Collin Sexton isn’t asking for much.

All the point guard wants out of Thursday’s NBA draft at Barclays Center is to be picked by a good team. Then Mark Walton Jersey Elite , he wants a long and injury-free career. Playoff and championship runs would be an obvious – and desired – bonus.

”And to just be happy,” Sexton said Wednesday. ”Because that’s the main thing. Be happy with what you’re doing because now it’s a job. It’s something that’s going to feed your family. You have to take it seriously.”

This is a 19-year-old speaking.

Opting for the fast lane, Sexton declared for the draft after his freshman season at Alabama, a program that hasn’t had a player drafted in the last decade. He’s only the second Crimson Tide freshman to do so, the first since the one-and-done rule was installed in 2006.

That year was enough.

”It was amazing,” Sexton said. ”I learned a whole lot – good, bad, everything. I feel like just being there and being around the group of guys I was with, I connected pretty well and had a good season.”

Sexton helped the Crimson Tide reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. He then scored 25 points in a victory over Virginia Tech to send Alabama to the second round, a feat it had not accomplished in 12 years.

The Southeastern Conference named Sexton SEC Co-Freshman of the Year – with Kentucky’s Kevin Knox, who is also in the draft – and The Associated Press awarded him Newcomer of the Year. Sexton finished second in the conference with 19.2 points per game, adding 3.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. He had 29 double-digit scoring games – 16 were 20 or more points, three were 30-plus points.

”A guy who plays extremely hard, he’s an overall great competitor,” said Oklahoma’s Trae Young, the draft’s other top point guard prospect. ”Whenever you’re a competitor like me, you like playing against people like that.”

The Young Bull – a nickname Sexton plans to keep in the NBA – grew up fast.

”Well Sam Darnold Jersey Elite , you have to,” he said. ”Because you have to leave.”

But he hasn’t had to say goodbye. Not yet.

Alabama coach Avery Johnson has been keeping up with Sexton and will be at draft. Johnson, a former NBA champion and coach, taught Sexton everything he could as a player and as an adult. He keeps reminding the young star to embrace this opportunity, soak it all in because it only happens once.

”Also, off the court, he just told me to always respect people,” Sexton said. ”You never know what they can do for you, and you never know who’s watching.”

Good advice, considering all the eyes on him this week.

Sexton’s eyes are wide, too. The excitement he feels is obvious. A smile sneaks on his face every time he talks about Thursday’s festivities. It’s a relief knowing all his hard work has paid off, and there’s an eagerness to get back out there.

Since Alabama’s season ended, Sexton has been working on his individual game. He’s already fast but thinks he can be faster. He went back and watched film to figure out where he can improve – and has done so.

Next time he’s on the court?

”It’ll be a big surprise,” Sexton said.

There’s that excitement.

A year ago, Sexton was fresh out of high school – his days at Pebblebrook High School in Mableton, Georgia, he said `feel like forever ago’ – and had just moved into his dorm at Alabama Authentic Mike McGlinchey Jersey , where he watched the 2017 draft. Pick after pick, he enjoyed players’ reactions. They were so genuine; that has always been his favorite part.

”I just envisioned myself doing it one day,” Sexton said.

That day is here. It’s his turn to experience that life-changing moment and, as he said, just be happy.

It’ll be both a dream come true and a job for the future.

”You grow up wanting to do this,” Sexton said. ”Everybody knows what’s going to come with it.”

—

>WASHINGTON 鈥?With nine of the 12 available playoff spots already locked down, along with seven of the eight division titles, there are very few important NFL games being played this weekend. In fact, the only game that will affect both a playoff spot and a potential division champion is Carolina vs. Atlanta, with the Panthers having already made the playoffs.But just because there aren鈥檛 many meaningful games doesn鈥檛 mean there can鈥檛 be some fun ones. In that vein, it鈥檚 worth taking a look back and appreciating one of the craziest games in modern NFL history, the aftermath of which’s far-reaching effects are still being felt.You may remember Tom Tupa (he finished his career with one season in Washington in 2004). A punter with an alliterative name that rolled off the tongue, he was also a college quarterback his senior season at Ohio State, and even a starting quarterback in the NFL, going 4-9 over 13 starts with the Cardinals between 1989-91. Perhaps that鈥檚 why when he was the Cleveland Browns鈥?punter and Bill Belichick was head coach, he was used to score the first two-point conversion in NFL history. Tupa鈥檚 fake from the holder position was actually used three times in that 1994 season, earning the nickname Two Point Tupa.Fast-forward to 1999. Tupa is now playing for the New York Jets http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-martavis-bryant-jersey , under Bill Parcells, with Belichick as his offensive coordinator. In the opening quarter of the first game of the season against the New England Patriots, franchise quarterback Vinny Testaverde goes down in a heap, his Achilles ruptured.Parcells had a decision to make. An obscure NFL rule did not allow him to activate his bench quarterback, Rick Mirer, until the fourth quarter, without losing his emergency quarterback (and punter), Tupa. Parcells rolled the dice on putting Tupa under center 鈥?the gamble worked.Tupa wasn鈥檛 perfect, taking a number of sacks, including one which led to a fumble and a New England touchdown. But he was otherwise pretty spectacular.Tupa entered the fourth quarter 6-for-11 for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He came in with his team down 10-7, but Parcells pulled him in favor of Mirer for the fourth quarter, with the Jets within five points. The Jets took the lead with a pick-six with under 10 minutes to play, but Mirer threw the game away 鈥?literally. He completed just four of his 11 passes, gaining just 28 yards and throwing a pair of interceptions, including the one that led to the game-winning field goal by none other than Adam Vinatieri.The Jets missed the playoffs by a single game, with the opener against the Patriots a glaring missed opportunity. Had they made it, Parcells may never have retired Frank Ragnow Lions Jersey , as he did at the end of the 鈥?9 season, opening the door for his assistant, Belichick, to become the next head coach of the Jets. But the Patriots fired their head coach 鈥?Pete Carroll 鈥?as well. That led to Belichick joining the Patriots and, after a successful stint at USC, Carroll to the Seattle Seahawks.The rest is not just history, but the dominant history of the league for nearly two decades, with New England drafting Tom Brady the next summer and winning five Super Bowls during his tenure. The fourth win came over the defending champion Seahawks, coached by Carroll, on the final play.What might the last 18 years of the NFL have looked like if Parcells had let Tupa finish that game? We鈥檒l never know. But it goes to show how even the most simple, insignificant-seeming choices can have ripple effects still felt across the league years later. Who knows 鈥?maybe something wild will happen this Sunday, the true impact of which won鈥檛 be felt for years to come. If we鈥檙e lucky enough to get anything like a Tom Tupa Game, hopefully whoever our unlikely hero is gets a chance to finish the job. Like WTOP on Facebook and follow WTOP on to engage in conversation about this article and others.漏 2017 WTOP. All Rights Reserved..