Beal and Parsons Selected to BBVA Rising Stars Challenge Player Pool
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Former Gators Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards) and Chandler Parsons (Houston Rockets) were both selected to participate in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, the NBA announced today. The game will be played on Friday, February 15 in Houston as a part of All-Star Weekend.
The University of Florida is one of four schools to have multiple players in the player pool for the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge. Kentucky leads all schools with three selections, while Connecticut, Florida, and North Carolina each have two.
The BBVA Rising Stars Challenge features two teams consisting of nine rookies and sophomores mixed together, drafted from a pool selected by the NBA's assistant coaches.
Beal having a successful rookie season as a member of the Washington Wizards. The St. Louis native is currently averaging 13.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, and 2.5 apg for Washington. Among rookies, he ranks third in the league in the scoring, as well. One of his best outings of his young career came on Monday, January 7 when Beal led Washington to a last-second victory against defending-Western Conference champions Oklahoma City. He led all scorers with 22 points and sank the game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left.
Parsons has played in and started every game but one for the Houston Rockets this year. He is averaging 14.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 3.6 apg on the season. In addition, he ranks fourth among second-year players in scoring. He has tallied seven double-doubles this year. Against Brooklyn on Saturday, January 26, Parsons collected his most recent double-double when he recorded 16 points and a career-high 11 assists. It also marked the first time in his career that he registered a double-double of that variety.
2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge Player Pool by College
Kentucky – Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Brandon Knight
Connecticut – Andre Drummond, Kemba Walker
Florida – Bradley Beal, Chandler Parsons
North Carolina – Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller
Duke – Kyrie Irving
Morehead State – Kenneth Faried
San Diego State – Kawhi Leonard
Syracuse – Dion Waiters
Texas – Tristan Thompson
USC – Nikola Vucevic
Washington State – Klay Thompson
Weber State – Damian Lillard
Other selections
Alexey Shved
