NORFOLK, Va. – Former Norfolk State men’s basketball standout Kyle O’Quinn will soon be joining the New York Knicks thanks to a sign-and-trade deal with the Orlando Magic, several media outlets began reporting this weekend.
O’Quinn, a restricted free agent who spent his first three years in the NBA with Orlando, has reportedly signed a four-year, $16 million deal, with the fourth year as a player option. His contract cannot become official until Thursday, when a league moratorium is lifted on roster movements.
The deal will bring the Queens, New York native home after his four-year NSU career and subsequent three-year stint with Orlando. The Magic drafted the 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward/center in the second round in 2012, the 49th overall selection. It marked the first NBA draft pick for Norfolk State since 1988 and the first for the MEAC since 1998.
He averaged 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 16.2 minutes per game last year with Orlando. O’Quinn has averaged 5.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.9 blocks during his three years in the NBA, starting 41 games and appearing in 177 altogether. He has shot slightly better than 50 percent overall and 70 percent from the free throw line.
A three-year starter and four-year player with the Spartan program, O’Quinn was a two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and also took home the conference’s Player of the Year award in 2012 after leading the Spartans to their first ever MEAC title. He averaged 15.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks as a senior, including 26 points and 14 rebounds in NSU’s upset of No. 2 seed Missouri in the NCAA tournament.
At the time, it marked just the fifth-ever upset of a No. 2 seed by a No. 15 seed in tournament history. O’Quinn later won the Lou Henson Award as the nation’s top mid-major player and was the MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. He finished his career as the all-time leader in blocks at NSU with 283 and also ranks seventh in rebounds (1,092) and 17th in points (1,607).
O’Quinn played basketball for two years at Campus Magnet HS in Cambria Heights, New York. An unheralded player coming out of high school, NSU was the only Division I school to offer him a scholarship.
In exchange for O’Quinn, the Magic acquired cash and the right to swap a future second-round pick with New York. O’Quinn will be joining a Knicks organization that won a franchise-low 17 games last year.