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Field Set For Inaugural D-League Dream Factory Friday Night

February 7, 2008 - NBA G League (G League) News Release


NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2008 - The inaugural NBA Development League Dream Factory Friday Night, an exciting event modeled after the popular NBA All-Star Saturday Night, tips off on Friday, Feb. 15, at 9 p.m. EST on Center Court at NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas. The action-packed evening will include perennial NBA fan favorite events such as a Three-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk competition, while introducing H.O.R.S.E. and an interactive game of Hot-Shot with fans. Twelve D-League players, including an NBA assigned player and five others with NBA experience, will take to Center Court to showcase their skills throughout the evening's competitions.

Creativity will reign on Center Court as the D-League revisits H.O.R.S.E. some 30 years after NBA players participated in the competition which aired during games on CBS. Among the top talents who participated in the match-ups were Pete Maravich, George Gervin, and Rick Barry. The D-League's edition of H.O.R.S.E. will feature Idaho's Lance Allred, Morris Almond (on assignment from the Utah Jazz to the Utah Flash), Jeremy Richardson of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Sioux Falls' Kasib Powell. Richardson, who was twice called-up this season, is averaging 28.5 points in nine games for the Mad Ants while Almond leads the league with a 26.4 points per game scoring average. Powell and Allred are averaging 20.1 and 17.3 points, respectively. Two preliminary rounds of two games each will be played with the winners of the first two rounds competing in a final round for the title of H.O.R.S.E. Champion. Each round will be capped at five minutes, and will utilize a 24 second shot clock. Participants will be outfitted with a wireless microphone in order for fans to hear the player call his shot.

Slam Dunk Competition participants will include D-Leaguers Brent Petway, a member of the Idaho Stampede and runner-up in the 2007 NCAA Slam Dunk Competition, as well as Petway's Idaho teammate, Mike Taylor. Eric Smith of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Doug Thomas of the Iowa Energy will round out the four-man field. The Slam Dunk Competition, which will consist of two rounds of two dunks each, will begin with each dunker submitting their top two dunks and selecting a fan from the crowd who will choose the first dunk to be performed in the first round of competition. A composite total of the scores from the first round of dunks of competition will be tallied for each dunker and the dunkers with the two highest scores will compete in a Championship round consisting of two dunk attempts. Participants will be allowed one replacement dunk per attempt.

The Three-Point Shootout will feature Keith Langford, who earned a Gatorade Call-Up to the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 28, Tulsa's Adam Harrington, who ranks among the D-League leaders, shooting 50 percent from three point land, Kaniel Dickens of the Colorado 14ers and Albuquerque Thunderbird Josh Gross. So far this season, Dickens is shooting 45 percent from behind the arc and Gross has connected on 25-of-57 three-pointers. Each competitor will have 60 seconds to sink up to 21 three-pointers from seven shooting stations assembled around the three-point line. Each station will have two orange balls (worth one point each) and one "money" ball (worth two points) which may only be attempted after both orange balls have been shot. Fans will enjoy one preliminary round and a championship round featuring the participants with the top two scores from the first round.

Bakersfield's Andre Barrett, Idaho's Randy Livingston, Dakota's Carlos Powell and Colorado's Billy Thomas are slated to compete in an interactive game of Hot-Shot with fans. Livingston, the 2007 D-League Most Valuable Player, is averaging a D-League-leading 11.3 assists per game while Billy Thomas will participate following a call-up to the New Jersey Nets earlier in the season. Hot-Shot participants take to the floor to compete in a race against the clock to score the most points with the help of a D-League fan. Each team will have one minute to tally the highest score from four designated shooting spots on the court, including a one-point layup, a two-point foul shot, a three-pointer from behind the arc, and a five-point half-court shot, with the fan only eligible to shoot from the lay-up position. Two teams will compete simultaneously, one on each end of the court, during the first round with the winners advancing to a final round of head-to-head competition where the stakes are high - the fan from the winning squad will have an opportunity to be a judge in the Slam Dunk Competition.

D-League action in New Orleans continues on Saturday, Feb. 16, when the second-annual D-League All-Star Game presented by Spalding tips off on Center Court at NBA All-Star Jam Session. The game, which begins at 3 pm EST, will be broadcast live on NBA TV and features 20 of the D-League's finest as selected by fans and D-League coaches. NBA legends Rick Barry and Lenny Wilkens will serve as honorary team captains, while the squads will be coached by Idaho's Bryan Gates and Los Angeles' Dan Panaggio, along with their respective assistant coaches, Ray Lopes and Chucky Brown.

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