June 27, 2002

Champaign, Ill. - Two members of the Fighting Illini basketball program were selected in the 2002 NBA Draft on Wednesday night. Frank Williams (PG, 6-3, 205) went in the first round when the Denver Nuggets selected him with the 25th pick. That pick, however, was actually made by the New York Knicks, who acquired Antonio McDyess and the 25th pick (Williams) in a trade with the Nuggets for Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson, and the No. 7 pick (Nene Hilario).

Williams, the 2001 Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American and two-time first team All-Big Ten selection, became the first Illini to be drafted in the first round since Kendall Gill was selected by Charlotte in the first round of the 1990 draft. Williams averaged 16.2 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.0 steals per game this past season.

Just minutes after Williams was drafted, Robert Archibald (C/F, 6-11, 250) was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the third pick in the second round (No. 32 overall). Archibald, a third-team All-Big Ten pick who led the conference in field goal percentage at .659 (114-173 FGs), averaged 10.6 points and 5.5 rebounds last season. Archibald was the third Big Ten player chosen in the draft (following Indiana's Jared Jeffries and Illinois' Williams) and is the first Illini player taken in the second round since Deon Thomas was chosen by Dallas in 1994.

"I'm very excited that Frank and Robert were drafted, but I'm even more excited when I think about the situations the two of them are going into," Illinois Head Coach Bill Self said. "It couldn't have worked out much better as far as the teams they were drafted by. I feel that Robert will go into Memphis and earn a roster spot with the Grizzlies, and I think that Frank has a chance to make an immediate impact with the New York Knicks.

"The draft was the fun part for them, and now the real work begins," Self continued. "There's a popular saying that the NBA is 'the hardest way to make an easy living.' I'm looking forward to seeing Frank and Robert give maximum effort to help their respective teams win, and help further their playing careers in the league."

This marks the first draft in 12 years where multiple Illini players were selected. Gill, Marcus Liberty, and Steve Bardo were all selected in the 1990 draft.