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Three Wizards Selected To D-League All-Star Game

February 3, 2009 - NBA G League (G League)
Dakota Wizards News Release


NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2009 - Fifteen players with NBA experience highlight the rosters for the third annual NBA D-League All-Star Game which will be played on Feb. 14 at the NBA's All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. MT on Jam Session's Center Court and will be shown live on NBA TV.

Twenty of the NBA D-League's top players were selected to be All-Stars by a combination of fan balloting on nba.com/dleague and voting by the League's 16 head coaches. The selections were divided up into two 10-man teams, the Red Team and the Blue Team, by members of the NBA and NBA D-League's Basketball Operations staff. The Red Team will be the home team, while the Blue Team will be the visitors.

GATORADE Call-Ups Blake Ahearn, Cartier Martin and Courtney Sims highlight the Red Team roster. Ahearn, the NBA D-League Rookie of the Year last season, earned the season's first call-up on Nov. 16, when he signed with the San Antonio Spurs. He ranks among the league's leaders in scoring 21.3 points per game (5th in the league) while shooting a league-leading 94 percent (146-of-155) from the free throw line. Iowa teammates Sims, who earned a call-up to the Phoenix Suns, and Martin who is currently with the Charlotte Bobcats, are averaging 22.2 points (3rd in the league) and 20.6 points (9th in the league), respectively. Sims also leads the league in rebounds with 11.1 per game and blocked shots with 2.2 per game and is second in field goal percentage shooting 60 percent (150-of-250) from the field.

Members of the reigning NBA D-League champion Idaho Stampede, Lance Allred, Luke Jackson and Brent Petway, round out the Red Team's roster. Petway is second in the league with 2.0 blocks per game, while Jackson is averaging a team-leading 16.7 points per game and Allred is averaging 14.3 points and 9.2 rebounds for Idaho.

The D-League's leading scorers, Albuquerque's Will Conroy and Anaheim's James White headline the Blue Team. Conroy, who leads the league in scoring with 25.8 points and minutes played with 45.2 minutes is also fourth in the league in assists with 7.8 per game. White, the league's second leading scorer is averaging 25.5 points per game and is also among the league's leaders in minutes played and field goal percentage.

Joining Conroy and White on the Blue Team are six other players with NBA experience, including San Antonio's Malik Hairston, who has been on assignment in Austin and Reno's Antonio Meeking. Hairston, who was called-up to the Spurs earlier this season, is leading the Toros with 21.1 points per game, while Meeking leads Reno with 19.2 points per game.

Ten additional NBA D-League standouts will compete in the 2009 All-Star Game, including Blue Team members Walker Russell (Fort Wayne) and Josh Davis (Colorado), who have both been honored as NBA D-League Performers of the Week this season. The Red Team will also include Maurice Baker (Dakota), Derrick Byars (Bakersfield), Richard Hendrix (Dakota) and Trey Johnson (Bakersfield). The Blue Team will include Cedric Bozeman (Anaheim), Ronald Dupree (Utah), Chris Hunter (Fort Wayne) and Chris Richard (Tulsa).

The Red Team will be coached by Iowa Energy head coach Nick Nurse and his assistant Gary Garner, while the Blue Team will be helmed by Austin Toros head coach Quin Snyder and his assistant Wendell Alexis. Both coaching staffs were selected based on their teams having the highest winning percentage by Jan. 27. Prior to the game Nurse and Snyder will choose starting lineups for their respective teams.

Players who have been selected by coaches and fans must be on an active roster to compete in the NBA D-League All-Star game.

RED TEAM ALL-STAR ROSTER

Pos. Player (Team) Ht. Wt. Birthdate College

G Blake Ahearn (Dakota) 6-2 190 5/27/1984 Missouri State

G Maurice Baker (Dakota) 6-1 205 7/28/1979 Oklahoma State

G Derrick Byars (Bakersfield) 6-7 220 8/25/1984 Vanderbilt

G Trey Johnson (Bakersfield) 6-6 216 8/30/1984 Jackson State

F Cartier Martin (Iowa) 6-7 220 11/20/1984 Kansas State

F Luke Jackson (Idaho) 6-7 215 11/16/1981 Oregon

F Richard Hendrix (Dakota) 6-9 255 11/15/1986 Alabama

F Brent Petway (Idaho) 6-8 205 5/12/1985 Michigan

C Courtney Sims (Iowa) 6-11 245 10/21/1983 Michigan

C Lance Allred (Idaho) 6-11 270 2/2/1981 Weber State

Head Coach: Nick Nurse (Iowa)

Assistant Coach: Gary Garner (Iowa)

Athletic Trainer: Tim Moran (Iowa)

BLUE TEAM ALL-STAR ROSTER

Pos. Player (Team) Ht. Wt. Birthdate College

G Will Conroy (Albuquerque) 6-2 195 12/8/1982 Washington

G Walker Russell (Fort Wayne) 6-1 177 10/6/1982 Jacksonville State

G Cedric Bozeman (Anaheim) 6-6 207 3/7/1983 UCLA

G James White (Anaheim) 6-7 220 10/21/1982 Cincinnati

F Malik Hairston (Austin) 6-6 220 2/23/1983 Oregon

F Ronald Dupree (Utah) 6-7 209 1/26/1981 LSU

F Antonio Meeking (Reno) 6-7 250 8/24/1981 Louisiana Tech

F Josh Davis (Colorado) 6-8 242 8/10/1980 Wyoming

C Chris Hunter (Fort Wayne) 6-11 240 7/7/1984 Michigan

C Chris Richard (Tulsa) 6-9 250 12/25/1984 Florida

Head Coach: Quin Snyder (Austin)

Assistant Coach: Wendell Alexis (Austin)

Athletic Trainer: Daisuke Yamaguchi (Austin)



NBA G League Stories from February 3, 2009


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