NBA D-League All-Star Roster Announced

MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com - NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2008 – Thirteen players with NBA experience highlight the rosters for the second annual D-League All-Star Game presented by Spalding. The game will be held Feb. 16, on Center Court at NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas and will tip off at 2 p.m. CST and will be shown live on NBA TV.

The two 10-man rosters were selected by a combination of fan balloting on D-LEAGUE.com and voting of the league’s 14 head coaches.  The Red Team will be the home team, while the Blue Team will be the visitor. 

GATORADE Call-Ups Eddie Gill and Billy Thomas highlight the Red Team roster.  Gill, selected first in the 2007 D-League draft by the Colorado 14ers, earned the season’s first call-up Nov. 15, when he signed with the New Jersey Nets.  He ranks among D-League leaders with 7.9 assists per game and 2.5 steals per game.  Thomas, Gill’s teammate in Colorado, earned a Dec. 24 call-up by the Nets and is among league leaders with 2.5 steals per game. 

Reigning D-League Most Valuable Player Randy Livingston joins the Red Team, as does Dallas Mavericks assignee Nick Fazekas.  Fazekas is averaging 18.9 points for the Tulsa 66ers while Livingston sits atop the league’s leader board with 11.3 assists per game for the Idaho Stampede. 

NBA-assigned players Morris Almond, Kyrylo Fesenko and Ian Mahinmi headline the Blue Team.  Almond and Fesenko, teammates on the Utah Jazz and their D-League affiliate Utah Flash, have both seen multiple assignments during the season.  Almond most recently joined the squad on Jan. 25, while Fesenko headed to Orem on Dec. 13.   Mahinmi is in his second stint with the Austin Toros from the Spurs.  Almond is second in the league with 26.4 points per game, while Fesenko is averaging 10.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.  Mahinmi ranks among the league’s best, shooting .639 (163-255). 

Los Angeles D-Fenders center Jelani McCoy, Austin Toros guard Keith Langford and Fort Wayne Mad Ants guard Jeremy Richardson, all GATORADE Call-Ups this season, round out the Blue Team’s roster.  McCoy, who earned a call-up from the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 29, is averaging 2.2 blocks, ranking him among the league’s best defenders, while Langford, who earned a call-up from the Spurs on Dec. 28, is averaging 24.1 points, ranking him among the league’s top five scorers.  Richardson has twice been called up this season, first by the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 20, and then by the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 10.  Richardson is averaging a league-high 28.2 points to go with 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 40.8 minutes in nine games for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

C.J. Watson, the 100^th GATORADE Call-Up in league history, and member of the Golden State Warriors, was selected to the Blue Team by the fans and coaches. Since he is with the Warriors, he will be replaced on the D-League All-Star roster by NBA veteran and Bakersfield Jam guard Andre Barrett.  Watson, who played 16 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers before earning a call-up from the Warriors on Jan. 8, had his NBA contract renewed through the end of the 2007-08 season. 

Nine additional D-League standouts will compete in the All-Star Game, including three D-League Player of the Month and D-League.com Performer of the Week honorees.  The Red Team will include Lance Allred (Idaho), Elton Brown (Colorado), Kaniel Dickens (Colorado), Dwayne Mitchell (Iowa), Kasib Powell (Sioux Falls), and Cory Violette (Idaho). The Blue Team will include Sean Banks (Los Angeles), Rod Benson (Dakota) and Carlos Powell (Dakota).

The Red Team will be coached by Idaho Stampede (22-5, .814) head coach Bryan Gates and his assistant Ray Lopes, while the Blue Team will be helmed by Los Angeles D-Fenders (18-8, .692) head coach Dan Panaggio and his assistant Chucky Brown.  Both coaches were selected based on their teams having the highest winning percentage by Jan. 31.  Prior to the game, Gates and Panaggio will choose starting lineups for their respective teams. 

NBA Legends Rick Barry and Lenny Wilkens will serve as honorary captains and will share basketball knowledge with the 20 D-League All-Stars.  As honorary captains, and former players and coaches, Barry and Wilkens will be on hand to offer their hardwood wisdom throughout the game. 

 

 

The complete 2008 Red and Blue Team All-Star squads are listed below:

RED TEAM ALL-STAR ROSTER

Pos.    Player (Team)            Ht.            Wt.            Birthdate            College

G          Eddie Gill (Colorado)  6-1     180  08/16/1978  Weber State

G          Randy Livingston (Idaho)  6-4     210  04/02/1975  Louisiana State

G  Dwayne Mitchell (Iowa) 6-5  210  08/24/1982  Louisiana-Lafayette

G          Billy Thomas (Colorado)  6-5     220  12/23/1975  Kansas

F          Kaniel Dickens (Colorado)  6-8     235  07/21/1978  Idaho

F          Elton Brown (Colorado)  6-9     250  09/09/1983  Virginia

F          Nick Fazekas (Tulsa)  6-11   211  06/17/1985  Nevada       

F          Kasib Powell (Sioux Falls)   6-7  215  03/18/1981  Texas Tech

F          Cory Violette (Idaho)  6-9     255  03/13/1982  Gonzaga

      C           Lance Allred (Idaho)                    6-11                    250                    02/02/1981            Weber State

                    Head Coach: Bryan Gates (Idaho)

                    Assistant Coach: Ray Lopes (Idaho)

                    Athletic Trainer: Kevin Taylor (Idaho)

                    Honorary Captain: Rick Barry

 

BLUE TEAM ALL-STAR ROSTER

Pos.    Player (Team)            Ht.            Wt.            Birthdate            College

G         Morris Almond (Utah) 6-6            225            02/02/1985    Rice

G         Andre Barrett (Bakersfield)            5-10            173            02/21/1982    Seton Hall

G         Keith Langford (Austin)            6-4            215            09/15/1983            Kansas

G         CJ Watson (Rio Grande Valley) *            6-2            180            04/17/1984            Tennessee

F          Sean Banks (Los Angeles)            6-8            210            01/20/1985            Memphis

F          Rod Benson (Dakota)            6-10            225            10/10/1984            California

F            Carlos Powell (Dakota)            6-7            220            08/29/1983   South Carolina

F            Jeremy Richardson (Ft. Wayne)            6-7            190            02/11/1983    Delta State  

C            Kyrylo Fesenko (Utah) 7-1            288            12/24/1986            Ukraine         

C         Ian Mahinmi (Austin)            6-11            230            11/05/1986    France           

C         Jelani McCoy (Los Angeles)            6-10            245            12/06/1977    UCLA

                    Head Coach: Dan Panaggio (Los Angeles)

                    Assistant Coach: Chucky Brown (Los Angeles

                    Athletic Trainer: Marco Nunez (Los Angeles)

                    Honorary Captain: Lenny Wilkens

* Watson will be replaced by Andre Barrett due to his active status with the Golden State Warriors. 

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