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Jared Cunningham looks to break Oregon State’s 14-year NBA draft drought

Craig Robinson, Jared Cunningham

Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson, left, comforts Jared Cunningham during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Conference championship in Los Angeles, Friday, March 9, 2012. Arizona won 72-61. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

AP

Oregon State carries the unfortunate title of being the major-conference team that has gone the longest without a player getting drafted by and NBA team.

But after 14 long years, it looks like guard Jared Cunningham will break that streak on Thursday night.

The 6-5 guard from Oakland, Calif. is projected to be selected in the second round tomorrow night, which would make him the first Beaver since Corey Benjamin in 1998 to hear his name called on draft night.

Cunningham had his best season at Oregon State in 2011-12, averaging 17.9 points and 3.8 rebounds for a Beaver team that finished 21-15, including 7-11 in the Pac-12. OSU reached the semifinals of the CBI tournament before being eliminated by Washington State.

With Cunningham likely off the board, that now leaves three schools with the title: Penn State, Nebraska, and Northwestern.

As compiled by Jeff Eisenberg over at Yahoo!, all three schools last had a player selected in 1999, with Evan Eschmeyer from Northwestern, Calvin Booth from Penn State, and Venson Hamilton from Nebraska.

Along with Oregon State, St. John’s is another school in the Top 5 that will break the streak Thursday night, with freshman forward Moe Harkless certainly being selected in the first round, perhaps even in the lottery.

To see the complete breakdown of Eisenberg’s list, click here.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_