Ahearn Named D-League Rookie of the Year
April 10, 2008 - NBA G League (G League) News Release
NEW YORK, April 10, 2008 - Guard Blake Ahearn, who earned the season's 20th GATORADE Call-Up to the Miami Heat on March 21, following a standout season with the Dakota Wizards, has been selected by the league's head coaches as the NBA Development League's 2007-08 Rookie of the Year.
"Blake is very deserving of this honor and I am very proud of him", said wizards head coach Duane Ticknor. "This is a testament to Blakes work ethic. He is the first one to get to the gym and last to leave".
Since his Call-Up, Ahearn has appeared in 10 games for Miami, scoring in double-figures three times: 15 points apiece at Detroit on March 27 and against New Orleans on April 2, and a 12-point outing on March 30 at Boston.
In 41 games for Dakota, Ahearn averaged 19.0 points, shooting 49 percent (239-492) from the field, 96 percent (191-199) from the free throw line and 44 percent (108-246) from three-point range, to go with 3.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 29.4 minutes. For his efforts in the D-League this season, Ahearn also earned a spot on the All-NBA Development League Second Team.
Ahearn joins Louis Amundson (Colorado, 2006-07), Will Bynum (Roanoke 2005-06), James Thomas (Roanoke 2004-05), Desmond Penigar (Asheville, 2003-04), Devin Brown (Fayetteville, 2002-03) and Fred House (Charleston, 2001-02) as winners of the annual award.
"While the competition was fierce for the top rookie award, Blake has taken full advantage of his time spent in the D-League," said Chris Alpert, Vice President of Basketball Operations and Player Personnel for the D-league. "His shooting ability, toughness, deceptive athleticism, and unselfishness made him standout in a league of tremendous young prospects."
The NBA Development League is the NBA's official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams. Now in its seventh season the D-League's goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 16 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA. As the single source for in-season player "call-ups" to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. In fact, former D-League players represented 10 percent of NBA players on 2007-08 opening day rosters, numbering 44 in total. In addition, the D-League has produced 25 percent of current NBA referees and 17 current NBA coaches, including head coach Sam Vincent with the Charlotte Bobcats. The D-League is an innovative and rapidly growing sports property that also serves as an experimental testing ground for new initiatives like NBA Futurecast, which is the live web-streaming of all games available free to fans at d-league.com. The League also provides continuing education and professional development resources for its players, and is committed to serving its local communities through D-LEAGUE CARES and grassroots efforts.
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