Draft night is meant to be a celebration, and it would have been for Johnathan Motley had he not suffered an unlucky ending to a standout college career.
Motley tore his meniscus in his final collegiate game, a 70-50 loss to South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. Motley, a junior and consensus Second Team All-American, played through the pain, which reveals as much about his toughness as it does his determination.
But those traits will only take you so far, and as NBA teams prepared for full-fledged scouting season, his injured knee kept him off many clubs’ draft boards.