Five Best Blue Ducks Ever
Published on November 30, 2004 under United States Basketball League (USBL)
Brevard Blue Ducks News Release
Brevard Blue Ducks owner, Mike Richman, lists the five best Blue Ducks ever:
1) Kwan Johnson â a 6-4 guard from the University of New Orleans, where as a senior, he was 1st Team All Conference and 1st Team All Tournament, he won the ESPY Award as the College Player of the Year in 1997. Kwan was one of the guys we protected from the old Lakeland team when we first bought our franchise. Our plans were to build a team around him our inaugural season and did it ever pay off. He led the league in scoring at 24.9 PPG and won the league's MVP award, helping the Blue Ducks earn the Eastern Division Championship. He is the USBL's all-time leading scorer. He's so good that when he injured his groin during a game in the Philippines last year, his replacement off the bench was former NBA player, Cedric Ceballos.
2) Terrence Shannon â A 6-8 forward from Elgin C.C., Terrence has been with the Blue Duck all three years of our existence. He was second on the team behind Kwan Johnson in scoring 2002, averaging 15.1 PPG. If Kwan was our Michael Jordan, he was our Scottie Pippen. The next year taking on the lead role, Terrence increased his scoring to 16.3 PPG to go along with 6.8 RPG. He missed the entire 2004 season with a foot injury he sustained while playing for the Roanoke Dazzle of the NBDL. He got a taste of the NBA this pre-season, signing with the world champion Detroit Pistons, before getting waived prior to the start of the regular season. A true NBA prospect, Terrence has also played in camps for the Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.
3) Ousmane Cisse â Truly a "man-child" this young, athletic 6-9, 250-pound forward is still raw, but has amazing potential. He averaged 29 PPG, 16 RPG and 12 blocks per game as a McDonald's All-American senior at St. Jude High School in Montgomery, AL. He was drafted right out of high school by the Denver Nuggets in the second round (47th overall) in 2001. But an ACL injury slowed him and it's been a journey through the minors since for him to get back to the NBA. In 2003, he set a league-wide season high with 12 blocks in one game against the Adirondack Wildcats. Needless to say, he led the league in blocks that year. He was rewarded with a spot on the Orlando Magic pre-season roster. This year he played in the NBA pro-summer league with the Golden State Warriors and the pre-season with the Toronto Raptors.
4) Tony Bland â A 6-5 guard, Bland transferred from Syracuse to San Diego State ('03) before blasting onto the professional scene. He was the leading scorer for the Blue Ducks in 2004 (20.5 PPG) and also led the league in triple-doubles en route to winning the league's Rookie of the Year Award. Spotted by many NBA scouts, he played in the NBA summer league with the Golden State Warriors and was signed by the Sacramento Kings for the pre-season.
5) Roy Jones, Jr. â He's short and too slow to be a true point guard. His ball handling may be a little suspect and his jump shot is not where it should be for a perimeter player, but hey, how many other guys in the USBL have held the middle and heavyweight world boxing titles?
Honorable mention: Dennis Scott and Duane Schintzuis â The only Blue Ducks players to have lengthy careers in the NBA should merit mentions here. The only problem: Duane kept getting hurt in practice and Dennis was a no-show. Neither ever played a game for us.
United States Basketball League Stories from November 30, 2004
- Five Best Blue Ducks Ever - Brevard Blue Ducks
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