With the First Pick, Albequerque Takes...

If you're visiting this blog, you're probably a person who needs more sports information than what you can get from the mainstream websites. That's what we try to provide. And in this spirit, we enjoy finding somewhat obscure stories that may get overlooked by other media outlets -- such as the NBA D-League draft.

I bet you didn't even know they had a draft. (I didn't until tracking this information down.) Not only does it exist, but it lasts eight friggin' rounds. These draft picks will compose half the rosters of the Development League teams this year, with the other half comprise of holdovers from last year's teams. These minor league affiliates will compete with each other while players wait for the call to give it a shot in the NBA.

But why do you care about minor league basketball? In only its ninth season (minor league baseball has been around for over 100 years) the D-League is still in its fledgling stages. Perhaps the most prominent player to come from the D-League is Von Wafer who went from the D-League to playing regular minutes for the Houston Rockets, a perennial playoff team. As the league develops and the talent pool continues to deepen, it is more likely to trend upward, seeing more of its players eventually become established NBA contributors. There may not be a flood of Hall of Famers here, but how many times have we seen in baseball or football someone go unnoticed in the draft and make a name for themselves in the minor leagues before bursting onto the professional scene?

Besides, if you are as big of a college fan as I am, you should recognize many names on this list, some of whom have even seen March glory in the collegiate ranks.

Without further ado, here are my notes from the 2009 D-League Draft.

First Round: With the first pick overall, Albequerque selected former South Carolina forward Carlos Powell. Powell played with Phoenix in the summer league and averaged nine points and three rebounds in 16 minutes per game. The third pick overall was Deron Washington, who starred in recent years for an emerging Virginia Tech basketball team and played with Detroit over the summer, scoring over eight points a game. JamesOn Curry, who was drafted by Chicago last year out of Oklahoma State, was another notable selection, along with Desmond Farmer (USC, to the Reno Bighorns), Antonio Anderson (Memphis, to Rio Grande Valley Vipers), and Paul Harris (Syracuse, to the Maine Red Claws).

The most intriguing first round selection, however, was the last pick. Latavious Williams went to the Tulsa 66ers 16th overall. Williams was the 17th overall ranked high schooler last year while playing for the Christian Life Center in Humble, TX. Although his body needs to develop, scouts compare him to Bulls' forward Tyrus Thomas, and he was the sixth ranked power forward in his recruiting class. Williams turned down offers from Clemson, Mississippi State, and Xavier to become the first player to go straight from high school to the D-League. Williams had had plans to play overseas, but after not getting any offers from teams to follow in the footsteps of Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler, he found himself in the D-League. He'll be interesting to follow from here on for the Thunder's minor league squad.

Second Round: The second round included another series of guys who were considered leaders for major college programs, such as Mustafa Shakur (Arizona, to Tulsa), Dar Tucker (DePaul, to the Idaho Stampede), and Jonathan Wallace (Georgetown, to Rio Grande). The two most recognizable of these names, however, are former NBA players. Orien Greene was a second round draft pick for the Celtics in 2005 and appeared in 80 games for a hapless 17-win squad. The following year, he was cut and landed with the Pacers and then eventually the Kings before the former UL-Lafayette star found himself back in the D-League draft. He went to the Utah Flash as the 12th pick in the second round. Reece Gaines went with the next pick to the Bakersfield Jam. Gaines, a point guard at Louisville, was a first round borderline lottery pick for the Magic in 2003 after getting third team All-American as a senior. Gaines failed to find minutes or success, however, and ended up bouncing around with the Rockets and Bucks before playing for a few seasons in Italy.

Third and Fourth Rounds: Highlights of the third round were Martin Zeno (Texas Tech, to Erie Bayhawks), Jeremy Wise (Southern Miss, to Los Angeles D-Fenders), Jamelle Cornley (Penn State, to Fort Wayne Mad Ants), and Chris Lowe (UMass, to Reno). The biggest name to go was Lewis Clinch, who led Georgia Tech in scoring last year and put up 32 points on Clemson in the first round of the ACC tournament. Clinch's talent is undeniable, but he battled discipline and injury issues in his four years in Atlanta. The Austin Toros took him sixth in the round. The fourth round saw former UConn Huskie Craig Austrie go to the Springfield Armor and former Clippers lottery pick Yaroslov Korolev go to Albequerque with the last pick in the round.

Fifth and Sixth Rounds: These rounds saw some mid-major stars get drafted. Shagari Alleyne starred at Manhattan after transferring from Kentucky and was taken by Albequerque. Alleyne was also nicknamed "Skyscraper" while in training camp with the Harlem Globetrotters. Former BYU Cougar Keena Young got taken by Tulsa and brings a keen scoring prowess and rebounding ability that helped him earn Mountain West Conference Player of the Year in 2007. Young was a high school teammate and friend of Boston Celtic Kendrick Perkins. J'Nathan Bullock was the last pick of the sixth round and is best remembered for leading Cleveland State's upset victory over Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last spring.

Seventh and Eighth Rounds: Most of the players in these two rounds were older players that have previous D-League experience and were left unprotected by their teams, like former Cincinnati Bearcat guard Tony Bobbitt, who went to Maine. The most intriguing prospect here doubles as the D-League draft's Mr. Irrelevant, Brian Kortovich, taken by Albequerque with the last pick of the draft. Kortovich played at an Ohio junior college and then Manhattan. After college, he got a job as a phone operator for a financial firm and started playing in the New York City street ball scene, earning the nickname "Smokin' Aces" at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem for his dead eye shooting accuracy. Kortovich had a tryout with the Knicks this past summer and was told by coach Mike D'Antoni and GM Donnie Walsh that he was on their radar. Now Dallas and New Orleans, who share affiliation with Albequerque, will have a chance to see what Kortovich can do.

Affiliates:
Albequerque -- Dallas and New Orleans
Austin -- San Antonio
Bakersfield -- Golden State and L.A. Clippers
Dakota Wizards -- Washington and Memphis
Erie -- Cleveland and Toronto
Fort Wayne -- Detroit, Indiana, and Milwaukee
Idaho -- Portland and Denver
Iowa Energy -- Chicago and Phoenix
Utah -- Utah and Atlanta
Tulsa -- Oklahoma City
Springfield -- New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia
Sioux Falls Skyforce -- Miami and Minnesota
Rio Grande -- Houston
Reno -- Orlando and Sacramento
Maine -- Boston and Charlotte
Los Angeles -- L.A. Lakers