Malvik and Knight newest Ripknees

Published on October 4, 2007 under Premier Basketball League (PBL)
Minnesota Ripknees News Release


The Minnesota Ripknees drafted Winona State guard Zach Malvik with the fifth overall pick in the inaugural Premier Basketball League Draft Monday. Malvik was selected to the NSIC All-Tournament Team and was 2nd Team All-NSIC for the 2004-05 season as a senior at Winona State, where he averaged 13.7 points and 3.29 assists a game as senior. The Ripknees then selected former Patrick Henry High School basketball standout Zerek Knight in the second round at No. 16 overall. Knight, a guard, played two seasons with Division I Tennessee-Martin, where he averaged 7.1 points and 2.7 assists a game.

The first PBL lottery and draft was held via video stream and conference call, connecting teams and coaches from the league to PBL headquarters in Maryland. A video stream of the PBL Lottery Draft is available on PBLpro.com

PBL teams had a list of 30 players that they could draft from, or else they had to draft a player with a strong local connection - meaning he played high school or college ball in the area. Coaches from around the league generated the 30-player list during two combine sessions held this off-season. The purpose of the combines was to give PBL teams another avenue to look at players and to give players a way to audition for the league. The first opportunity for coaches to scout and players to impress came Aug. 11 in Washington D.C. and the second was Sept. 15 in Chicago.

About 140 players participated in the first ever PBL National Tryout Combines, most of who were invited through their agents but the workouts were open to anyone willing to pay the $25 fee. Players trying out had varying basketball backgrounds, ranging from NCAA Division I to Division III and from the CBA to Europe. Coaches recorded and submitted a list of their top-10 rated players from each tryout and the top 15 vote getters from each combine compiled the list of 30 players eligible for the draft.

For more information about the PBL and the PBL Draft, go to PBLPro.com.

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Premier Basketball League Stories from October 4, 2007


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