NEW YORK - Temple University senior guard Mardy Collins was selected by the New York Knicks with the 29th pick of the first round of the NBA Draft held at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night.  Collins becomes the eighth Temple Owl selected in the first round and the first since Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie were selected with the 10th (Los Angeles Lakers) and 17th (Portland) picks of the 1994 Draft.  Collins is also the first Temple player taken in the Draft since 2000 when Mark Karcher was chosen with the 19th pick of the second round by Philadelphia.

"It's going to be a tough situation, but I think I'm ready to go in there," Collins said. "They thought it was the right decision, so I'm going to go in there and work hard and not pay attention to any distractions."

"I talked to coach Isiah Thomas, he just said he was excited about me coming up,"Collins added. "I'm ready to go there and be ready and work and play hard this year."

Collins, who ended his Temple career fourth on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,919 points, led the Owls in scoring (16.8 points), assists (4.0 apg.) and steals (2.8 spg.) for the second straight season.     The Philadelphia native (Simon Gratz) earned first team all-Atlantic 10 Conference, all-Big 5 and all-District (USBWA) for the second straight season.  He was also named First Team All-America and All-Defensive Team by collegeinsider.com. 

The 6-6 point guard ended his Temple career second on the all-time steal list with 290 steals.  He ranked ninth nationally in steals last season and 10th (2.8 spg.) as a junior in 2004-05.

TEMPLE'S ALL-TIME FIRST ROUND NBA DRAFT PICKS*

Mardy Collins (29th, New York, 2006)
Eddie Jones (10th, LA Lakers, 1994)
Aaron McKie (17th, Portland, 1994)
Mark Macon (8th, Denver, 1991)
Duane Causwell (18th, Sacramento, 1990)
Tim Perry (7th, Phoenix, 1988)
Terence Stansbury (15th, Dallas, 1984)
Guy Rodgers (5th, Philadelphia, 1958)
*prior to 1957 the drafts were territorial