Welcome back Corey

Published on January 23, 2003 under NBA G League (G League) News Release

On the Light Side

The schedule of National Basketball Development League games is on the light side this weekend, with only five games on tap. The Roanoke Dazzle, one of the NBDL's hottest teams, has the weekend off.

The weekend slate:
Friday Jan. 24, 2003 Columbus at Asheville 7:15 p.m. ET
Friday Jan. 24, 2003 North Charleston at Fayetteville 7:30 p.m. ET
Friday Jan. 24, 2003 Huntsville at Mobile 7:30 p.m. CT

Saturday Jan. 25, 2003 North Charleston at Asheville 7:15 p.m. ET
Saturday Jan. 25, 2003 Greenville at Mobile 6:00 p.m. CT

Welcome Back Mr. Benjamin

Like previous NBDL callups Rafer Alston and Damone Brown before him, former North Charleston guard Corey Benjamin returned to the NBA in a big way Wednesday night. The former first-round pick of the Chicago Bulls and the NBDL's second-leading scorer even notched the number 5 spot on ESPN SportsCenter's top 10 plays of the day with a slam dunk that gave the Atlanta Hawks a one-point lead in the game's final seconds against Portland on Wednesday. Benjamin later forced double-overtime in an eventual Hawks loss with a short jumper.

New Weekend, Different Sizzle

Going into last weekend's slate of games it was the Roanoke Dazzle holding the hot hand with a five-game winning streak. Coach's Kent Davison's club is still on a roll, winning six of their last seven, but it's the resurgent Mobile Revelers bringing the pop into this weekend with a three-game win streak. While the Dazzle is still nipping at league-leading Fayetteville's heels, Sam Vincent's Revelers have unassumingly moved into fourth place, just one-half game behind the Dazzle and Huntsville, who are tied for second.

Record Crowd in Huntsville

Spurred by a record crowd of 6,583 in Huntsville last Saturday, the NBDL recorded an average of 2,165 fans over the nine-game Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday weekend, including a season-high 2,462 at Roanoke on Sunday.. The game between the Flight and the Lowgators was part of a basketball triple-header that day at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville and also marked the 100th game of the NBDL's second season.

Going Up?

With Corey Benjamin signing a 10-day contract with Atlanta this week, seven NBDL players have already headed in that direction this season. Following are the list of 2002-03 NBDL to NBA callups. The Hawks and the Toronto Raptors both currently have two players who started the season in the NBDL on their active rosters. Also this week, the Raptors signed former Mobile guard Rafer Alston for the remainder of the season.

Player NBDL Team NBA Team
Devin Brown Fayetteville Patriots San Antonio Spurs
Mike Wilks* Huntsville Flight Atlanta Hawks
Bobby Simmons* Mobile Revelers Washington Wizards
Mikki Moore Roanoke Dazzle Boston Celtics
Rafer Alston* Mobile Revelers Toronto Raptors
Damone Brown* North Charleston Lowgators Toronto Raptors
Corey Benjamin* North Charleston Lowgators Atlanta Hawks

*Currently in NBA
**Seventh NBDL callup last season was March 29

44 Filling It Up

North Charleston post player Peter Cornell, who sports number 44 on his Lowgators jersey, is making a push to set the NBDL record for field goal percentage. After an 11-for-13 performance in a victory at Greenville Wednesday night, Cornell leads the league by converting 72-of-118 from the floor (.610). Lorenzo Coleman owns the current record, converting 126-of-208 at Roanoke last season for a .606 shooting percentage.

Capel Also on Track

Fayetteville Patriots' forward Jason Capel is staging a shooting clinic of his own from the free throw line. Capel has converted 91-of-100 (.910) free throws this season. The NBDL record belongs to Mobile's Isaac Fontaine, who made 229-of-253 (.905) last season.

Sealing the Arc

Speaking of the records chase, Mobile's Shea Seals is on pace to set the NBDL standard for three-point shooting. Seals has connected on 33-of-68 (.485). Terry Dehere set the record last season, making 27-of-60 (.450) as a North Charleston Lowgator.

I-65 Series

The NBDL's I-65 Series resumes Friday when the Huntsville Flight visits the Mobile Revelers where that interstate ends at the Mardi Gras Dome. The Flight and Revelers have split four meetings this season, but Mobile leads the all-time series 8-6.

On ESPN2

The NBDL, the only minor league with a national television deal, will feature this Saturday's North Charleston at Asheville contest for Monday's tape delayed game of the week. The game will air to some 80 million households Monday at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Muoneke Ties Scoring Record

Roanoke forward Gabe Muoneke put up 38 points to tie the NBDL single-game scoring record in the Dazzle's overtime victory at Fayetteville last Saturday. The former Texas Longhorn shares the standard with the Patriots' Devin Brown, who scored 38 against North Charleston back on Dec. 5.

Slamming and Shooting For All-Star Tickets

Slam dunk and three-point shooting contests, as well as in-arena sweepstakes at NBDL games, are going to make several basketball fans happy campers in the coming days. Winners of those contests will earn two tickets to the 2003 NBA All-Star Weekend, including passes to the NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Saturday Night, the Rookies and Sophomore game, Jam Session and more February 7-9 at Philips Arena.

All-Time NBDL Team Records

Team Record Pct
Greenville Groove 50-33 .602
North Charleston Lowgators 50-34 .595
Mobile Revelers 43-38 .531
Columbus Riverdragons 43-39 .524
Huntsville Flight 41-43 .488
Fayetteville Patriots 36-46 .450
Asheville Altitude 36-48 .429
Roanoke Dazzle 32-50 .390

NBA G League Stories from January 23, 2003

• David Thompson to Speak at Crown Coliseum - Fayetteville Patriots
• Records Shattered in the Idaho Center - Idaho Stampede
• Welcome back Corey - G League

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