VANCOUVER, British Columbia — 2000 SEC Co-Player of the Year Stromile Swift, who guided the Tigers to their first Sweet 16 appearance in more than a decade this spring signed the standard three-year NBA rookie contract with the Vancouver Grizzles on Tuesday afternoon.
Swift, a 6-foot-9 power forward signed for the maximum allowed by the league under the collective bargaining agreement which is $8.388 million over three years.
The Shreveport native averaged 16.2 points per game as a sophomore this season, helping the Tigers to a 28-6 record, the SEC Western Division title and a share of the overall SEC crown.
He became the 11th first-round draft pick in the school’s history, joining Tiger and NBA greats Bob Pettit, Pete Maravich, Chris Jackson (Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) and Shaquille O’Neal as top three picks overall. He also became the first Tiger selected in the NBA draft since Randy Livingston and Ronnie Henderson were chosen 42nd and 55th overall in the 1996 draft.
Among several postseason honors Swift received, the SEC Co-Player of the Year was named Second Team All-America by Basketball Times and Third Team All-America by the Associated Press. He was also named First-Team All-SEC by the AP and the coaches.