Mayhem selects Farmer with CBA's first pick
Published on September 21, 2004 under Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1) News Release
Boise, ID (September 21, 2004) â With the first pick in the 19th Annual Continental Basketball Association College Draft, the expansion Michigan Mayhem selected guard Desmon Farmer (6-5, 220) from the University of Southern California. Farmer becomes the first player selected in Mayhem franchise history.
"I am very excited we were able to select Desmon with the first pick," stated Mayhem first year Head Coach Reggie Fox. "He plays at a high intensity level that will fit nicely with the identity that our team will strive to achieve in our initial year."
Farmer was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2004 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, after averaging 16.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
"I think playing in the CBA will be a great situation for me," remarked Farmer, who is a native of Flint, Michigan. "It is definitely a great thing for me to play here in Michigan. I will have a lot of support being here, and my family will have a chance to see me play again. It is just a great opportunity for me.
"Guys go to the CBA to get to the next level, and I am focusing on the NBA right now. This is the route I need to take to get there and I am excited to make it happen."
As a senior last season, Farmer averaged 19.4 points per game (third in the Pac-10), and earned All-Pac-10 First Team honors. He scored at least 20 points 14 times, and scored at least 25 points nine times, including a career-high 40 points in an upset victory over then No. 7 Arizona (in which he made 11 of 19 field goals, and seven of 11 three-pointers). His 562 points was the ninth-best scoring effort in a season at USC.
The 6-foot-5 guard finished fourth on the USC All-Time Leading Scorer list (1,606 points), second on the career three-pointer chart (203), and seventh in free throws made (353) and minutes played (3,621). He also started 75 of his 121 games, ranking him second in USC Trojan history for the number of contests played.
The oldest professional basketball league in the world tips off its 59th season on Friday, November 19, when Farmer's Michigan Mayhem hosts the Great Lakes Storm at the L.C. Walker arena in Muskegon, Michigan.
Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from September 21, 2004
- 2004 CBA College Draft complete - CBA 1
- Mayhem selects Farmer with CBA's first pick - CBA 1
- Storm ready for draft party - Great Lakes Storm
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