SB Nation - Vernon Hamilton

The 2008-2009 Colorado 14ers: A Look Back

Jon L — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:34:55 -0000

Drafting Trey Gilder was just one reason why the 14ers won the championship.

Now that they've won the championship, I thought I'd take a look back at Colorado's season. Consider it an internet version of those Sports Illustrated videos that come out for whomever wins the Super Bowl. We'll start with the draft, then go month-to-month, highlighting key performances that helped the 14ers achieve victory.

The Draft

Colorado's draft was...top-heavy. Their first pick (second overall) was James Mays, a 6-9 forward from Clemson who had originally been drafteed by the Denver Nuggets. Mays started 12 games for the 14ers, averaging just under 19 points a game on 46 percent shooting, with eight and a half rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 33 and a half minutes. He tore his ACL in early January, though, and was out for the rest of the year. They followed that up with Trey Gilder in the second round and Dominique Coleman in the fourth, but those are really their only other draftees of note. Unless you're a big fan of Marlon Palmer, John Gilchrist or David Godbold, I suppose. Of course, almost none of the players available in, say, the ninth round of the D-League draft are good bets to be on a roster at the end of the season. Still, players they passed over at one point or another include Kurt Looby, Othyus Jeffers and David Noel.

Retrospective Draft Grade: B+; It's hard to argue with picking up two starters and a guy who probably would've been a sixth man on any other team in the first four rounds. Coleman and Gilder in particular had key roles in Colorado's championship run, which is discussed after the jump.

November/December

The 14ers got off to a good start, going 8-4 in the first month (plus three days) of the season. During that stretch they played Albuquerque in a home and home, Rio Grande Valley twice and Tulsa three times. Standout performances from this period include Mays, who had 27 points on 19 shots, 11 rebounds and six steals against Albuquerque and 37 points on 19 shots and 11 rebounds against RGV; Dominique Coleman, who in the second game had 20 points on 14 shots, 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals; and Eddie Gill, who had 23 points on 12 shots, 10 assists, seven rebounds and two blocks against Sioux Falls Mays tore his ACL eight and a half minutes into the December 30 game against Fort Wayne, and wouldn't play again this season.

January

A new year, same result; the 14ers went 8-4 again in January. They spent a fair amount of time in Texas, facing the Toros three times (twice in Austin) and Rio Grande Valley three more times, all in Hidalgo. Notable performances include Cheik Samb, with 21 points on 12 shots, 10 rebounds and four blocks against Tulsa; forward/center Sean Williams, who had 16 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks and six assists against Austin; and Gill again with 20 points on six shots (he had a lot of free throws), 14 assists and six rebounds against Rio Grande Valley.

February

Colorado only played seven games in February, going 4-3 while playing Austin two more times. Vernon Hamilton saw some starts here, and while he provided some solid rebounding, he's not a very efficient scorer. Notable 14ers performances included Billy Thomas, who scored 24 points on 13 shots against Bakersfield and 30 points on 18 shots with six rebounds, seven assists and seven steals against Iowa; and Trey Gilder, who had 23 points on 15 shots and nine rebounds against Los Angeles and 19 points on 12 shots against Sioux Falls, all off the bench.

March

This is where Colorado really started to heat up, going 11-2 over the month of March. Austin was the league and division leader when the month started, but not when it ended. The 14ers played almost everyone in the league this month, playing 11 different teams. Notable player performances included Dominique Coleman, who scored 24 points on 18 shots with nine rebounds and eight assists against Dakota; Josh Davis, who had 29 points on 16 shots with seven rebounds against Austin; and Eddie Gill again, who had 12 points on seven shots and 12 assists against Idaho.

April (regular season)

Colorado finished the regular season 3-3 in April, including getting blown out in each of the last two games. Trey Gilder had a fantastic month, with 32 points on 19 shots and 12 rebounds and 26 points on 14 shots and 10 rebounds in back to back games against Albuquerque, and 25 points on 20 shots and 10 rebounds against Reno. Other standout games included Eddie Gill (he seems to have one big game a month) with 23 points on 15 shots, seven assists and only one turnover against Tulsa; and John Lucas III, who had 22 points on 13 shots and eight assists in the second Albuquerque game.

Playoffs

Colorado went undefeated in the playoffs (they pretty much had to), defeating Erie, Austin and Utah twice in the finals. They ran away with the game against the BayHawks, led by Josh Davis (33 points on 15 shots, eight rebounds and two blocks) and Dominique Coleman (19 points on 13 shots, 13 rebounds, five assists and five steals). Austin gave them a tougher time, but the 14ers won out behind solid performances by Eddie Gill (23 points on 13 shots and seven assists) and Sonny Weems off the bench (27 points). Colorado began the finals thinking they would cruise to a title, racking up 78 points in the first half of the first game against Utah. The Flash came back to make a game of it, even though the 14ers ultimately won that game, and kept it close in the second game until Colorado pulled away to win the title. Game one honors go to Billy Thomas (27 points on 18 shots and seven rebounds), Josh Davis (25 points on 15 shots and eight rebounds) and Sonny Weems (28 points on 13 shots). Game two standouts were Joe Dabbert (21 points on 10-10 shooting, seven rebounds and five blocks), Davis again (21 points on 7-10 shooting and seven rebounds) and Weems again (25 points, seven assists).

That wraps up Colorado's season. They were a contender pretty much from the start, and Eddie Gill provided some steady performances as players like James Mays, Sean Williams and Cheik Samb came and went. The younger players like Gilder, Weems and Coleman started stepping up as the season went along, giving the 14ers the best bench in the league and helping them win the 2009 D-League championship.

Call Pops Mensah-Bonsu up, and other D-League stuff

Scott Schroeder — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:00:09 -0000

"Seriously, 52. Are they just not seeing what I'm doing or what?" -- Pops

(Courtesy facebakersfield.com)

As much as you'd assume it was, this is not just an old post I moved back to the top. As usual, I'm serious, call Pops up. As in, this morning, before another team reads RidiculousUpside, 48minutesofhell, or the D-League website itself. He's hot right now.

Yesterday afternoon, in a 131-124 victory over the Colorado 14ers, Mensah-Bonsu went off, scoring 39 points and grabbing 18 boards. He also had four steals and made 13-of-16 from the charity stripe in his 46 minutes of action. Seriously, 39 and 18, 35 and 14 at the end of regulation. What in the World is preventing this dude from being called-up? He's good enough to play on Britain's national team, but not good enough for a 10-day look?

Marcus Williams also had a pretty good game, scoring 30 points and dishing five assists for the Toros. For the 14ers, eight players were in double figures. Newcomer John Lucas III, who is probably better than the guy he's replaced, Eddie Gill, came off the bench to score 20 and dish five assists with just one turnover. Not sure how they made it to overtime after starters shot like so: Billy Thomas 6-for-18, Josh Davis 3-for-10, Dominique Coleman 4-for-10, and Vernon Hamilton 2-for-8, but they did it. Impressive, Colorado.

In the other game I didn't extensively cover, I wish I would have.

Idaho was led by Luke Jackson, who shot just 4-for-13 from the field and missed all three of his shot's from behind the arc. However, he was 15-for-16 at the line. In two of his four NBA seasons, he's shot less free-throw's (playing in at least 13 games all four seasons). He also picked up a technical foul. Mildon Ambres had a good game for Idaho as well, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 boards off the bench. He also picked up a technical foul. Jamaal Tatum came off the bench to score 11 and pick up a technical foul. Lance Allred had a good game, with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and no technical fouls. Coach Bryan Gates also picked up a technical in the victory.

Reno was led by Damone Brown, who came off the bench to score 17 points and didn't pick up a technical. Patrick Ewing Jr. had a frustrating night, apparently after he didn't get invited to the Knicks tryout. Ewing scored seven points, grabbed seven rebounds, shot 1-for-9 from the field, had three turnovers, fouled, and picked up two technicals. Yikes! Kansas' own Russell Robinson got the start, shot 1-for-8 from 3-point land had five steals, picked up five personal fouls and a technical. Reno's coach, Jay Humphries, picked up two technical's as well, the last with 2:47 in the fourth.

Continue on for analysis that I don't dare put on the front page!

RidiculousUpside's most mentioned official, Marat Kogut, more than likely broke his own record, calling nine technical's in a 106-82 game between the victorious Idaho Stampede and hosting Reno Bighorns. Yes. Nine technical's. In one 24 point game. I'm just as impressed as you are. NINE. Wow, Marat. I think this is illegal for me to mention, and sorry to Vegas NBA fans, but I think Marat may have somehow had this in the Vegas sports books. I can see him stopping at Terrible's, picking up some cheap breakfast, playing blackjack, dominating, and convincing the sportsbook to let him put his winnings on an over-under technical fouls bet on Sunday in the D-League. +/- was eight, but Marat made sure there were nine. Congrats to the Magic Man!

Life Lessons

ben.renz — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:35:29 -0000

Erie Bayhawks 125, Iowa Energy 115

So here's a shocker. The Energy were within 2 points with 35 seconds left in the game, but couldn't stop the Erie run that soon followed. So essentially, the Energy pulled what I like to call "a Mad Ant." So Erie is back at .500 (16-16). Most people say certain teams are better than their record. I see Erie as worse than their record. Which sounds mean, of course, but every time I see them play I'm usually unimpressed. But no foul, as they manage to win games and a decent amount of them. They shot 57% tonight and Maureece Rice was a big part of that, going 11 for 17 on his way to 28 points. Erik Daniels had a solid game, especially when you factor in Courtney Sims as his opposition. 24 points, 9 boards, and 7 dimes for Daniels (congrats to him for the All-Star nod!). Oliver Lafayette played just 7 minutes (couldn't tell you why, I'm so informative, right?) but managed 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 dimes. Nice.

Speaking of Sims (I mentioned him up there, you can even go back and check if you want - power of the internet!), he was nothing less than spectacular again, but who wouldn't expect him to be? Court had 30 points (13 for 17), 14 boards, and 3 blocks. He knows this game so well. Curtis Stinson had a solid game outside of his 4 TOs (15 points, 14 dimes) and Demetris Nichols did his damage with 23 points, however the Iowa dropped what should have been an easy win for them. But this happens.

Sioux Falls Skyforce 103, Bakersfield Jam 96

And continuing the trend, here's another upset from last night. There were 33 turnovers in this one, 5 of these from the Skyforce's Frank Williams, who also managed to shoot 4 for 14 (1 for 7 from trey) on the night. Thumbs up Frank. Luckily Chris Ellis was so wonderful off the bench with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. David Bailey did some things I only dreamt he could do in Fort Wayne, putting up 26 points and dishing 6 dimes (also, ten free throws - this guy gets to the line with the best of them).

The Jam shot 43% on the night and that's really what sunk 'em. Justin Reed was a bright spot for Bakersfield with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and status as the sole Jammer with ONLY ONE TURNOVER. Terrance Thomas had 18 boards (I love this kid - that's why they call him the Glass Man) and Derrick Byars was so bad it almost made me throw up the entire bag of Goldfish Crackers I ate last night (they tasted like pizza! Just as advertised!)! Byars shot 3 for 14. Let's hope they don't come up. So Bakersfield drop one they should have won. A trend that will end here; at least for today.

Colorado 14ers 138, Tulsa 66ers 128

Yes, here it was ladies and gentlemen. The battle of the silly numbered teams. You missed it again this year. But that's okay, I've got you covered. OFFENSE OFFENSE OFFENSE. That's all you need to know. Tulsa lost this one on the glass as the 14ers out-boarded them 50 to 34 (scary face!). 43 turnovers total in this one. This was a fun one to watch, but afterwards you felt like you feel after you eat 100 Triple Pepporoni Pizza Rolls. So much fun at the time, but a very bad decision in retrospect. Colorado played nice ball however, with Vernon Hamilton starting (it's nice to see Vern back; he's a very solid baller) and dishing in his own 10 of 38 assists (on 52 field goals). Josh Davis had 38 points and 9 rebounds in just 28 minutes. Yeah. No typo there. But the true star of the night was Dominique Coleman and the Tale of the Trip-Dub. Coleman had 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 dimes. Ridiculous. AND if he had just 4 more turnovers it would have been a Quad-Dub! Maybe next time! However, I was always far more impressed with the Double-Triple. Think about it. Now THAT'S impressive.

Tulsa had no Chris Richard and as he's the team's only talent, that's gonna hurt. Jeremy Kelly had 23 points, 5 assists, and 4 turnovers in the loss to go along with center Keith Clark's 14 points and 8 boards. A rare bright spot for Tulsa last night was Gary Ervin, netting 10 points and dishing 6 assists in his 14 minutes off the bench. I can blame this one on Paul Woolpert. Play Gary Ervin. You might win some games and not be sitting nasty at 7-22. No cute sports star is gonna ask you to dance with that record. Push up your glasses. Sit up straight. Go get some punch. Relax. Dances are supposed to be fun.

Things Like This Happen All the Time

ben.renz — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:00:13 -0000

Los Angeles beat Idaho, huh? I really didn't see that one coming. Iowa cruised to an easy win against Tulsa to win their fourth straight, and Erie have lost straight with their defeat at the hands of Colorado last night. The D-League is alive, and we have a new five inches of snow on the ground here in Fort Wayne. Boomshakalaka.

Recaps of each game; just click right down there. Ya know you wanna.

Los Angeles Defenders (6-18) 106 Idaho Stampede (17-8) 103

I, like everyone else, declined to watch this game. Usually when the best team recordwise, plays the worst one, you can pretty much guarantee the outcome. Well not in this league, folks. The D-Fenders clawed their way back from a 17 point deficit for the in overtime. LA's Longar Longar (yeah, I never heard of him either) came off the bench and had quite a night. 21 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks. Keep an eye on him; plus, he has a name you aren't going to forget anytime soon. Idaho's Lance Allred was ejected late in the fourth. Classy. Idaho shot 38% as a team on the night. You really gotta expect better from these guys, even without Coby Karl in the lineup (however they did assist on 26 of their 35 buckets). Idaho's Brent Petway had 17 points and 6 rejections in his 28 minutes before he fouled out and Luke Jackson went 5 for 8 from behind the arc for 31 points. Dwayne Jones is worth noting as well. Dude had 18 points and 14 boards. Everyone loves a good double-double. Los Angeles fought hard for this one and Dwayne Mitchell had 23 points in the win. Brandon Heath, though? Seven turnovers. Seven.

Iowa Energy (15-6) 91 Tulsa 66ers (6-17) 78

This is another game you could pretty much count on; and this one happened to actually turn out the way we thought. Iowa led by as many as 29 and outrebounded the 66ers 52-39. Without Courtney Sims. Tulsa's 18 turnovers didn't help either. What a mess. Not to mention both teams were mediocre offensively; Tulsa was 39% and Iowa was 41% from the field. Ew. The Energy's Curtis Stinson didn't help matters with his 3 for 15 shooting and Brian Evans made things harder than they should have been with his seven turnovers (come on Brian, I vouched for you last week; why show me up like this?). Iowa had their bright spots though (plus, ya know, they won the damn game) with Cartier Martin erupting for 31 points and 11 boards, which were lovely packaged up with Othyus Jeffers' 19 points and 9 rebounds. Though, it needs to be noted that Tulsa's Moses Ehambe came off the bench last night to score 21 in 25 minutes. Ridiculous.

Colorado 14ers (14-7) 114 Erie Bayhawks (11-15) 110

Erie's just not getting it done lately. 7 straight losses? That would get anyone down. The Bayhawks shot the ball better but lost the battle of the glass 46-34. Erie's Clifford Clinkscales (another guy with an awesome name; we may have less talent but the D-League has much better names than the NBA) had 11 dimes and Erik Daniels had 33 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals in the loss. But that can be ruined when you miss two important treys at the end of the game and turn the ball over five times. But still. The kid is good. Colorado won this one with two starters out (Billy Thomas and Josh Davis - the latter of which isn't helping my "better names than the NBA" argument. I mean, I just did some research and there are 29 guys named Josh Davis who work in the local mall. Billy Thomas isn't much better. Essentially what I'm saying here: You have very, very common names) and while shooting an ugly 7 for 30 from Treytah. Colorado rookie Trey Gilder had a career night with 33 points, 5 steals, and 3 blocks. You can thank him for the win. Eddie Gill also had 9 dimes as a side to his 24 points and Jamar Brown had 14 monster boards with his 17 points. And yes, guard Dominique Coleman also had a double-double for the 14ers with his 22 and 11. Colorado's looking good. Vernon Hamilton saw his first action in a 14ers uniform, playing 6 minutes, grabbing two boards, and turning the ball over once. He'll be okay though.

My girlfriend's cats are really good at opening doors. They've managed to scare me half to death twice just this morning. So, if I've been scared half to death TWICE...what does that mean? The Stampede take on the Bayhawks tonight for our only game of the night, and both teams are hungry for a win. Idaho dropped one they should have had, and Erie needs to stop their losing ways. This should be a good one. Ah, now her dog just walked in here. That scared me too. It's like the zoo.

We All Got Wood & Nails

ben.renz — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:09:32 -0000

Good afternoon D-League fans. Sorry I didn't get my morning post up - the perfect storm occured. I went to bed early last night as I felt terrible (like "Robocop getting his hand shot off" terrible) after my workout. I fell asleep watching Arrested Development (this made me sad because I would do anything for new episodes of this show; and I know, I know, but I don't actually think that movie will ever happen). Then my alarm never went off. So I was late for class. No breakfast. No time to warm up my car (I'm getting sick of winter - it's snowing as I type this). All this = no morning recap. But I'm on it now. We had just the one game last night and let's run it down (and as usual, since it's an Ants game I'll always go into a bit more detail).

Utah Flash (13-9) Knock Off the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (9-14) 123 - 114

This was a goody that went into overtime and saw the Ants blowing a ten point 4th quarter lead and getting lucky off a Taj McCullough layup to even force the overtime (in which, they were obviously outscored quite a bit). The game saw 19 lead changes and 15 ties and boy oh boy do I wish I was in Utah to see this one in person (well, maybe not; I probably would have cursed often). Dontell Jefferson went nuts. He had 38 points in the game and 18 of those came in the fourth (and 5 coming in OT). On top of that monstrous total he managed 5 dimes and 2 steals. Ouch.

You can chalk this one up to bad rebounding, as the Ants were outmuscled on the glass 47-32. Ain't gonna do the trick. Utah's 53% FG percentage also helped a great deal (no way!) and they shot 47% from long-range. But hey, when a team turns the ball over 27 times in a game you should be able to walk away with a win. But oh yeah...there was that rebounding thing....

The Ants also shot 17% from Treytah (that's trey+ utah; which oddly enough equals "Ben's out of ideas and isn't very funny"). Dewitt Scott is back into his slump. He shot 1 for 6 from beyond the arc; scoring just 5 points and not much else in 32 minutes of play. And speaking of insignificant minutes, what happened to Carl Elliott? He was out there for 43 minutes and managed just 8 points, 5 boards, and 3 turnovers. I suppose, in their defense, the Flash do have some attractive dancers. Eh, not particularly. I don't know what to blame this one on.

Walker Russell had another beast of a night in more ways than one. 29 points and 13 boards are the one way. And the 8 turnovers go the other way. Again, a beast of a night for WRJ. Chris Hunter fouled out in just 33 minutes of play, but put up 21 points and grabbed 9 boards and Ron Howard had 25 in the loss. Taj McCullough had 20 points...sadly it took him 20 shots to get there. His 9 boards tried to make up for it however. And Shawn Hawkins didn't play. I'm hoping he's injured, because there's no reason he shouldn't be the go-to sixth man on this team. And let me clarify: I never hope anyone is injured (except maybe Chris Paul when he's playing the Pacers), I'm just looking for a reason as to why Hawk didn't play last night. I'm not evil. Though that cheap shot at the Flash dancers was uncalled for.

Utah's Carlos Wheeler had 12 points and 12 boards off the bench but also 5 turnovers (there are always "buts" in this league - I guess that explains a lot though *shrugs shoulders* *promises to never use asterisks again to explain a physical reaction on a blog*). And though forward Bennet Davis shot just 4 for 11 last night, he had 4 blocks. And 4 blocks is always worth noting. Andrew Ingram had 21, 6 boards, and 3 steals in the Utah win. Woot woot. Mad Ants losing again. Now this is more like it!

The Prospect Watch has a new article up concerning the top 5 potential call ups - a list that of course is missing Walker Russell. He's out-assisting everyone in the league by a mile. Having Will Conroy on this list, and not Russell just blows my mind. Isn't the job of the point guard to distribute the ball well? It's easy to see which of these two players does that better. Not to say that Will doesn't deserve to be on this list. We could probably knock Ronald Dupree off (no offense to Ron, as he'd probably be my number 6 guy anyway) and add WRJ. Russell's the most NBA-ready point guard you're going to find who's not already in the NBA (because yes, you can be an NBA-ready point guard who's already in the NBA, stupid). There's also an interesting comment in the blog talking about James White's bad attitude on the court. Sounds pretty nasty. This could be a big reason why he's not with the Spurs as we speak. I've always like White, but if this happens to be true, I cannot support someone like that (if anyone knows more on this please let loose in the comments; I'd love to know more about it). Though it's always been a battle with me - seperating the basketball player from his personality - as I'm convinced most NBA players are the type of people I would not get along with. I'm sure our values are just a tad different. ANYWAY, read the blog. It's a good one and who doesn't love blogging on the D-League? :) (no asterisks!) PS. This video is awesome.

And on an end note, I saw that the 14ers acquired Vernon Hamilton yesterday, which is a great pickup for them. Hamilton was with the Ants for four games this season and he shows a lot of promise. He's the all-time steals leader over at Clemson and he's got a good future ahead of him. Three games tonight! I'll see you guys in the morning.

The D-League Draft in Review

DakotaWiz — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:21:04 -0000

So, we're about 18 days, 22 hours, 34 minutes, and 47 seconds until the D-League season starts (Thanks, D-League.com!) Anyway, let's look at each teams roster post-draft to better evaluate how each team drafted. I should really wait to do this tomorrow in case some trades went down that we didn't catch, but I'll update this to reflect that if they happen. Also, quick note, every center able to be drafted, was drafted. Dear Mr. Alpert, I think we need to sign more 5's for next year!

This might be something you print out and read when you have about two hours to kill... Went a little longer than planned, but all good stuff, I guarantee it. If you don't think so, E-Mail me (Check my profile) and I will promptly get you a refund.

Tulsa, with the number one overall pick, picked Chris Richard. Like many teams, it looks like they aren't too concerned with having a center, preferring to go with two big forwards in Richard and Ryan Humphrey, a first round pick of the Jazz in 2002. From there, it looks like returning guard Russell Carter will play at the point, Jeremy Kelly at the 2, and Terrell Everett at the 3. I expect Chris Ellis (returning) and Mikheil Berishvili to also be guaranteed spots, with the rest up in the air. With whoever comes back in the trade of Keith Closs, that player could leave just one spot open for the rest of the players, depending on what the 66ers are getting in return.

Colorado, where is Elton Brown? Where is Eddie Gill? I assume at least Eddie will join them soon. If not, it looks like they'll be led by the tandem of James Mays (Great pick considering he was one of the last cuts of neighboring Denver!) and Josh Davis at the 3 and 4, with random fillers in between. If both Elton and Eddie come back, WATCH OUT! The 14ers drafted two of the better point guards in the draft in Marlon Parmer and John Gilchrist, along with rookie Trey Gilder, a skinny 6'9 post, these are my picks to most likely make the team. It looks like Joe Dabbert, who I'm fairly sure his middle name is Barry, as it rings so well, will play the center for them. I'm not sure why he was allocated to them, as he didn't go to school in Colorado, nor has he ever played for them, but being allocated a decent 5 is always good! I'm also fairly certain Eric Osmundson makes the team, as he's my favorite player ever out of UPenn and has played with them the past two seasons. Jamar Brown, a local guy out of Colorado State also will more than likely make it, being a big in this league not so full of bigs.

Idaho looks strong, as they have been since entering the D-League. Coach Gates always seems to put together a good team, and this year shouldn't be any different. They brought Randy Livingston off the court and onto the coaching staff, though his replacement is the very capable, and more than likely redshirt-rookie, Jamaal Tatum, their first round pick last year. They also return Air Georgia Brent Petway and were allocated former BSU Broncos Coby Karl and Reggie Larry. With first round pick and former Bobcat Jermareo Davidson, this team has a chance of repeating. Add in Ernest Scott, who played 40 games with the Stampede last season, big-man Anthony Coleman, and rookie guard Lanny Smith, and this is one of the top teams in the D-League.

Sioux Falls is VERY VERY VERY strong. Wow. Veteran leadership? Check. Point guard Frank Williams played parts of 3 seasons in the NBA and averaged 16 points with the Skyforce two seasons ago. NBA talent? Check! Bobby Jones has played for approximately 47 teams over the last two seasons. Size? You betcha! 7-1 Frankenstein-like Chris Alexander was the last cut of the Thunder in October and averaged 12 and 12 last season for the Skyforce. Good wings? Two of them! First round pick Gary Forbes and returning Carl Elliott are both all around players that will fill in and do everything that the aforementioned players don't. Add in draft picks Michael Adams (who isn't good, but is big!), Keith Brumbaugh (averaged 35 points, 8 boards, 6 assists last season in college), Ty Morrison, a 6'8 rookie combo forward, and either rookie Gary Ervin (Arkansas) or the vet Brock Gillespie, and this will be a team to reckon with.

Bakersfield, do I think even you guys have a strong team? Yes, I sure do! Wait, even when your top 3 players are returning from a season where you finished 11-39?!? Scary, but yes, and not just because Gates Roth and Deane Martin are running the show. Mateen "I'm Not Cryin" Cleaves at the point, Jeff Trepagnier at the 2, Derrick Byars at the 3, Richard Hendrix at the 4, and Nick Lewis at the 5, and this team is scary. Factor in Justin Reed returning in about a month and Trey Lewis coming off the bench, and this team will be 7-deep solid! Terrance Thomas, who played with Fort Worth a couple seasons ago, and David Berghoefer, a soft big man who averaged 11 and 11 over in Germany last year should also make the rotation.

Fort Wayne, I really hope you do well. Bringing back Ron Howard, fresh off a preseason campaign with the Bucks, along with Walker Russell, a strong backcourt is imminent. The front court, however, is suspect. If first round pick Coleman Collins is as careless on the court as he is when driving, you're in trouble (Just kidding Mad Ants! Hopefully we're still friends!). If I learned I was going to be a Mad Ant, I'd be excited too. I like Torree Morris too, mostly because he's 6-10 in a division that includes Courtney Sims, Chris Alexander, and hopefully, for Erie's sake, a big man from the Cavs. Anthony Kyle is fun to watch and should make the team as the backup point guard he's destined to be. Shawn Hawkins should also be a good player for the Ants. Eric Smith, who I believe was referred to exclusively as "Spider" on all of your radio broadcasts last season (New radio guy for the Mad Ants this year for anyone that wasn't a fan of them last year!), should also be consistent off the bench.

Erie, I'm sorry, but I'm just not a fan of your drafts. First, you inexplicably drafted Idaho assistant coach Randy Livingston in the expansion draft, among about 7 other guys that had no plans to play in the D-League this season and Jeff Hagen. Then, in this draft, you take the enigmatic Erik Daniels a combo forward, when it was fairly clear that a big man was in your NEEDS column after the only guy you picked up in the expansion draft, Jackie Manuel, plays the same position. In the second round, you took Taj McCullough, a Winthrop grad and combo forward. You also bring in Manuel. By my count, that's three guys who are best suited to play the 3, and are also your three top players. You never did draft anyone taller than 6'8. Hopefully Cleveland really likes your pick up of Vernon Hamilton, who was in Cavs camp this preseason, and sends JJ Hickson or Darnell Jackson down to help. Jawad Williams is also a possibility, but I'd assume they'd rather cut him then assign him to the D-League, as he's nothing special to develop. They did draft two of the greater names in the draft though in Cliff Clinkscales and Xavier Whipple, so hats off to you, Erie Bayhawks.

Anaheim, I like your team. Good first three picks in NBA vet Tierre Brown, Flight White, and rookie Roy Bright (Another Delaware State guy, just former D-League stud Jeremy Richardson). Good returnees in Mario Boggan and Mike Efevberha. Good allocated guys in Cedric Bozeman, Noel Felix, and T.J. Cummings, son of Terry (Be careful googling him.. NSFW!). Also, good job drafting four bigs! I hope that was due in part to the genius of new assistant Paul Mokeski, as pictured here in his younger days (Courtesy of The Sports Hernia Blog):

Utah had a decent draft. Bringing in Dontell Jefferson, bring back Brian Jackson, and drafting a couple legit rookies in Gavin Grant and Bennet Davis will help. If Kevin Kruger decides to come back to the D-League, this team is solid. If not, hopefully Utah and Boston help out, as your bench looks weak. Marcus Malone, how did you drop to the tenth round? Please prove me wrong in camp, as I thought you looked good down in Vegas.

Reno, big ups. Like what you did in the expansion draft. Damone Brown, Tony Gipson, Andre Patterson, Jesse Smith, and Jamaal Smith are all solid players that can contribute. In the regular draft, not so much. Antonio Meeking, who, as Matt pointed out, apparently added an inch and dropped 30 pounds, though I highly doubt this. Russell Robinson will be able to run your offense, but don't expect points out of him, as I would assume another Kansas alum, Dakota Wizards GM Tom Wagganer, could beat him at a game of PIG. Sung-Yoon BANG! should be solid, but unspectacular, as seasoning in Korea couldn't have helped him much since averaging 12 points with the Roanoke DAZZLE a few years ago.

Dakota Wizards, you're good, but guard heavy. With Mo Baker and Blake Ahearn, they've got to have one of the best backcourts in the league, if not the best. Renaldo Major will be returning from heart surgery and if he can return to his Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All D-League, he'll more than likely earn another call-up. The trade for Denham Brown will be excellent insurance if Renaldo isn't completely ready, and if he is ready, Brown will be one of the top guys coming off the bench in the league. That's four guys with NBA experience. Add Will Frisby, who was a beast last year when he got the minutes, and if he can stay out of foul trouble, he'll get the minutes, and Quemont Greer, who was with the Wizards two years ago when he averaged 17 points and 6 boards during the championship season, and the returnees are good. Then we get to Marcus Hubbard, the last cut of the Hawks this season (Peachtree Hoops wasn't big on him), will more than likely be one of the top athletes in the league and hopefully improves his basketball IQ. The Wizards are lacking on a center, but between Aaron Spears or Brad Stricker and possible NBA assignee Hamed Haddadi, they'll have the size to compete. Don't rule out a return of Too Much Rod Benson, either, who is averaging just 10 minutes and 2 points per game overseas while I assume he is getting paid a bit more than his production warrants.

RGV, not so sure about you guys. First, I really wish you would have dropped the E in Grande, or decided to pronounce it GronDay. Your best returner is Trent Strickland, and though he averaged 13 points last season, they weren't memorable. Allocated guys Kendall Dartez, who has averaged 6 points and 4 boards in 40 D-League games, and Alton Ford, a guy with forgettable NBA experiences who is a lot like Antonio Meeking, are nothing special. Your draftees are better, and include Smush Parker, who fell to the twelfth pick, and Delonte Holland, who I think should be a good D-League player. I'm also looking forward to seeing what Alpha Bangura (Two guys were drafted with bang in their last name) can do in the D-League, as he's been stateside in the minors for awhile.

LA, you surprised me with your first round pick of Jasper Johnson. I can't give a review of him, because I know NOTHING about him, though hear he was a good pick. Keith Butler is really big, which goes a long way in this draft, and therefore a solid 2nd round pick. The rest of your draft, not too much stands out. Your returning player, Darren Cooper, not exciting. Your allocated guys, however, are quite good. Joe Crawford, Lakers last cut, stud. Brandon Heath, another Lakers cut, should be good. Patrick Sanders, the rookie, should play well. Your local tryout guys are all D-League caliber, which is amazing, as I would have thought they would be in the player pool, rather than needing to go the way of the local tryout, especially since two have been drafted before -- Rashid Byrd, AKA Rashid Hartwick, AKA Seven and Sum Change and Ryan Forehan-Kelly.

Albuquerque, led by Coach Coffino, got the steal of the draft when David Noel dropped to the 12 spot. They're also in contention for best backcourt in the draft, returning Will Conroy and Cheyne Gadson, as they both have NBA talent. Cory Underwood, a former street baller, also returns after joining the Sixers preseason roster for a bit. They drafted quite solid as well, bringing in David Monds, Waki Williams (Never seen him play, but with a name like Waki...), another long 4, and Kris Clack, who played with Austin a couple seasons ago. They also brought in Eddie Robinson, who made 10 million dollars for NOT playing with the Bulls, as they bought out his contract, presumably because he was more focused on his acting career, being the lead in Juwanna Mann.

Iowa should be solid. They return Dwayne Mitchell, who left to go overseas mid-season last year and was with the Lakers this preseason, and Courtney Sims, one of the top big men in the league. Aristide "The Ostrich Riding Dawg" Sawadago was also apparently a big returner for them, as one team (I'll leave them anonymous) tried to draft him. Curtis Stinson, a journeyman D-Leaguer who has played 50 games for five teams over the past two years, also returns. In the first round, they drafted Cartier Martin, who sounds more like an alcoholic beverage than a D-League player, and followed that up with Larry AKA "Elias" or "Old Man" Ayuso, and then Othyus Jeffers, who will turn heads in the D-League. They also drafted Oregon State rookie Marcel Jones, who is also apparently pretty good, as another team tried drafting him later.

Austin, I'm glad you got the last pick, otherwise, you'd be a lot scarier than you already are. Returning Marcus Williams (Legitimate NBA player, not computer-steling-already-NBA-player-with-Golde-State-Marcus-Williams), and bringing in Charles Gaines and Malik Hairston, this teams 2,3,4 spots are probably the best in the D-League. Add Squeaky Johnson and first round pick and this team is solid everywhere but the 5 spot, which is probably why they grabbed 6'10 Mohammed Abukar in the 2nd round. They also got "Better Than" Ezra Williams and Michael Sturns, who were both good pickups in the 3rd and 5th rounds. Add in the possible allocation of Ian Mahinmi, and wow.

I'll let Matt rebuttal, as I'm sure we differ, but I'm ranking the great 8 heading into camp:

1. Dakota -- Six returners, 4 guys with NBA experience, going to be great.

2. Austin -- If they get Mahinmi again, pencil them in for the championship.

3. Albuquerque -- Great backcourt, great front court, great team.

4. Idaho -- Won't fall off much from championship season.

5. Sioux Falls -- Scary back court, scary (and scary looking) front court.

6. Anaheim -- LOTS of NBA talent here.

7. Bakersfield -- Legit starting 5.

8. LA/Reno -- LA built from nothing getting lucky with allocations, Reno built from nothing using the expansion draft.