Per a Philadelphia 76ers press release, the NBA club has officially signed their 2012 NBA draft picks Maurice Harkless and Arnett Moultrie. Harkless was selected by the Sixers with the 15th pick in this year's draft.
A freshman star for the St. John's Red Storm, Harkless averaged 15.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game in Big East play (15.5/ 8.6/ 1.4 overall) playing 36 minutes per game, winning the Big East Rookie of the Year award for 2012. Maurice (then called by his nickname Moe), made his presence felt with notable performances against Providence (32 points/ 13 rebounds/ 4 steals), Duke (30 points/ 13 rebounds/ 3 steals), and against Pittsburgh in the Big East Tournament (25 points/ 9 rebounds).
"We think he's a terrific athlete with tremendous upside," said Philadelphia Sixers head coach Doug Collins after draft. Sixers President Rod Thorn said after the selection, "we felt [Harkless] one of the top 10 players in this draft."
Harkless played one full game in the 2012 Las Vegas Summer League, showing some of his versatility; a hip flexor injury sidelined him for the rest of the evaluative games. He earned a solid review from summer league coach Aaron McKie, and the Sixers will continue to work to develop his skill set.
Per the rookie scale (taken from HoopsRumors), Maurice Harkless is slated to make $1.73 million in his first season. Official contract numbers were not released by the Sixers.
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