Every Shocker fan waited restlessly to hear Cleanthony Early’s name called in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft. But teams continued to pass on Early and professional players and experts took notice.

Chandler Parsons, starting forward for the Houston Rockets tweeted: “Makes 0 sense that early has not been drafted. Kid can play.”

ESPN’s Skip Bayless also had high praise for Early. Bayless tweeted: “Underrated: Cleanthony. Take him fairly Early.”

In the second round, the New York Knicks finally took Early as the 34th pick. ESPN’s Jay Bilas approved, calling it a good fit.

Early became the first Wichita State athlete drafted since 1987 and will be joining fellow former Shocker, Touré Murry, who was picked up as a free agent last year.

At 6-foot-7 Early is a high-energy scorer with versatility on both ends of the floor.

He was the primary scoring option for Wichita State during their historic run, averaging 16.3 points and 6 rebounds a game as he became one of the top per-minute scorers in college basketball.

Early’s last game as a Shocker confirmed his NBA potential as he scored 31 points and shot 12 of 17 from the field against the star-studded Kentucky team. His perimeter shooting was on display as he drained several key three pointers during the game.

After the game, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith gave his impressions of Early on twitter:“This kid, Cleanthony Early…I mean, this dude is special…I see special written all over this dude, his future is on the next level, which will be the NBA.”

All season long, Early continued to improve, earning second-team All-American honors. On the biggest stage of his senior season Early displayed how high of a ceiling he may have despite being one of the oldest players selected in the draft.  

Growing up in Bronx, Early is quite familiar with the Knicks.  His family moved to Middletown, N.Y., where Early played for Pine Bush High, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds his senior year.

After two years of junior college and two years at Wichita State, Early is coming back to his home state a more refined and accomplished player. Early is an experienced player at the college level and could contribute to the Knicks immediately as a role player substituting for Carmelo Anthony — if he decides to re-sign with the Knicks.

If Anthony doesn’t re-sign, Early will have an opportunity to earn more minutes before the 2014-2015 season.