Taj Gibson was the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 at USC, and the Chicago Bulls took him with the Twenty-Sixth Pick of that year's Draft.
The Power Forward started most of his games as a rookie, but he was best served coming off the bench. Gibson still logged significant minutes and had two straight years with at least 10 Points and 6 Rebounds per Game (2013-14 & 2014-15). He was an above-average defensive player who was in the top seven in Defensive Rating twice.
Gibson was traded to Oklahoma City in 2017, and over his 562-Game career as a Bull, he averaged 9.4 Points, 6.4 Rebounds, and 1.2 Blocks per Game.
A First Round Pick from Washington, Hugh McElhenny traveled down the Interstate-5 to begin his professional football career.
B.J. Armstrong left the University of Iowa as their all-time Assists leader, and who was he going to pass to as a pro? Michael Jordan.
Taken Eighteenth Overall in 1989, Armstrong came off the bench in his first three seasons with the Bulls, but he saw increasing minutes each year. Armstrong was part of the Bulls' first three-peat (1991-93), and he was no longer coming off the pine in the last championship year. Now the starting Point Guard, Armstrong led the NBA in Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (.453), and he averaged 12.3 Points per Game.
With Jordan retiring to play baseball after the 1992-93 season, Armstrong had an increased workload on offense. The Point Guard went to the All-Star Game in 1994, and he had a career-high in PPG with 14.8. He averaged 14.0 Points the following season, which was the same one where Jordan returned in the late winter. Armstrong would not have another full season with MJ, as the Toronto Raptors plucked him in the Expansion Draft.