Thursday night was a historic night for Penn State basketball when Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy became the first Penn State duo to be drafted in the NBA draft in the same year. But another member of last year’s roster is looking to pursue a career in the NBA this summer. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag], one of Penn State’s top three-point shooters last season, will head to the NBA Summer League with a contract with the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
Funk will join his former Penn State teammate Pickett with the Nuggets. The Nuggets, who have former Penn State basketball star Calvin Booth as general manager, traded with the Indiana Pacers in order to select Pickett early in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft. Clearly, Booth was watching plenty of Penn State basketball, and Funk could find a role in the NBA with his shooting skills.
Funk transferred to Penn State from Bucknell last year, and he quickly fit into the Penn State offense with his hot three-point shooting. Funk converted 41.2% of his three-point shots last season to help Penn State end its NCAA Tournament drought and make a run to the Big Ten championship game and second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Let’s work!! https://t.co/xt7zaxENqu
— Andrew Funk (@andrewfunk11) June 23, 2023
In addition to being reunited with his former Penn State teammate, Jalen Pickett, Funk will also be teaming up once again with a former high school basketball teammate, Collin Gillespie, who went to Villanova.
Good point. Andrew Funk also reunited with high school teammate Collin Gillespie in Denver.
The two were a dynamic duo at Archbishop Wood https://t.co/mmM8aONPFs
— Seth Engle (@bigsengtweets) June 23, 2023
Funk merely landing a summer league deal is another testament to how successful Penn State basketball was last season. Sending three players off to the NBA in the same year is unprecedented for the program, and it will be fun to track the progress these three players (Pickett, Lundy, and Funk) in their professional careers moving forward.
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