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Riverdragons Get Bigger, Stronger in 2002 NBDL Draft

October 31, 2002 - NBA G League (G League)
Columbus Riverdragons News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga., October 31, 2001 – The Columbus Riverdragons selected 10-year NBA veteran forward Derek Strong in the first round (6th pick overall) of the 2002 NBDL Draft. The 6-foot-9 Strong was the Riverdragons first of 14 selections made Halloween night via conference call in front of Riverdragons fans and season ticket holders at Milan's Italian Eatery in Columbus, Ga.

Strong, 34, averaged 6.8 points, 4.9 rebounds in 456 games over his 10 seasons (1991-92 – 2000-01) in the NBA. The former Xavier University standout has made stops with six NBA teams including the Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Bullets and Philadelphia 76ers.

The Los Angeles native averaged 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Clippers during the 2001-02 season in his most recent NBA stint. Strong averaged a career-high 12.7 points in 58 games for the Magic in 1997-98.

"I'm thrilled to get a guy with the kind of NBA experience Derek has," said Riverdragons head coach Jeff Malone.. "He's going to bring leadership skills on top of his strengths as a player. Some may say I should be concerned he's going to get called-up quickly – but that's what this league is all about – making it to the NBA. The flip side is, if he stays in our league the entire season he will be one of the best forwards in the NBDL. That's a chance I felt we had to make."

In addition to Strong, the Riverdragons added size to the team's front court selecting 7-foot center Lonnie Jones (2nd round, 14th pick) from Ball State University and also selected versatile 6-foot-6 guard/forward Willie Davis (3rd round, 22nd pick) from Southern Methodist University.

Jones, who participated in the New Jersey Nets vet camp this October, holds the single-season shot block record at Ball State, blocking 89 shots his senior year (2001-02). Davis ranks 11th on SMU's all-time leading scorer list, posting 1,350 points in his four seasons (1997-98 – 2000-01) at the school..

The Columbus Riverdragons will open training camp Sunday, November 3 at Psalmond Road Recreation Center in Columbus, Ga.. to begin preparation for the 2002-03 NBDL season. The Riverdragons training camp will run from Sunday, November 3 – Thursday, November 14, leading up to the team's season opener against the defending NBDL champion Greenville Groove on Friday, November 15 at the BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

The Riverdragons will bring 25 players to camp to compete for 10 roster spots. Returning players from the Riverdragons inaugural season expected to attend camp include forwards Nate Johnson, Tang Hamilton and Sean Daugherty; guards Saul Smith and Jeremy Veal; and center Kareem Poole.

The Riverdragons allocated players, guards Sean Peterson (Georgia Southern University) and D.A. Layne (Georgia), forward Carl Mitchell (Northern Kentucky University) and center Terrell Bell (Georgia) will also vie for roster spots. Last season, returning guard Saul Smith was the first allocated player in Riverdragons history to make the team's opening day roster.

The Riverdragons have also invited guard Kevin Morris to attend camp. The former Georgia State University point guard beat out 90 players in the Riverdragons open tryouts in mid-October for a special invitation to attend the Riverdragons training camp and potentially make the team.

The Columbus Riverdragons will open their 2002 NBDL preseason schedule Saturday, November 9 against the defending NBDL Champion Greenville Groove at the Lumpkin Center on the campus of Columbus State University. The game was originally scheduled to be played at the Columbus Civic Center. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

For Rivedragons ticket information call (706) 225-1100 or visit columbusrivedragons.com.

The following are the selections made by the Columbus Riverdragons in the 2002 NBDL Draft. The entire 14-round NBDL Draft list is available at NBDL.com.

Round Pick Name Pos. School

1 6 Derek Strong F Xavier

2 14 Lonnie Jones C Ball State

3 22 Willie Davis F SMU

4 30 Greg Clausen C Marquette

5 38 Marcus Evans C Rhode Island

6 46 Adam Hall G Virginia

7 54 Kwame James F Evansville

8 62 Jermaine Walker F Miami

9 70 Reggie Butler C Xavier

10 78 David Capers G St. Bonaventure

11 86 Lenny Cooke G Mott High School

12 94 David Korfman C UC-Irvine

13 102 Aaron Owens G Henderson State

14 110 Marcus Taylor G Michigan State

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