Arizona's Dalen Terry lives out NBA draft dream at LoLo's Chicken and Waffles in Scottsdale

There's no place like home to celebrate lifelong dreams fulfilled with friends and family in your birthplace.

Five of the eight Arizona-connected basketball players who sported gaudy suits and jewelry during Thursday's NBA Draft at the Brooklyn Nets' Barclays Center sat among the 20 invitees in the arena's green room before teams selected them.

Six total players who have ties to Arizona from their high school and college days were selected in the first round. Among that group was Dalen Terry, who held his draft party at soul food restaurant LoLo's Chicken and Waffles' Scottsdale location.

When the 6-foot-7 Arizona Wildcats sophomore guard received a phone call from his agent in New York that he would be selected 18th overall by the Chicago Bulls, his draft party's massive multitude of attendees and local reporters erupted with cheers.

Then raised their smartphone video cameras to record league commissioner Adam Silver formally announce Terry's name on the litany of TVs mounted around the restaurant's bar, and confetti was thrown around like a championship parade.

More: NBA draft grades: Chicago Bulls get 'high upside' with Dalen Terry selection at No. 18

The restaurant's DJ sent the crowd into a bigger frenzy as he played rap classics at high decibels. The crowd jubilantly screamed the lyrics of Meek Mill's "Dreams and Nightmares" album intro and Tee Grizzley's "First Day Out," which are the current hip hop subgeneration's equivalents to Neil Diamond's ubiquitous bar room sing-along "Sweet Caroline."

Terry took questions from the media and photos with his "DT" and NBA logos printed on a backdrop with attendees as he donned his new Chicago Bulls hat, customized snakeskin suit and necklace with a diamond-encrusted pendant of his initials.

“It was great. It was better than … I feel like it’s a blessing to get a green room invite, but me doing it in this city and having my family and friends come out was just real big for me," Terry said to The Republic.

"I got to do it with the people I love. So having everybody with me, like, the green room you only get so many people. LoLo’s got unlimited capacity.”

LoLo's restaurant in Scottsdale actually has a 150-person capacity. But it's understood that everyone he wanted to celebrate his biggest life moment with couldn't all get to flights to New York or afford expensive tickets to the draft.

The Phoenix native, who attended both Tempe Corona del Sol before finishing high school at national basketball powerhouse Gilbert Hillcrest Prep in 2020, held his draft party at LoLo's after he signed an NIL (name, image, likeness) deal with the Phoenix-based brand last August.

Terry is among three Phoenix-area natives picked in the first round in addition to Santa Clara sophomore guard Jalen Williams and Kentucky freshman TyTy Washington Jr., who were picked at 12th and 29th by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets.

2022 NBA Draft: 6 Arizona connections selected in first round

Terry was drafted three weeks before his 20th birthday on July 12. He was among three total Arizona Wildcats taken in the draft, including All-America Second Team selection Bennedict Mathurin at sixth overall and Christian Koloko by the Toronto Raptors at No. 33 in the second round.

“First off, it says a lot about the kids. That’s the most important thing, is Benn and Dalen are great people and put in a ton of work," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said to The Republic after they were taken in the first round.

"I was fortunate to have the opportunity to coach them, and hey, when we roll up our sleeves and get to work, I think we get great results. I’m really happy for them and their families. I wish them the best in their careers and I’ll always be there to support them, and for me, I’m looking forward to helping other guys do this.”

Terry produced 8.0 points, shot 50.2% overall and 36.4% from the perimeter, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.2 steals per game last season.

His profile rose on an Arizona team that had a 33-4 record, won the Pac-12 title, reached the No. 2 ranking in the USA Today Sports poll, and was NCAA Tournament South Region's top seed that lost in the Sweet 16 to fifth seed Houston.

Terry earned Pac-12 Honorable Mention and a spot on the conference's All-Defensive Team last season. His 2.84 assists-to-turnover ratio was ranked second in the Pac-12.

He said telling his family that forgoing his junior and senior seasons was expected because it was "my time."

Terry also had predraft workouts with several teams including, but not limited to, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Indiana Pacers. But Chicago, which was the Eastern Conference playoffs sixth seed this past season, was the ideal city to begin his pro career.

“I kind of had an idea before the draft who was gonna pick me," Terry said. "That’s who I really wanted, so when I heard it was Chicago it was like, ‘Yeah, perfect.’ There was a couple other teams, but Chicago was the frontrunner, honestly …

“I feel like could fit into their system just being a lengthy guard bringing energy. I feel like I could fit any system. The way they play is right up my alley.”

His mother Fenise Yancy believes this moment has all gone according to Terry's life plan.

“Everything’s already been written. Everything Dalen’s wanted he’s always gotten because he’s worked hard for it and he’s deserved it," Yancy told The Republic. "I’m not looking at tomorrow to look any different. Yes, he’s gonna play at a different level but God’s always been there for us …

“He was born into this. This was the plan when he came into this world.”

It's one thing to be drafted, but it's another thing to stay and produce at the next level.

Even though Terry and his family feel on top of the world, they understand the importance of coming back to earth as he works to maintain his hoop dreams in the Windy City.

“I think it’s still pretty euphoric. I woke up this morning and I was scrolling through and I was like, ‘It really happened. This did really happen.' So it’s still a pretty surreal moment," his father Al Terry told The Republic on Friday.

"I think the work will hit us all come Monday when he’s in Chicago doing his press conference. I think the gravity of what’s happened will shift from elation to ‘OK, here we go!' All over at the bottom again.”

Have tips for us? Reach the reporter at dana.scott@azcentral.com or at 480-486-4721. Follow his Twitter @iam_DanaScott.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona's Dalen Terry achieves NBA draft dream with Chicago Bulls