DME at SJNA Basketball Program Sees Stars Made in the 2023-24 NBA Season

DELAFIELD, Wis., May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Announced in May of 2024, the DME Academy at St. John's Northwestern Academies basketball program is about to conclude its first full year of partnership between the two schools. While the program in Delafield continues to gain momentum for 2024-25, a number of alums from the two academies took some huge strides in their respective NBA seasons.

The 2023-24 NBA season was a special one for a trio of players: Keegan Murray ('20 DME) - Sacramento Kings, Kris Murray ('21 DME) - Portland Trail Blazers, & Brandin Podziemski ('21 SJNA) - Golden State Warriors.

In his second season, Keegan Murray took a huge leap, and helped guide the Kings to the postseason, where they fell to the Pelicans in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Keegan jumped to 15.2 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game and 45 percent shooting from the field. The second-year player was also honored by the NBA as a Rising Star as part of this year's All-Star Weekend.

Highlighting the year for Keegan was a record-breaking 47-point performance in a win over the Utah Jazz. He set Kings records for three pointers with 12, points in a quarter with 26, and also hit an NBA-record 11 consecutive shots from behind the arc. For more on his historic night, click here:

Kris Murray was taken with the 23rd pick of the 2023 draft just behind SJNA's Podziemski. The Trail Blazers forward was All-Big Ten in his final season with Iowa and worked his way into the Blazers rotation playing in 62 games and starting 29. Kris notched 6.1 points per game and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 39 percent from the field.

Kris's best game of his rookie year came in a matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers in which he poured in a career-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds and 3-6 from beyond the arc.

Rounding out the trio was Brandin Podziemski, who was taken with the 19th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. "Podz" grew into his role as the year wore on and started 28 of 74 games played, averaging 26.6 minutes per game. He totaled 9.2 points per game for the season, grabbed 5.8 rebounds and a strong 3.7 assists. Brandin also led the Warriors in +/- on the year while shooting 45% from the field.

Highlighting the season for Podziemski, was his inclusion in the 2024 NBA All-Star festivities. The rookie was named a "Rising Star" by the NBA for his stellar freshman campaign. Read the full recap of his rookie season here:

To learn more and apply today to be apart of the DME at SJNA basketball program visit: sjnacademies.org/dme

Founded in 1884, St. John's Northwestern Academies develops young men and women inspired to become responsible citizens and moral and ethical leaders for the global community. Learn more at www.sjnacademies.org

SOURCE St. John's Northwestern Academies