For the first time since 1983, ASU had two men’s basketball players taken in the NBA Draft Thursday when James Harden was selected No. 3 overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Jeff Pendergraph was picked 31st overall by the Sacramento Kings and then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Harden, who is the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year, is the second-highest draft pick in school history. He was a consensus First-Team All-American this past season after averaging 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

Pendergraph was a staple in the Sun Devil lineup the past four seasons, playing in a school-record 126 career games. In 2008-09, he led the nation in field goal percentage (.66), averaged 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and was a First-Team All-Pac-10 selection.

Pendergraph was taken by Sacramento with the first pick of the second round, but he was then dealt to Portland in exchange for Sergio Rodriguez and the No. 38 overall pick. He will play for Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, who is the father of ASU junior guard Jamelle McMillan.

This past season, the duo of Harden and Pendergraph led ASU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003.