Kenneth Faried, who led Morehead State to an upset of Louisville in the 2011 NCAA Tournament in Denver, has fans of the area excited that he will be the newest member of the Nuggets.

"I don't quit on plays," said Faried, who was drafted No. 22 overall. "I just want it more than anybody else."

"As far as him being strong as a person, he got that from me, his father and my wife," said his mother, Waudda Faried, from back home in Newark, N.J. "He grew up in the 'hood, but he's not 'hood.' It was a totally different attitude. And I'm just proud of him. I'm so proud of him, I can't express the words of how proud I am."

Faried is excited to be joining the Nuggets.

"I'm excited to be here, but I want to get better every day," Faried said. "I want to hopefully become an all-star some day. . . . I'm ready to do what the coaches ask me to do. If I have to go to the D-League and get better, I'm ready to do that. I'm just going to keep grinding hard, like I have been my whole life."