BROOKLYN, N.Y.— Despite playing just 16 games in his college career, Chris McCullough was still selected in the first round of the NBA draft.

The 19-year-old suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, couldn’t work out for teams, and had minimal experience against top competition, but was taken No. 29 overall in the first round by the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night at Barclays Center.

McCullough averaged 9.3 points per game last season, though only 4.3 during his final eight games. He played in just three conference games, where he averaged three points per game. Had he stayed healthy, some projected McCullough to be a lottery pick, though Jim Boeheim thought otherwise.

McCullough came into Syracuse with question marks — why he was expelled from Brewster Academy chief among them — but showed early on in his Syracuse career that length and athleticism were not points of concern.

There’s no guarantee that he’ll be ready for start of the upcoming season, but his potential abilities in the long-term proved to be more enticing than what he could provide early in the 2015-2016 season.