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Columbus Riverdragons Acquire Neil Yanke To Bolster Front Line

January 14, 2005 - NBA G League (G League)
Columbus Riverdragons News Release


GREENVILLE, S.C., January 14 – The Columbus Riverdragons of the National Basketball Development League have claimed center Neil Yanke from the NBDL Available Player Pool, according to an announcement today by NBDL director of basketball operations Chris Alpert and Riverdragons head coach Jeff Malone. Yanke fills the spot left by the departure of Riverdragons center Obinna Ekezie, who earned a Gatorade NBA Call-up from the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, January 10.

Yanke, a 6-11, 252-pound center from Yale University ('01) comes to Columbus after participating in NBA training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004. The Akron, Ohio native is second all-time at Yale in blocked shots, with 105 during a four-year career with the Bulldogs. As a senior, Yanke was named second team All-Ivy League after leading the team in rebounding (6.7) and blocked shots (21). Yanke also finished his senior campaign second on the squad in scoring (12.5) while shooting 49.8% from the field. During his junior season, Yanke led Yale and finished second in the Ivy League in rebounding with an average of 7.7 rebounds per contest. He graduated from Yale in 2001 with a degree in psychology.

Yanke will be in uniform for the Riverdragons next game, this Saturday night, January 15, as Columbus travels to take on the Huntsville Flight at the Von Braun Center. He will wear uniform #7.

The first-place Riverdragons will put their franchise record twelve-game winning streak on the line against the Flight on Saturday. Columbus enters the contest with a league-best 14-1 record, while Huntsville (11-8) is currently in third place overall. The Flight will look to run its win streak to three in a row with a victory. Huntsville is the only team to defeat the Riverdragons this season, as the Flight defeated the Dragons, 90-87, on November 27 at the Von Braun Center. The game can be heard live on WHAL 1460-AM, with the pre-game show starting at 5:50 p.m..

The Riverdragons return home on Sunday, January 16 to host the Asheville Altitude at 5 p.m. as part of the Martin Luther King-NBDL Showcase. All six NBDL teams, along with 45 NBA scouts, will converge on the home of the league-leading Columbus Riverdragons for three games on Sunday and three more on Monday. Games begin at 11 a.m., 2 and 5 p.m. ET each day. All will be shown on a tape-delayed basis by NBA TV.

At halftime of Monday's second game featuring Columbus and the Huntsville Flight, Riverdragons president Barry McMullin will make a presentation donating a portion of the Showcase's ticket proceeds to the MLK Jr. National Memorial Foundation on behalf of the NBDL and the Riverdragons.

Tickets start as low as $10 for each day's schedule. To purchase tickets for upcoming Martin Luther King-NBDL Showcase visit the Columbus Civic Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, including Publix supermarkets, call Ticketmaster at 1-800-4-NBA-TIX, or log onto ticketmaster.com.

For additional information, please visit columbusriverdragons.com or contact Riverdragons Media Relations Manager Tim Becwar at (706) 225-1104 and tbecwar@nba.com. For additional information on the NBDL please visit NBDL.com.



NBA G League Stories from January 14, 2005


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