NBDL daily developments

April 23, 2005 - NBA G League (G League) News Release

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Asheville Altitude and Columbus Riverdragons meet in the title game of the 2005 NBDL Championship Tournament.

PROBABLE COLUMBUS STARTERS
F – 33 Reed Rawlings, 6-7, 215, Samford ('00), 29.8 mpg, 13.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 apg
F – 5 Scott Merritt, 6-10, 230, Marquette ('04), 30.0 mpg, 13.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.1 apg
C – 42 Mike Benton, 6-10, 260, Charleston ('04), 26.2 mpg, 8.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.0 bpg
G – 10 Ramel Curry, 6-3, 190, Cal St-Bakersfield ('02), 30.0 mpg, 15.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg
G – 22 Derrick Zimmerman, 6-2, 200, Mississippi St ('03), 30.0 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.6 apg

PROBABLE ASHEVILLE STARTERS
F – 31 Terrence Shannon, 6-7, 185, Elgin CC ('99), 29.0 mpg, 13.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.7 apg
F – 35 Ron Slay, 6-8, 225, Tennessee ('03), 30.2 mpg, 17.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 apg
C – 53 Cedric Suitt, 6-10, 245, Pepperdine ('02), 19.2 mpg, 3.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.2 bpg
G – 40 Joe Forte, 6-4, 192, North Carolina (03), 22.6 mpg, 11.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.2 apg
G – 15 Timmy Bowers, 6-2, 181, Mississippi St ('04), 28.5 mpg, 9.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.0 apg

WHEN AND WHERE: 7 p.m. EDT at the Columbus (Ga.) Civic Center.

HOW IT WORKS: One game, sudden death, winner-take-all.

THE ROAD TRAVELED: Columbus won the NBDL regular season crown with a 30-18 record and then defeated Roanoke in the semi-final game on April 16. Asheville finished second in the regular season with a 27-21 mark and beat Huntsville in the other semi-final game.

WHO WON LAST YEAR? The Asheville Altitude is the only team to win an NBDL championship and then return to the finals the next season. Coach Joey Meyer's club is also the only team to win both the regular season and postseason championship in the same season.

HOW CAN I SEE IT? The Columbus Civic Center box office will probably be your best bet for tickets today. Kids 12-and-under get in for $5 and fans wearing orange apparel get $2 off any ticket.

WHAT ABOUT TV? The title game will be aired on a tape-delayed basis by NBA TV on Monday, April 25 at 4 p.m. EDT. The voice of the Dragons, Tim Becwar, will call the action.

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT: The 2004-05 NBDL season closes with 50 Gatorade Call-Ups distributed among 34 players since the league began play in November 2001. Also among former D-Leaguers earning NBA jobs are 11 officials, nine coaches, five athletic trainers and 29 front office executives.

WHAT'S NEW? Teams in Albuquerque, N.M., Austin and Fort Worth, Texas, as well as Tulsa, Okla. will begin play in an expanded D-League in 2005-06.

NOVEMBER 18, 2005: The 2005-06 season begins.

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