sears. Defensively, Buford can guard on the perimeter and is a good guard rebounder. The questions remain: Will he bring it every night? Where does he play? "
-- ESPN's Jay Bilas

College: Creighton
Height: 6-5
Weight: 195 pounds
Position: Guard / Forward
Age: 21 (Nov. 2, 1977)
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wis.

Career highlights

  • Named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press as a senior
  • One of just three players in the 92-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to earn all-league honors four times
  • Named second-team All-MVC choice as a freshman in 1996 and earned first-team All-MVC honors in 1997, 1998 and 1999 joining MVC Hall of Famer Ed Macauley of Saint Louis (1946-49) and Wichita State great Cleo Littleton (1952-55) in earning All-MVC honors four times
  • Finished career as Creighton's all-time scoring leader with 2,116 career points, good for ninth place in MVC history
  • Also finished his career as Creighton's all-time leader in career field goal attempts (1739), career 3-point field goals (212), career 3-point field goal attempts (558) and career steals (195)
  • His steals total is the sixth-best mark in Valley history and his 3-point field goals total is seventh-best in league history

    College highlights
    Senior

  • Finished third in the MVC in both scoring (18.6) and rebounding (7.2) and was seventh with 1.9 steals per game
  • Scored at least 20 points 16 times, including an MVC single-game high of 40 points Dec. 30 vs. Bradley
  • The 40 points was the most by an MVC player since Northern Iowa's Cam Johnson touched Drake for 40 points on Feb. 12, 1994
  • In Creighton's two most-significant regular-season non-conference games -- wins vs. Iowa and Oklahoma State -- averaged 22.0 points on 60.7 percent shooting, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists
  • Produced three double-doubles, including 24 points and 11 rebounds in win at Iowa
  • The MVP of the 1999 Diet Pepsi MVC Tournament
  • Had 21 points and 13 rebounds vs. Evansville and scored nine points in a span of 1:31, turning a 48-48 tie into a 57-51 lead
  • A unanimous first-team All-MVC pick and was second in the voting for MVC Player of the Year

    Junior

  • Led MVC with 18.9 ppg and finished sixth in the league with 7.3 rpg
  • Posted seven double-doubles during the season, including a 30-point, 10-rebound effort Dec. 30 at Northern Iowa
  • Scored 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting and added eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in Creighton's win vs. Nebraska
  • A unanimous first-team All-MVC pick and was second in voting for MVC Player of the Year
  • Tabbed first-team All-Midwest by Basketball Times

    Sophomore

  • Averaged a career-best 19.6 ppg, third in the MVC
  • Was the only player in the MVC to rank among the league's top 10 in scoring and steals (tied for fifth) and in the top 15 in rebounding (15th) and blocked shots (14th)
  • Broke Creighton's sophomore single-season scoring record with 589 points
  • The previous record was 551 points by current Charlotte Hornets head coach Paul Silas in 1961-62
  • Earned his first career double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds at Indiana State
  • A first-team All-MVC pick

    Freshman

  • Voted second-team All-MVC by the league media and was tabbed the Valley's Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year
  • Was MVC Player of the Week after a 36-point effort vs. Illinois State and was the first true freshman to grab the weekly honor since Tulsa's Shea Seals in 1993
  • Led the Bluejays with 14.5 ppg, including 17.9 points in his 11 starts
  • Broke Benoit Benjamin's freshman scoring record with 421 points

    College statistics
    SEASON G FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT REB AST PTS AVG
    SEASONGFGMFGAPCTFTMFTAPCTREBASTPTSAVG
    1995-9629158342.4625981.7281224142114.5
    1996-9730225512.43981110.7361684858919.6
    1997-9828189446.42499138.7172045853018.9
    1998-9931206439.469109133.8202226857618.6
    TOTALS1187781739.447348462.753716215211617.9
    Three-point field goals: 1995-96, 46-for-118 (.390); 1996-97, 58-for-153 (.379); 1997-98, 53-for-162 (.327); 1998-99, 55-for-125 (.440). Totals: 212-for-558 (.380).

    		•











    ESPN.COM
    NBA: Scores/Schedules | Standings | Statistics | Transactions | Injuries
    Copyright ©1999 ESPN Internet Ventures. Click here for Terms of Use and Privacy Policy applicable to this site. Click here for a list of employment opportunities with ESPN.com.