Illinois’ Meyers Leonard Going to Portland Trailblazers

The Portland Trailblazers chose Illinois center Meyers Leonard with the 11th overall pick in Thursday night's N-B-A Draft. The Robinson, Illinois native was joined by former Illini coach Bruce Weber at draft headquarters in Newark, New Jersey.

Leonard is the Illini's first, first-round draft pick since Deron Williams and Luther Head in 2005, and the first N-B-A player recruited by Weber in his 14 years as a head coach.

The 7'1" Leonard averaged 13.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore last season before declaring early for the draft. He led the Big Ten with an average of 1.9 blocks per game.

Under the N-B-A rookie salary scale, Leonard is guaranteed a minimum of $2,899,120 over the next two years.

(Additional reporting from the Associated Press)