Pike's Teague, Vaden Selected in NBA Draft

On Thursday night, former Pike High School standout Jeff Teague's NBA dream became a reality.

Selected 19th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2009 NBA Draft, Teague, who stands 6-foot-2, became the eighth Indianapolis-area player in recent years to make it to the NBA.

Former Indianapolis prep standout Robert Vaden became the ninth and second Red Devil drafted in the same night as the Charlotte Bobcats selected the 6-5 guard/forward with the 54th overall pick. He was later traded to Oklahoma City.

Teague, a sophomore at Wake Forest, was one of the top scoring point guards in the nation last season. He averaged 18.0 points per game and helped the Demon Deacons reach the nation's top-ranking.

At Pike, Teague averaged 22.0 ppg as a senior in the regular season and 24.0 ppg in the postseason where he guided the Red Devils to a third straight sectional title in 2006-07.

Teague's first-round selection is the second in as many years for Pike, joining former Red Devils guard Courtney Lee, who was drafted by the Orlando Magic last year with the 22nd overall pick. On Thursday, Lee was traded to the New Jersey Nets in a deal that involved NBA All-Star Vince Carter. Lee started at shooting guard for the Magic this past season and started in the NBA Finals earlier this month.

Vaden was a teammate with Lee at Pike where the duo played key roles in the Red Devils' perfect 29-0 championship season in 2002-03. Coached by Larry Bullington, Pike won the Class 4A title by defeating DeKalb 65-52 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

After graduation, Vaden moved on to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Currently, Lawrence North's Greg Oden and Mike Conley, North Central's Eric Gordon, Indianapolis Broad Ripple's George Hill, Indianapolis Northwest's Rodney Carney and Carmel's Josh McRoberts are playing in the NBA.