Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early was a second-round pick in the NBA draft.

It was a long, excruciating wait for Early, as he sat restlessly with a group of 15 family members and friends inside Brooklyn’s 40/40 Club. Early was projected to be a mid-late first round draft pick.

Early, friends and family all celebrated and waited for the New York Knicks to select him as the 34th NBA pick in round two.

Early never worked out for the Knicks during the draft process. He had no indication his hometown team would select him.

“I can’t ask for a better position. This is where I was born and I was raised. It means everything to me … the opportunity to play for my city,” Early said. “It’s definitely a dream come true, but there’s so much more that I want to do and want to accomplish. It’s very humbling that I still have a lot of work to be done.”

WSU assistant coach Greg Heiar – whom also recruited Early from a Division III junior college in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. called it a “perfect fit.”

“Cleanthony’s perfect for the triangle offense,” Heiar said.

Last season, the Knicks struggled shooting consistently form the perimeter. Early could help. He shot nearly five three point shots a game and averaged 37.6 percent for the Shockers, that would put him second on the Knicks current roster, third if Carmelo Anthony continues playing with them.

Last season Early averaged 16.3 points per game and shot 48.7 percent from the field.

No other player besides Anthony put up better numbers.

There wasn’t another small forward on the Knicks roster last season besides Anthony that averaged more than ten points a game.

Worse than that, no other player averaged 15 points after Anthony’s 27.4 points a game.

Early averaged 16 points a game, taking three less shots, in five less minutes than the Knicks second and third leading scorers.

Should Anthony leave the Knicks, analysts believe Early could be a key contributor for them next season.

The Knicks didn’t make a pick in the first round of the draft but managed to get a B draft grade from Sports Illustrated and USA Today.

No one expected Early to fall to the second round.

But it won’t be the first time NBA owners and general managers and coaches have made that mistake.

Like Early, Manu Ginobili of the Championship San Antonio Spurs was selected in the second round with the 57th pick in the ’99 draft.

The Detroit Pistons went with the 27th pick and took Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman in the second round of the ‘86 draft.  And like Early, Rodman was regarded as a potential steal.

Rodman is revered as probably the best rebounding forward to ever play the game, averaging 13.1 during his 14-year career. He is a five-time NBA champion, won Defensive Player of the Year twice (’90 and ’91) and was named to seven NBA All-Defensive First Teams. From ’91 to ’98 Rodman averaged over 15 rebounds a game.

Being drafted by Phil Jackson, Early could be the second round draft pick to prove the doubters wrong . . .and he knows it.

“I’ll start by saying Phil Jackson is Phil Jackson and it was just awesome to get to meet him and have him know who I am and to believe in my abilities and my approach to the game, knowing who Phil Jackson is and the things that he’s done and the type of person that he is on top of everything,” Early said. “It’s honestly very special, and everything happens for a reason. I definitely look at it as a very valuable experience that comes along. It’s Phil Jackson and he picked me for a reason.

“And whatever that reason is, he’s seen something that I feel like I see it too and I just got to continue to develop and to get it out to where it needs to be. It’s Phil, man. I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else doing this.”