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Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who played his freshman and sophomore seasons of college basketball at Northern Illinois University before transferring to Penn State for his junior year, was taken 30th overall Wednesday by the Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round of the NBA Draft.
The 7-foot Swiss center played for NIU during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, starting 28 games and averaging 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds his sophomore year before entering the transfer portal.
In his lone year with the Nittany Lions, Konan Niederhauser averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks a game. Entering the NBA Draft before his senior year, he became the first-ever first-round pick in Penn State history.
NIU previously had a first-round draft pick who played for the Huskies – Kenny Battle in 1989, who spent two seasons in DeKalb before transferring to the University of Illinois.