Crotty, Quinzani, McKee taken in draft

Defenseman Parker McKee, drafted by the Long Island Lizards, Ned Crotty, taken by the Chicago Machine and Max Quinzani, picked by the Boston Cannons, will continue their lacrosse careers in the MLL next season.
Defenseman Parker McKee, drafted by the Long Island Lizards, Ned Crotty, taken by the Chicago Machine and Max Quinzani, picked by the Boston Cannons, will continue their lacrosse careers in the MLL next season.

While it probably doesn’t match the feeling of winning the national championship, this past week brought more good news for Duke.

Last Thursday night, attacker Ned Crotty was honored with the 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded annually to the nation’s best player. Crotty, who, along with Matt Danowski, is the only Blue Devil to ever win the award, beat out other stars like Virginia’s Ken Clausen and Syracuse’s Joel White in the ceremony at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Crotty ended 2010 with 63 assists, more than anyone else in the country and a Duke single-season record. He was also named to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association first team for the second time.

But Crotty wasn’t done racking up recognitions for his accomplishments this season.

Sunday evening, at the Major League Lacrosse draft held at Yale University, Crotty was selected by the Chicago Machine with the first overall pick. It was the first time in the draft’s history that a Blue Devil was taken with the first selection. “I am looking forward to playing in Major League Lacrosse,” Crotty said in a statement. “I have been told that this is a style of play that fits me and the up-tempo play of game will be exciting.”

After Johns Hopkins’ Michael Kimmel went with the second pick, Max Quinzani was drafted by the Boston Cannons. The Duxbury, Mass. native will have a chance to again become a hometown hero in the Bay State, especially if he can help bring the Cannons their first Steinfeld Cup.

“I am excited to join the Cannons family,” Quinzani said in a statement. “I want to bring some of the success I had at Duke to Boston and I am excited to try and win a championship in Boston.”

In no time at all, another Blue Devil went off the board—defenseman Parker McKee, taken with the fourth pick by the Long Island Lizards. As McKee tells it, the selection was unexpected.

“I was really surprised,” McKee said. “Crotty and Quinzani got texts before they were picked from their teams as a heads-up. I didn’t get one, and I knew that Long Island wanted a defenseman so I was a little nervous. But then they called my name.”

The draft was the first ever in MLL history in which three players from the same school were selected with the first four picks.

While the graduating Blue Devils have enjoyed celebrating their title in Durham and in Las Vegas—where the seniors spent some time cooling down from the stresses of the NCAA tournament—Crotty and McKee will morph from teammates into opponents by this weekend.

Due to the MLL’s unorthodox scheduling format, players drafted Sunday end up playing for their teams only a week after they joined them. Crotty and the Machine will play McKee and the Lizards during Week 5 action in Albany, N.Y this Saturday. McKee, for one, looks forward to the challenge of playing against his former teammate only two weeks after beating Notre Dame to win the national championship. He also thinks he has the upper hand in their matchup.

“It’s going to be a lot easier for me because I’ve gone against him in practice so I know what he’s going to do. So I think I have the advantage there,” McKee said. “I hope I get to cover him…. It’s a pretty cool opportunity—we played together for four years and we became great teammates. It’s going to be fun talking to him during the game.”

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