N.C. Central's David Young wasn't at a big party Thursday night when the Seattle SuperSonics called his name in the second round of the NBA draft.

He was alone in an Atlanta hotel room, he said. But it wasn't long until he was in the middle of a telephone party of sorts. Young said he got "at least 50" calls on his cell phone within the first couple of hours after the Sonics called his name at pick No. 41 early in the second round.

Young, the first NCCU player selected in an NBA draft in 21 years, is one of two Eagles to be picked before the fifth round of that league's draft, which has gone only two rounds since 1989.

The other was Hall of Famer Sam Jones, the Boston Celtics' No. 8 draft pick in 1957.

Young was the only NCAA Division II player selected in the 2004 draft.

Young was in town Monday to visit his family and the NCCU basketball office. His mother, Melinda Rodriguez, sister Charity, one-year-old daughter Nia and Nia's mother Tionda Jennings all live in Durham.

"When I saw my name I said, 'Thank God!' " said Young, who watched as ESPN's Mike Tirico misinterpreted 'NCC' as North Carolina Charlotte instead of North Carolina Central. "I knew I was going to get drafted. It was just a great experience for me going through all my workouts and getting drafted. This has always been my dream, and it came true!"

Young said his dad, David Sr., follows his career avidly over the Internet and was watching intently when he saw his name come up. And his mom was pretty excited, too.

"She was probably more excited about it than I was," Young said with a laugh.

Young came to NCCU after graduating from Xavier with a year of eligibility remaining. He was free to use that year at a Division II school if he didn't return to the Musketeers.

The New Castle, Pa., product and 1999 Pennsylvania high school player of the year made a big impact during his only season in Durham, becoming the first NCCU player in 21 years to hit more than 200 field goals in a season.

The 6-5, 208-pounder is a shooting guard after playing every position but center for the 16-13 Eagles, who came within one win of a Western Division championship and played in their first CIAA Tournament final since 2000.

Young made both the all-conference and all-tournament teams after averaging 20.5 points per game.

Then his stock really started to rise. Along with his workouts with the Sonics on June 4 and again on the 19th, he made visits to Houston (May 24), Washington (May 27), the Los Angeles Lakers (May 28 and June 23), Detroit (June 14), San Antonio (June 15), Dallas (June 17), Miami (June 21) and Atlanta (June 22).

"I thought it was great," former Eagles coach Phil Spence, who was fired after the season ended, said of Young's selection. "I'm really happy for DY."

Spence, a member of N.C. State's 1974 NCAA championship team that ended UCLA's legendary seven-year title run, was himself picked in the sixth round of the 1976 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

"David is a really hard worker," Spence said. "He's strong, tough, has great body control and is a very good shooter. Every time we needed a shot at the end of a game, the ball was in his hands."

Spence noted the connection between his program and the Sonics, since his volunteer assistant Randy McMillan is the brother of Seattle head coach Nate McMillan.

"I was really excited," said NCCU assistant coach MarQus Johnson, a holdover from Spence's staff. "I'm happy for him after all the hard work he's done, and it's a great thing for the university, too.

"I think if he hadn't gotten picked by Seattle, there were a lot of other teams lined up to take him later."

Young said he had a lot of fun traveling to the tryouts, where he got to stay in the best hotels and could order whatever he wanted for dinner.

"Flying all around the country wasn't that fun, but I need to get used to it with an 82-game schedule," Young said.

The Sonics' first pick was 7-0 high school center Robert Swift, so Young is the team's top rookie candidate in the backcourt.

"I think I've got a realistic shot at making it," Young said. "Richie Frahm went to Charlotte in the expansion draft and Brent Barry is a free agent. I just know I have a lot of hard work to do."

The last Eagle selected in the draft before Young was David Binion, chosen by the same Sonics in the 10th round as the 221st overall pick in the 1983 draft after averaging 22.4 points per contest and earning All-CIAA honors as a senior. A year earlier, NCCU's Donald Sinclair was a 10th round selection (217th overall) by the Washington Bullets. Joe Pridgen was selected in 1969 (Round 18, San Diego Rockets), Lee Davis in 1968 (Round 10, Phoenix Suns), and Ted Manning, NCCU's all-time leading scorer, in 1965 (Round 5, Detroit Pistons).