Sept. 30, 2010

RUSTON, La. - Recent Louisiana Tech alum Magnum Rolle has signed a two-year NBA contract with the Indiana Pacers.

The second round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Rolle followed a productive summer league with impressive play in the Pacer's preseason workouts.

Originally drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 51st overall pick, Rolle was traded to Indiana on draft night. The trade has panned out well for head coach Jim O'Brian as the Freeport, Bahamas native averaged 13.4 points and 7.0 rebounds in the Orlando Summer League.

"He's so athletic," O'Brien said. "He is extremely quick to the offensive glass. Because offensively he's always a threat from 17 feet away, a lot of the offensive rebounds he gets are away from the basket. It's hard to put a body on somebody that quick."

According to reports, the 6-11 forward has done all the right things in practice, using his athleticism to chase down loose balls, tip in missed shots and grab defensive rebounds.

"Magnum did what we want all of our players to do," said Tech head coach Kerry Rupp, "which is to leave here with a degree in hand, with skills to play at the next level and with the growth and maturity to handle his business on and off the court."

While at Tech, Rolle was a two-time member of the all-Western Athletic Conference Defensive Team while averaging 13.9 points and 8.4 rebounds as a senior. He left Tech third on the all-time blocked shots list with 123 in just two seasons.