Grace Prep ex Mudiay taken 7th overall by Denver in the NBA Draft

The road to the NBA was a long one for Emmanuel Mudiay.

After deciding to skip college out of high school and go to China and play pro basketball, Mudiay was selected seventh overall by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Draft Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“It was definitely tough. I kept my faith,” Mudiay said after being drafted.

Mudiay was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) before moving to Arlington when he was 5 years old.

He played his first two seasons at Arlington’s Grace Prep before transferring to Prime Prep in Dallas.

At Grace Prep, he won consecutive TAPPS titles while playing alongside former Baylor star Isaiah Austin during his freshman and sophomore years.

After an outstanding prep career that included an appearance in the McDonald’s All-American Game, Mudiay committed to SMU.

However, he decided to skip college and signed with the the Guangdong Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association for a reported $1.2 million.

He played in 12 games with Guangdong, but was severely limited by a sprained ankle. He still averaged 18 points and shot 57.4 percent on 3-pointers.

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Grace Prep ex Mudiay taken 7th overall by Denver in the NBA Draft."