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Heat selects UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. with 18th overall pick in NBA Draft

6-foot-7 Bruins star named 2023 Pac-12 player of year
Jaime Jaquez Jr. greets NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 18th overall by Miami Heat in 2023 NBA Draft
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
John Minchillo/AP
UCLA's Jaime Jaquez Jr. greets NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 18th overall by the Miami Heat during the NBA Draft, Thursday, June 22, 2023, in New York.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. greets NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 18th overall by Miami Heat in 2023 NBA Draft
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MIAMI — The Miami Heat looked west to find their next young prospect.

Miami selected UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. with the 18th overall pick in Thursday night's NBA Draft.

Jaquez, 22, was a consensus second-team All-American and the 2023 Pacific 12 Conference player of the year.

UCLA Bruins forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. dunks in second half of Sweet 16 in NCAA tournament against Gonzaga Bulldogs, March 23, 2023
UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. goes up for a dunk in the second half of a Sweet 16 game against Gonzaga in the West Regional of the NCAA tournament, Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Las Vegas.

The 6-foot-7 UCLA star scored 1,802 points in four seasons with the Bruins. He averaged 17.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game as a senior last season.

"Surreal," Jaquez said on ESPN after being drafted. "Words can't describe it right now."

He was the only first-round draft pick from a Pac-12 school.

Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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