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Denver Nuggets Select Murray, Hernangomez and Beasley in First Round of 2016 NBA Draft

DENVER, June 23, 2016 – The Denver Nuggets have selected guard Jamal Murray, forward Juancho Hernangomez and guard Malik Beasley with the seventh, 15th and 19th overall selections in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft.

Murray, 6-4, 207, was an early entry candidate and spent the 2015-16 season with the University of Kentucky. In 36 games for the Wildcats he held averages of 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 35.2 minutes while shooting 40.8% from three point range. The freshman guard was named to the All-SEC First Team while leading all major conference first year players in scoring. His 113 threes made were second most by a freshman in NCAA history trailing Stephen Curry’s record of 122.

Hernangomez, 6-9, 230, a native of Madrid, Spain, played for Movistar Estudiantes of the Spanish ACB league in 2015-16. In his third season with the club, appearing in 24 games, he averaged 9.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 23.5 minutes. The 20 year old also led Spain in scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg) at the 2015 U20 European Championships.

Beasley, 6-5, 196, was also an early entry candidate that played the 2015-16 season with the Florida State Seminoles. In 34 contests he held averages of 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.8 minutes of action. Beasley earned All-ACC freshman team honors, ranking third in scoring among freshman in the ACC. Also, his 529 points in a season were the second most by a freshman in Florida State history.

In the second round, (53rd overall) the Nuggets selected forward Petr Cornelie (Peter Corn-el-LEE) from France. Additionally, Denver selected guard Daniel Hamilton from the University of Connecticut. Hamilton (56th overall) was then traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for cash considerations.

Cornelie, 6-11, 220, appeared in 24 games with Le Mans Sarthe Basket (France) in the France Pro A league posting averages of 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game in 2015-16.