Former DII men's basketball standout Emanuel Terry made his NBA debut last night for the Phoenix Suns. Here’s what you need to know about Lincoln Memorial’s former award-winning forward.
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Terry was the 2018 Bevo Francis Award winner
The 6’9 forward was utterly dominant in his senior campaign, helping to lead the Railsplitters to a 32-2 record. Terry was joined by teammates Trevon Shaw and Dorian Pinson on the initial Bevo Francis watchlist — which honors the best basketball player outside of Division I — but it was Terry who walked away the winner, posting a double-double on the season averaging 16.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game.
The Bevo Francis Award wasn’t the only honor Terry took home in 2018. Terry took home the SAC player of the year and defensive player of the year award, the Southeast Region player of the year award and was an obvious All-American. He left Lincoln Memorial with 1,157 career points to go with 854 career rebounds and the all-time leader in field goal percentage (an astonishing 70.4 percent) and blocked shots (228). Not too shabby a senior campaign at all.
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Terry put the power in power forward
Terry didn’t simply fill the stat sheets, he terrorized the poor rims of DII basketball arenas across the nation. Last season was filled with a few highlight reel dunks, but none as impressive than the one that earned Terry a No. 1 spot on the top 10 plays and best dunk in DII honors right here on NCAA.com.
.@EmanuelTerry08 takes the No. 1 spot on #SCtop10 for an all-time dunk in @LMUMBB's win at Carson-Newman tonight @espn @SportsCenter 👀 pic.twitter.com/FncHghkvYY
— LMU Railsplitters (@LMURailsplitter) January 18, 2018
Newest #Suns big man Emanuel Terry can REALLY jump. 👀 pic.twitter.com/QOTolCKfwm
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) January 28, 2019
Terry’s NBA debut
It’s been quite the adventure for Terry since he graduated from LMU. He signed with the Denver Nuggets before heading to the Cleveland Cavaliers G-League team. From there he was traded to the Phoenix Suns, where he was playing for Sioux Falls before being signed to a 10-day contract.
Welcome to the Suns @EmanuelTerry08! pic.twitter.com/w2QnKs4FX7
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 28, 2019
Terry made his NBA debut on Jan. 27 against the Los Angeles Lakers. He logged over eight minutes, going 2-for-4 from the field and pulling down three rebounds. He joins Junior Harrington — who played for the Nuggets, New Orleans Hornets, and Memphis Grizzlies from 2002 to 2007 — out of Wingate as the only SAC players to make it to the NBA. Earlier this season Jaylen Morris out of Molloy made his second NBA stint for the Milwaukee Bucks after playing sporadically for the Atlanta Hawks last season. Former DII basketball stars making the NBA are not impossible, but certainly a rarity, making Terry’s next nine days worth watching.
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