SE: Iwundu Ready to Bring Underdog Mentality, Versatility to Orlando Magic
Jun 26, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
In his first game at K-State, Wesley Iwundu was not in the starting lineup. He changed that pretty quickly by opening his Wildcat career with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Iwundu left K-State as the program's all-time starts leader at 124, which included 87 in a row to end his career as a Wildcat. His name was added to another historic list last Thursday when he became the first Wildcat picked in the NBA Draft since 2008, as the Orlando Magic chose him at No. 33 overall.
"We were very interested in Wesley Iwundu and we felt that he could have very easily been a first round pick," Orlando Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman said after the draft. "We were fortunate that it worked out for us."
As a second-round pick, there are no guarantees of a roster spot, but Iwundu is accustomed to the unproven position he is in.
"I've always been using the underdog mentality. Coming into college, I put in the work, put in the effort to be able to give myself a chance to start after that first game. Coming in with that mentality, I've been carrying that up until now and it'll continue," Iwundu said at his introductory press conference on Friday in Orlando. "Fitting in with the Magic, bringing that to the team, being ready to do some positive things like getting down on defense, bringing pressure to help guys get better each and every day, that's what I expect to do."
In four years K-State, Iwundu's role developed along with his game. He went from being a freshman looking to provide defense, rebounding and offense mainly through ball movement to being a senior who was a go-to scorer on top of those other responsibilities.
"I couldn't be happier for Wes and his family for realizing the dream of playing in the NBA," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said. "I'm so very proud of him for not only developing into an NBA-caliber player, but also into a quality person off the basketball court. He made tremendous strides on the court and in the classroom during his time at K-State. Wes had a dream and he went after it. This is a proud moment for me and the coaching staff."
Iwundu, the third highest K-State player picked in the Lottery era, finished as the only Wildcat ever to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals in a career.
After a major shot makeover, Iwundu developed into a true shooting threat. Between his junior and senior seasons, his 3-point percentage shot up from 20 percent to 38 percent. He also raised his free throw percentage from 60 percent as a sophomore to 77 percent as a senior.
"I think that was a beautiful thing about staying all four years, growing as a person, on and off the court, and just coming into my own and finding my game. By my fourth year, I was very comfortable doing many things," Iwundu, one of six Big 12 players selected in the draft, said. "My first two years, it was a different role. I wasn't the go-to guy with the ball in my hands. I was just doing the rebounding, the passing, getting guys involved. My junior and senior year, there was some more scoring in there but I was still doing the other things as well. Being a versatile guy on the defensive and offensive end is something always I take pride in."
Iwundu's growth caught many NBA teams' attention. More than anything, Weltman said Iwundu's character stood out in their evaluation process.
"It all comes down to one thing. We're not drafting a player, we're drafting a person. We look for the qualities in a person that will translate into anything, any field," he said at the press conference, which also included Orlando's first-round pick, Jonathan Isaac. "These guys have work ethics, they have integrity, they have (team-first mentalities). They have all the traits that we're looking for and we believe that they will reach their potential just because of who they are as people. It's up to us to assess what their potentials are, and we think they're great."
Standing at 6-foot-7 and with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, Iwundu also brings the type of body and skillset the Magic were seeking in the draft.
"To me, what I want to seek out for in terms of building this roster is to put together two-way players who have versatile offensive games but can really hold their own or better on the defensive end," Magic head coach Frank Vogel said. "To build a great defensive team, you have to do it with length and athleticism. Both of these two young men exemplify that with where they're at right now and where they can be as they grow into themselves in this league."
On top of his starts record at K-State, Iwundu also became only the sixth Wildcat to total 1,200 points and 600 rebounds in a career, joining a Rolando Blackman, Bob Boozer, Thomas Gipson, Rodney McGruder and Ed Nealy. As a senior, he led K-State in 15 categories and added his name next to Mitch Richmond as the only other Wildcat to record at least 400 points, 200 rebounds and 100 assists in a season.
"I'm a very versatile player, can do a lot of things," Iwundu said. "There's a lot of things I can do besides scoring to affect the game in so many ways, and I think can bring that to the table for the Magic."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballK-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Colorado
Thursday, February 26
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Texas Tech
Sunday, February 22
K-State Men's Basketball | Haggerty and Johnson Historic Night vs Baylor
Thursday, February 19
K-State Men's Basketball | Interim Head Coach Driscoll Press Conference vs Baylor
Wednesday, February 18
