By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For the second consecutive year, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team will have a former player trying to prove himself in the NBA Summer League as former Golden Eagle Jud Dillard will participate in the Las Vegas league for the Dallas Mavericks from July 12-22.
Last season, former Tech great Kevin Murphy particpated in the Orlando league after being drafted by the Utah Jazz in the second round with the 47th overall pick. Murphy signed a two-year contract with the Jazz shortly after his Summer League experience and Dillard will look to follow in his former teammate's footsteps.
"Obviously we're proud of Jud and excited for him and his future," said Tech head coach Steve Payne. "We're not surprised at all that he's going to have this oppurtunity to participate in the NBA Summer League. We think he'll do very well and we're excited to see where this takes him. We're looking forward to following his career as it progresses."
Dillard closed out his illustrious career ranked sixth on the all-time Tech scoring list, pouring in over 1,700 points in four seasons. He finished seventh all-time in rebounding for Tech, grabbing over 800 boards in nearly 3,500 minutes of action. He also tied for fourth in career games played, appearing in 123 contests for the Golden Eagles, including 79 starts.
The Atlanta, Ga. native earned several honors and awards in his time at Tech, including being named to the all-OVC second-team earlier at the end of the 2012-13 season, his third honor as an all-OVC selection. As a sophomore, he was named to the 2011 OVC all-tournament team and in 2011-12 was named all-OVC first-team.
In addition to his all-OVC awards, Dillard earned weekly honors five times throughout his career, being named OVC Freshman of the Week three times and OVC Player of the Week twice. He put up the best scoring numbers of his career, averaging 19.3 points per game, which was good enough to finish second in the OVC. He also ranked fourth in the conference in rebounds, pulling down 7.8 per contest.
The senior used stellar scoring and rebounding throughout his career to tally 26 double-doubles, including 10 this season alone. His numbers were so good, he ranks as the highest rebounding guard and third-highest scoring guard in school history.
