'And with the 11th pick of the 2002 NBA draft, the Washington Wizards select...' Jared Jeffries

The dream has come true.\nFormer IU star Jared Jeffries was selected No. 11 by the Washington Wizards in the 2002 NBA Draft Wednesday night in New York City.\n"All my life, I've (dreamed) to hear my name called for the NBA Draft," Jeffries said when he announced his decision to go pro.\nNow he must work with teammates Michael Jordan and No. 17-selection Juan Dixon -- the point guard for the University of Maryland that IU lost to in the NCAA Championship game -- to keep this dream a reality.\nJeffries is allowed to officially workout with Washington beginning July 1.\nFirst round\nAs expected, Yao Ming, C, from China was selected as the No. 1 pick by the Houston Rockets.\nThe Rockets finalized negotiations with Chinese officials Wednesday to allow Ming to play in the NBA while still being able to play for the Chinese National team at the World Championships in August at Indianapolis. Rockets legal counsel Michael Goldberg received a letter early Wednesday, confirming that all concerns had been addressed and that Yao would be available for the draft. \nYao averaged 32.4 points, 18.9 rebounds, 4.5 blocked shots and 1.5 steals per game for the Shanghai Sharks last season. He's a gifted outside shooter, although the Rockets know he must adapt to the rougher play in the NBA.\nHe's convinced the Rockets he's ready for the NBA. Now he has to prove himself to his new teammates.\n"He'll have to fit in with us," Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley said. "He's a very skilled player and that's fun, and he can pass the ball too. We'll feel him out after he gets here. I'm sure everything will work out. ...\n"He's the No. 1 pick and he has skills, he's not just your average 7-6 dude."\nThe No. 2 pick by Chicago was Jay Williams, PG, from Duke University, followed by No. 3 Mike Dunleavy, SF, from Duke to Golden State; No. 4, Drew Gooden, PF, from Kansas University to Memphis; No. 5, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, PF, from Georgia to Denver; No. 6, Dajuan Wagner, PG, from the University of Memphis to Cleveland; No. 7, Maybyner Hilario, PF, from Brazil to Denver -- New York traded their pick, along with Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson for Antonio McDyess from Denver; No. 8, Chris Wilcox, PF, from Maryland to the Los Angeles Clippers; No. 9, Amare Stoudemire, PF, from Cypress Creek H.S. to Phoenix; No. 10, Caron Butler, SF, from the University of Connecticut to Miami; No. 11, Jeffries, SF, from IU to Washington; No. 12, Melvin Ely, PF, from Fresno State University to the Los Angeles Clippers -- the team's second power forward they picked in this year's first-round; No. 13, Marcus Haislip, PF, from the University of Tennessee to Milwaukee; No. 14, Frederick Jones, SG, from the University of Oregon to Indiana; No. 15, Bostjan Nachbar, SF, from Slovenia to Houston; No. 16, Jiri Welsch, SG, from the Czech Republic to Philadelphia; No. 17, Dixon, PG, from Maryland to Washington; No. 18, Curtis Borchardt, C, from Stanford University to Orlando; No. 19, Ryan Humphrey, PF, from the University of Notre Dame to Utah; No. 20, Kareem Rush, SG, from the University of Missouri to Toronto; No. 21, Qyntel Woods, SF, from Northeast Mississippi Junior College to Portland; No. 22, Casey Jacobsen, SG, from Stanford to Phoenix; No. 23, Tayshaun Prince, SF, from the University of Kentucky to Detroit; No. 24, Nenad Krstic, C, from Yugoslavia to New Jersey; No. 25, Frank Williams, PG, from the University of Illinois to New York -- through their trade with Denver; and No. 26, John Salmons, SG, from the University of Miami, Fla. to San Antonio. \nThe rest of the draft was not finished at press time.\nFor more on Jeffries and his future in the NBA, please be sure to check next week's IDS.