Second-Chance Draft
by Jed Tai
On June 26, 2003, many college players held their breath, waiting to see if
their name would be called on the stage of Madison Square Garden in New York
City, announcing their induction into the National Basketball Association.
Unfortunately, only 58 young men – from stateside and overseas – heard their
names that fateful night. But to those who weren’t called, the dream isn’t
over.
Enter the CBA Draft.
Annually held in September, the Continental Basketball Association – which was
the NBA’s main source of minor league talent before the NBDL venture – holds
its own draft of (largely) collegiate talent. Each of the teams in the league
gets a chance to restock their roster with players fresh out of college – a
chance to develop players for their own purposes (winning) or moving them up to
the next level (the NBA).
Unlike the glamour and glitz of the NBA Draft which is conducted in front of a
national television audience, the CBA Draft is done much differently. Held via
teleconference from the league office in Boise, Idaho, the seven teams in the
league make their selections in six rounds of picks. There are no players to
march up to the podium in flashy suits to shake CBA commissioner Gary Hunter’s
hand, but instead there are a list of names that were largely overlooked on NBA
Draft night back in June.
While some of the players picked historically in the CBA draft are largely
unknown to even the most die-hard college hoops fans (this year’s draft
included Division III standout Willie Chandler and junior college early entrant
Lamar Castile) – many of the names are recognizable as players who excelled at
the major college level. In this year’s CBA draft, no fewer than two NBA
second round draft picks (Rick Rickert of Minnesota, Matt Bonner of Florida),
an SEC Player of the Year (Ron Slay of Tennessee), a participant in the Final
Four (Robert Jackson of Marquette), and an NIT MVP (Marcus Hatten of St.
John’s) were selected.
In fact, the first pick of the draft should be well-known to ACC fans. Josh
Powell left North Carolina State as a sophomore hoping for NBA riches, but was
passed over in the NBA draft. Instead, Powell will hope to start his
professional career with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Powell hasn’t given up on
the NBA dream – he recently signed with the Dallas Mavericks to participate in
their training camp. But if he’s not able to crack the Mavs full roster, he’ll
have an option in Sioux Falls to fall back on.
The strategy in the CBA Draft is a bit different than from the NBA. Unlike the
NBA, where players who are drafted will undoubtedly want to play in the league,
the CBA teams have to try and select players who they think will actually sign
and play for them. While all players that were eligible for the NBA Draft are
eligible for the CBA Draft, you won’t often find players selected in both
drafts since the likelihood of that player going for the CBA instead of the NBA
will be slim. But similar to the NBA Draft, any draft pick by a team will have
his rights owned by that team if he were to ever enter the CBA. So, to that
degree, some draft picks may be worth it for some teams in the event a player
doesn’t make the cut in training camp or is waived during the season and is
looking for someplace to play while they try and make it back to the league.
With that said, it should come as no surprise that many of this year’s CBA
draftees are actually in NBA training camps this fall. Powell, Kirk Penney
(Minnesota Timberwolves), Britton Johnsen (Orlando Magic), and Koko Archibong
(LA Lakers) are just a few of the players who are trying their luck in making
an NBA roster before considering other options – such as the CBA.
Here are the complete results of this year’s CBA Draft, which was held on
September 16th.
2003 CBA DRAFT
First Round
1. Sioux Falls Skyforce – Josh Powell, North Carolina State
2. Yakima Sun Kings – Rick Anderson, Arizona
3. Idaho Stampede – Stephane Pelle, Colorado
4. Gary Steelheads – Willie Chandler, Misericordia (PA)
5. Yakima Sun Kings – Wayne Wallace, Virginia Union
6. Idaho Stampede – Marcus Hatten, St. John’s
7. Dakota Wizards – Desmond Penigar, Utah State
Second Round
8. Sioux Falls Skyforce – Matt Bonner, Florida
9. Yakima Sun Kings – Hiram Fuller, Fresno State
10. Idaho Stampede – Kirk Penney, Wisconsin
11. Gary Steelheads – Ronald Dupree, Louisiana State
12. Dakota Wizards – Melvin Sanders, Oklahoma State
13. Yakima Sun Kings – Henry Domercant, Eastern Illinois
14. Rockford Lightning – Nick Neumann, Florida Atlantic
15. Gary Steelheads – Louis Truscott, Houston
Third Round
16. Sioux Falls Skyforce – Damon Jackson, Fresno State
17. Great Lakes Storm – Tahj Holden, Maryland
18. Idaho Stampede – Stephen Moss-Kelley, Bowie State
19. Gary Steelheads – Britton Johnsen, Utah
20. Yakima Sun Kings – Ryan Randall, Maryland
21. Rockford Lightning – Travis Watson, Virginia
22. Gary Steelheads – Mike Mackell, San Diego State
Fourth Round
23. Sioux Falls Skyforce – Marlon Parmer, Kentucky Wesleyan
24. Great Lakes Storm – Kevin Johnson, Tulsa
25. Idaho Stampede – Carl English, Hawaii
26. Gary Steelheads – Tim Szatko, Holy Cross
27. Yakima Sun Kings – Leonard Stokes, Cincinnati
28. Rockford Lightning – Terence Gulley, Barat College
29. Dakota Wizards – Quinton Ross, Southern Methodist
Fifth Round
30. Sioux Falls Skyforce – Koko Archibong, Pennsylvania
31. Great Lakes Storm – Dalron Johnson, UNLV
32. Idaho Stampede – Brooks Hall, Dayton
33. Gary Steelheads – Philip Ricci, Oregon State
34. Yakima Sun Kings – Quannas White, Oklahoma
35. Rockford Lightning – Robert Jackson, Marquette
36. Dakota Wizards – Ron Slay, Tennessee
Sixth Round
37. Sioux Falls Skyforce – Rick Rickert, Minnesota
38. Great Lakes Storm – Lamar Castile, CC of Beaver County (PA)
39. Idaho Stampede – David Bailey, Loyola-Chicago
40. Gary Steelheads – Terrell Riggs, Detroit
41. Yakima Sun Kings – Wayne McClinton, Hartford
42. Rockford Lightning – Brian Colbert, Cameron
43. Dakota Wizards – Jerry Holman, Minnesota
