Ty Jerome, Another Iona Prep Grad, Goes to Suns on NBA Draft Night

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Ty Jerome is a member of the Phoenix Suns after the Suns acquired the rights to the Iona Preparatory School graduate from the Boston Celtics during the NBA Draft June 20.

The league is expected to finalize the deal July 6.

Jerome, the 24th pick in the NBA Draft, played four seasons at Iona Prep and three at the University of Virginia where he led the Cavaliers to the NCAA Division I championship in April. A week after leading Virginia to the national title, he announced he was forgoing his senior season to enter the NBA Draft.

“We imagine this moment must be especially sweet for Ty, having gone from the frustration of losing his high school senior season to double hip surgery, to the euphoria of winning a national championship and now being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft,” said Brother Thomas R. Leto, C.F.C, president of Iona Prep, in a statement from the school.

“But that senior season showed us the man the Phoenix Suns are getting—a mentally and physically strong young man who is as committed to the process and his community as he is to the game. We were proud of him then, and even more so now.”

Jerome earned Class AA first-team all-state honors from the New York State Sportswriters Association as a junior in 2014-2015 before his senior season ended in January 2016 when he learned he needed double hip surgery.

At Virginia, Jerome finished with career totals of 1,011 points, 317 rebounds and 384 assists in 105 games. He had 16 points, six rebounds and eight assists in Virginia’s 85-77 overtime victory over Texas Tech in the NCAA final. In the 63-62 semifinal win over Auburn, he scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

“Ty was the epitome of the Iona Prep scholar-athlete, every bit as cerebral in the classroom as he was on the court,” said Iona Prep Athletic Director Bernard Mahoney. “Looks like we’ll be adding a (Suns) purple and orange jersey to the collection outside my office.”