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Gonzaga Basketball

Lakers pick Sacre in NBA draft

Surrounded by family in Ville Platte, La., former Gonzaga Bulldog Robert Sacre was trying to get 9-month-old son Quinton to sleep when Sacre’s name popped up on the TV screen as the last pick of the two-round NBA draft Thursday night.

“I had my son in my arms and everyone screamed and my son just jumped,” Sacre said in a phone interview. “It’s great to be part of something like that, especially being with my family at the time.”

Sacre was selected 60th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. The 7-foot, 260-pound center from North Vancouver, B.C., worked out for 15 NBA teams but not the Lakers. He didn’t hear from the Lakers prior to the team’s selection.

“So I found out when everybody else did,” Sacre said. “It feels pretty damn good. It makes it even crazier that I didn’t work out for the Lakers. Just to part of a franchise like that is unbelievable.”

Sacre is the first Bulldog drafted since Austin Daye went to Detroit in the first round in 2009. He becomes the fifth Zag drafted by the Lakers’ franchise – Ronny Turiaf (2005), Paul Rogers (1997), Frank Burgess (1961) and Jean Claude Lefebvre (1960).

Sacre averaged 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds and blocked 47 shots as a senior. He was named the West Coast Conference defensive player of the year. Sacre’s rebounding averages increased every season. His highest scoring average was 12.4 points per game as a junior.

He was awaiting a phone call from the Lakers to learn details of his summer schedule.