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Rainmen Favor Big Men in Draft

August 20, 2013 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Halifax Rainmen News Release


HALIFAX,NS - On August 19th, the NBL Canada held its 2013 Draft in Markham, Ontario. The Halifax Rainmen headed into the draft with 5 picks, the 3rd, 5th, 15th, 24th and 27th selections overall. With the 3rd overall pick the Rainmen selected Raven Barber, an athletic 6'9 forward out of Mount St. Mary's University. Barber appeared in 111 games at Mount St. Mary's from 2009-13, averaging 6.6 points and 3.2 rebounds.

The Rainmen selected another big body just two picks later, selecting 6'9 forward Gerard Devaughn out of Stillman College with the 5th overall pick.

In the 3rd round, the Rainmen added 5'9 PG Keoni Watson out of Idaho University with the 27th overall pick. Watson played at Idaho from 2005-2007, averaging 18.1 points per game as a senior. He was selected in the 9th round of the 2008 NBA D-League draft and played in 8 games with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and has also played professionally in Germany, Mexico and the ABA.

"I'm really excited about the players we selected in this years draft. Both Raven,and Gerald will be impact guys," said President and owner Andre Levingston."They were two of the best players in the draft, and both has tremendous upside. If they continue to work hard and develop, they can be very special."

The Rainmen also made a trade during the draft, sending the 15th and 24th overall picks to the Windsor Express in exchange for their 1st round pick in the 2014 NBLC Draft.

The NBL Canada draft was a great event, as 29 players were selected. The Ottawa Skyhawks took Canadian PG Alex Johnson 1st overall, and he was one of 9 Canadians selected.

Full Draft Results:

NBL CANADA ENTRY DRAFT

On August 19, 2013, NBL Canada held its third entry draft at Markham, Ont. Twenty‐nine men were drafted and invited to their respective team's training camps.

FIRST ROUND

1. Ottawa SkyHawks Alex Johnson (6'0", 246, PG, North Carolina State) (Canadian)

2. Brampton A's Brent Jennings (6'4" 200, G, Southern Polytechnic State)

3. Halifax Rainmen (a) Raven Barber 6'8", 220, F, Mt. Saint Mary's)

4. Mississauga Power Bol Kong (6'8", 220, F, St. Francis‐Xavier (Canadian)

5. Halifax Rainmen Gerald Devaughn (6'8", 248, F, Stillman College)

6. Moncton Miracles Jermel Kennedy (6'6", 185, C, Lander) (Canadian)

7. Saint John Mill Rats Michael Luby (6'11", 280, C, Brock University) (Canadian)

8. Windsor Express Denarryl Rice (6'0", 185, PG, Arkansas Tech)

9. The Island Storm Shawn Vanzant (6'0", 171, PG, Butler)

10. London Lightning Raheem Singleton (6'0", 205, PG, Maine)

SECOND ROUND

1. Ottawa SkyHawks Manock Lual (6'6", F, University of PEI)

2. Brampton A's Niko Brooks (5'9", 165, PG, Westmont)

3. London Lightning (b) Willie Whitfield (6'6", 225, F, Barry University)

4. Mississauga Power Dwight McCombs (6'8", 240, F, Central Florida)

5. Halifax Rainmen James Marcellus (6'9", 240, F‐C, Delaware State)

6. Moncton Miracles Aleksandar Mitrović (6'6", 200, F, McGill University) (Canadian)

7. Saint John Mill Rats David Louis (6'5", 192, F, Kingsborough CC [NY])

8. Windsor Express (c) Marcus James (6'7", 197, F, Sam Houston State)

9. The Island Storm Ryan Martin (5'9", 160, PG, Keene State)

10. London Lightning Colin Nickerson (6'3", 170, G, Fairfield)

THIRD ROUND

1. Ottawa SkyHawks Jerome Brown (6'5", 205, G, Panola) (Canadian)

2. Brampton A's Jayson Obazuaye (6'4", 215, G, Colorado)

3. Mississauga Power Eric Petty, Jr. (6'6", 220, F, Mississippi Valley State)

4. Halifax Rainmen Jason Dawson (6'1", 181, PG, Gardner‐Webb)

5. Moncton Miracles Anto Raic (6'7", 205, F, Brock University) (Canadian)

6. Saint John Mill Rats Alex Jackson (6'6", 208, F, Missouri‐St. Louis)

7. Halifax Rainmen (d) Keoni Watson (5'10", PG, Idaho)

8. The Island Storm Justin Leemow (6'1", G, North Carolina Central)

9. Mississauga Power (e) Branko Veljović (6'4", 202, G, Hannibal

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