ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic took J.J. Redick with the 11th pick in the NBA draft Wednesday night, apparently undeterred by the former Duke guard's recent revelation that he has a herniated disk in his back.
Redick, the Atlantic Coast Conference's career scoring leader, has the most three-pointers (457) and highest free-throw percentage (91.2) in NCAA history — plus figures to be an immediate complement to Dwight Howard's inside game for the Magic.
"They have great young players. Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson are two that come to mind right away," Redick said. "And I'm excited about playing with those guys."
Redick was arrested two weeks ago in Durham, N.C., on charges of drunken driving. He was pulled over after turning around as he approached a license checkpoint near the Duke campus, registering a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent — over the legal limit of 0.08 in North Carolina.
"The incident was an isolated incident and I have to be clean from here on out," said Redick, The Associated Press' Player of the Year. "I understand that."
A day before the arrest, Redick canceled a scheduled workout with the Magic — reportedly because of the back injury, which he revealed publicly this week. Redick told ESPN on Tuesday that he suffered a herniated disk in his back during a recent workout, but received a cortisone shot and hasn't been bothered by it for a week.
The injury, which is pressing on a nerve, forced Redick to cancel recent predraft workouts. He said it will not affect his plans to play in the NBA summer league and in USA basketball's national team tryouts next month.
"It's something that may cause him to have some discomfort from time to time, but as his body matures so will this area in his back," Orlando general manager Otis Smith said.
No. 2 billing for No. 1
Andrea Bargnani was the center of attention at the NBA draft in New York on Wednesday night when he was the No. 1 overall pick by the Toronto Raptors. He probably won't be the focus of sports pages in his native Italy, however.
Italian sports fans are preoccupied with a World Cup quarterfinal match scheduled for Friday against Ukraine.
The 6-foot-10 Bargnani was asked if joining Yao Ming in 2002 as the only international player not to attend an American college and be selected first overall would knock the World Cup off the front page of Italian newspapers.
"Yeah, I hope," Bargnani said, "In Italy, all of the attention is for the soccer. Tomorrow, I hope there's a little picture."
Senior moments
Three college seniors were selected in the top seven picks, the first time that happened since 1997.
Shelden Williams of Duke was taken No. 5 by Atlanta, Brandon Roy of Washington was taken sixth by Minnesota and Randy Foye of Villanova was selected No. 7 by Boston.
In 1997, Tim Duncan of Wake Forest was taken No. 1 by San Antonio, Keith Van Horn of Utah was selected second by Philadelphia and Antonio Daniels of Bowling Green was the No. 4 pick by Vancouver.
Associated Press
got it right
The entire 2005-06 Associated Press All-American team was taken in the first 11 picks. Adam Morrison of Gonzaga was taken third by Charlotte, followed by Williams, Roy, Foye and Redick.
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