Before They Were Nuggets

Have you ever wondered where your Denver Nuggets played before they were NBA players? Fear not, because Nugg Love was curious too and they did all the digging for you! We hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane.

Darrell Arthur, Kansas 2006-2008

Arthur was once a standout for the Kansas Jayhawks, leading them over Derrick Rose‘s Memphis Tigers in the 2008 National Championship Game. He averaged 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per-game during his two year campaign as a Jayhawk. In addition to winning the National Championship, he was also named First Team All-Big 12 as a sophomore. He was selected 28th overall by the New Orleans Hornets in 2008, but was soon on the move. He was traded to the Portland Blazers for cash, and then from Portland to Memphis in a three-team trade involving the Houston Rockets (the same trade that sent Nicolas Batum to Portland).

Will Barton, Memphis 2010-2012

‘The People’s Champ’ was just that during his college years, dominating everyone who faced him. During his sophomore season, he averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds per-game, and was named to the Third Team All-American squad, in addition to many Conference USA awards. He was selected 40th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012 draft.

Wilson Chandler, DePaul 2005-2007

After dominating the Big East his freshman year and being named to the All-Freshman team in the conference, Chandler was looking to follow it up with an even bigger sophomore campaign. In the 2006-2007 season, Chandler was named Second Team All-Big East, and he was a regular on Sportscenter with highlight dunks. Playing for a lackluster DePaul team, Chandler never got the chance to shine in March Madness, but he did make the National Invitational Tournament his sophomore season. He was drafted by the New York Knicks in 2007, with the 23rd overall pick, and was a part of the trade that sent former Nugget Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks.

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Ian Clark, Belmont 2009-2013

Clark left little-known Belmont as their career leading scorer and three-point leader. Clark led the team for four years, carrying his team to four straight conference tournament championship games and three straight NCAA Tournament berths. When his time was done in college, he entered the NBA Draft and unfortunately, he was not drafted. Days after the draft, he was signed by the Utah Jazz as an underrated free-agent.

Kenneth Faried, Morehead State 2007-2011

Turns out ‘The Manimal’ has always been ‘The Manimal’ — dominating from the moment he stepped on campus in 2007. He surpassed Tim Duncan‘s NCAA career rebounding record, and he had his jersey retired before the season was even over, seeing his number 35 go into the rafters on senior night. In addition to his all-time great career at MSU, he also helped engineer one of the biggest upsets in March Madness, leading Moorehead State over Louisville in the first round, capping a rare 11 over 4 seed victory.

Randy Foye, Villanova 2002-2006

Foye was a very good player for the Wildcats, finishing as the eighth leading scorer in school history and garnering almost every postseason honor — including being a Wooden Award Finalist, Sporting News First Team All-American, Associated Press All-America First Teamer and an All-Big East First Teamer. He was then selected by the Boston Celtics with the seventh overall pick, but he was soon traded to Portland. who then immediately turned around and traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Danilo Gallinari, Italy 2005-2008

Gallinari is one of few players that came from overseas from the Nuggets. Notably, he made his professional debut as a 16 year-old for Assigeco Casalpusterlengo of the Italian Serie B-1 League in 2004. From there, he went on to carry out great things for his club, including being named as the Euroleague’s Rising Star for 2006-2007, and playing in the Italian All-Star Game in 2007. Soon after, he was drafted in the 2008 Draft by the New York Knicks with the sixth overall pick. Gallinari was also one of the feature players in the Carmelo trade, and one of the few from that trade left on the roster today.

Erick Green, Virginia Tech 2009-2013

Green was a wonderful player in college who has yet to translate as a professional. His senior season was his best, leading the NCAA in scoring with 25.0 ppg. That year he was also named ACC Player of the Year. From there, he was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 46th overall pick in 2013, but he never played for them. He played one year overseas before signing with Denver in 2014.

Gary Harris, Michigan State 2012-2014

Harris was a well decorated player coming into the NBA. He was a standout on the State team that went all the way to the Elite Eight his sophomore year, and he has earned many awards, including Big 10 Freshman of the Year, Big 10 All-Defensive First Team, and he was a McDonald’s All-American too. He was selected with the 14th overall pick by Chicago, and was traded to Denver that night.

JJ Hickson, NC State 2007-2008

Hickson was one of the most highly sought- after recruits in the country coming out of high school. After choosing NC State, he took the conference by storm by averaging 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per-game. After his short stint in college, he left for the NBA and he was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 19th overall pick.

Joffrey Lauvergne, France 2009-2015

Lauvergne is one of the more interesting players on the team, given his unique journey to the league. His professional career began in 2009, after making his debut in his home country of France. From there he bounced around Europe and played in Spain, Serbia, and Russia, until signing with the Nuggets in February. Joffrey was drafted in the 2012 Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 55th overall pick and his rights were traded to Denver that night. He decided to take the Ricky Rubio route — stay overseas and develop until February, when he inked a two-year deal.

Ty Lawson, North Carolina 2006-2009

Lawson ended his career as arguably the best point guard in UNC history with awards such as the 2009 Bob Cousy Award, which honors the nation’s top collegiate point guard, and being named First Team All-Tournament in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, during his National Championship campaign. He was also involved in one of my favorite (sarcasm) moments in Minnesota Timberwolves history by being one of three point guards (Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn were also selected by the team) taken in the first-round by the Wolves. This ultimately led to his trade to Denver, Ricky Rubio staying overseas for a while, and another missed opportunity by the Wolves to get some real talent on the roster.

Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph’s 2000-2004

Nelson is truly one of the college basketball greats, helping lead little known Saint Joseph’s University to their first undefeated season, first number one ranking nationally, and their first-ever one seed in the NCAA Tournament. During his senior year, he won literally every award possible for a point guard, being named the Associated Press, Wooden, Naismith, Rupp, Robertson and Chevrolet Player of the Year awards. He shared the NABC Top Player award with Connecticut’s Emeka Okafor, while being chosen as Player of the Year by The Sporting News, ESPN.com, SI.com and FoxSports.com. He also was a unanimous First Team All-America choice and Atlantic-10 Player of the Year — all while averaging 20.6 points, 5.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.97 steals per-game. He was drafted by Denver in 2004, but he was traded to the Orlando Magic that night.

Jusuf Nurkic, Bosnia & Herzegovina 2012-2014

‘The Bosnian Beast’ has been dominating every level of basketball so far in his young career. He began turning heads as a 7-foot, 280-pound teenager in the Adriatic League and an MVP performance in the FIBA Under-20 European Championships Division B — totaling 21.4 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.63 blocks over eight games, leading his country to the title game. He was selected in the 2014 Draft, with the 16th overall pick by the Chicago Bulls, and was then traded to Denver that night.

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