Eric Maynor Drafted by Utah Jazz

Eric Maynor's dreams come true when Jazz select him with the 20th Pick 

There's no confirmation. But rumors have begun circulating that the roar which exploded in Tony Crawford's Fayetteville living room on Thursday night echoed all the way to Madison Square Garden. And possibly to EnergySolutions Arena in Utah as well.

At 9:29 p.m., NBA commissioner David Stern made Eric Maynor's lifelong dream come true, officially announcing that the Utah Jazz had selected Maynor with the 20th pick of Thursday's draft.

With Maynor tucked into his big brother's back bedroom in relative isolation, the 90 or so well-wishers spread throughout the rest of Crawford's house ignited the celebration.

First came that raucous scream, then some applause, then a passionate chant of "Salt Lake City! Salt Lake City!"

With glassy eyes as wide as dinner plates, Maynor shook his head with a look that was one part relief, two parts disbelief.

"That's a dream!" he shouted. "That's a dream! That's a dream!"

Maynor's dream sure took an agonizingly long time to become reality Thursday.

Just after 6:30 p.m., less than an hour before the draft began, the Virginia Commonwealth point guard and former Westover star had no idea how to relax. He wasn't hungry enough to sample even one bite of the elaborate spread that was overflowing from the kitchen. He didn't even really feel like talking much.

Like an eager groom in the hours before the wedding, Maynor simply knew he was about to experience an unforgettable night. Yet with no idea how it would unfold, his nerves short-circuited and his mind kept going blank.

Did he have any hunches as to which team might make his dream come true?

"Right now, man," Maynor said, "Blake Griffin is the only dude who knows where he's headed."

Maynor had taken a look at a few mock drafts. Plus friends had been calling or texting almost daily to tell him what they had seen on the Internet.

Yet none of that put him at ease.

Instead, he did everything he could Thursday to pass the time. He hung out with friends, went to see a cousin's summer league game at Douglas Byrd and spent a good chunk of the day at the mall.

Among his purchases: two new polos, plus a new pair of dress shoes he planned to wear to a Friday meet-and-greet with his new NBA team.

"Destination unknown," Maynor said. "But I know I'm going somewhere. I'm heading to my new city, my new home."

All day Maynor had little of his usual focus.

"My friends kept asking, 'You good?' " he said. "I was in a daze, just staring. My mind was everywhere."

Things proved equally taxing for his parents.

On Thursday morning, his father George went for a jog near his home in Hoke County. But before he knew it the anticipation and uncertainty and overwhelming happiness of the day had literally swept him off his feet.

"My legs got weak," George Maynor said. "And I went down to my knees on the side of the road and started praying. A little kid came over and asked 'Mister, you alright?' I told him I was. But I had been thinking about everything and that joy just got the best of me."

The tension didn't recede in the first two hours of the draft either. Maynor and his family knew the selection range he was projected in - anywhere from pick No. 13 all the way down to No. 24. Yet sitting through each and every selection was pure agony.

"Anyone know the number for the green room?" George Maynor asked. "I need to call and get them to speed this thing up."

The anticipation finally became pure exhilaration at No. 20. Just after the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Ty Lawson and the Atlanta Hawks nabbed Jeff Teague, Maynor got the call that he was headed for Utah.

His first hug went to De'Shaune Griffin, his best friend since childhood. Then came the embraces with his parents.

Then came the tearful, celebratory bear hug with Crawford.

"Enjoy this now," Crawford said. "The wait is over. It's always been hard. This has never been easy. But you worked for this. You earned this."

Maynor's mom, Barbara Johnson, couldn't stop smiling.

She had thought back six years to a fateful college day at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, where an adviser suggested Eric consider the community college route.

"Eric just said 'No way. I'm going to a university,' " Johnson said. "He told the man, 'My grades are good enough and I'm eventually going to the NBA. So you remember my name. Because when you see Eric Maynor, you'll remember I was the little guy who told you I wasn't going to community college. I was going to a university and going to the NBA.' "

That same driven and ambitious look was in Maynor's eyes Thursday after the Jazz gave him his ticket to the NBA.

"I'm trying to be an All-Star now," Maynor said. "I'm not trying to get into the NBA just to be there. I want to get there and do something special."