# news 1/17



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*D-League.com Features Free Live Video Web Casts

*NEW YORK - Jan. 16, 2007 - NBA Development League president Dan Reed announced on his blog "Reed and Write" that every game will be available to view live on the League's official website www.nba.com/dleague for the remainder of the season. The D-League is beta testing online video streaming of all games, which are completely free to those who register on NBA.com, and will provide fans all over the world the opportunity to keep track of their favorite D-League players and teams all season long.
"This is the first time any professional sports league - minor or major - has enabled free online video streaming of all of their games in their entirety," said Reed on his blog.
The announcement coincides with the fourth annual D-League Showcase Presented by adidas, one of the League's marquee events taking place in Boise, Idaho from Jan. 14-17. The Showcase features all 14 teams playing two games apiece in front of over 60 NBA general managers, vice presidents and scouts; each looking for a player to enhance his team.
For the games played during the Showcase, fans will be treated to the actual live NBA TV feed. For the rest of the season the web cast will be produced and developed by each team.
Reed, who connects with readers on his blog by sharing his personal experiences as the leader of the league, encourages fans to enjoy the new technology and to email him their feedback of this innovative program. "If there's one thing I've learned it's that you guys give us fantastic feedback," said Reed on "Reed and Write." 
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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Toros Hold Off Skyforce In D-League Showcase*

BOISE, Idaho (January 16, 2008) In their first appearance at the 2008 D-League Showcase presented by adidas, the Austin Toros defeated the Sioux Falls Skyforce 100-92. San Antonio Spurs assignee Ian Mahinmi closed the door on the Skyforce scoring 12 of his 27 points in the last six minutes of the game. 
The Toros led by eight (21-13) at the end of the first quarter. Sioux Falls forward Kasib Powell found foul trouble early with three just under the six minute mark. Mahinmi led all scores for the quarter with eight points. At the half, the Toros lead was again eight. 

The first tie of the competition came at 6:16 in the third quarter when a Toros turnover and a quick basket by Skyforce guard David Bailey evened the game at 55. Solid shooting from Elton Nesbitt (5-7) kept the Skyforce close, but DerMarr Johnson answered (3-3) and the Toros led by five at the end of the third.

"I thought we played really good defense, particularly early in the game and we got a little bit of lead. I would have liked to see us charge to maintain that. We have a pretty deep team right now, so I think it's a challenge for us to keep that intensity level high," said Toros head coach Quin Snyder. "Everyone here wants to show well, and the best thing about this group is how well they play together."

Six Toros finished in double digits: Ian Mahinmi (27), Keith Langford (19), Kris Lang (11), Justin Bowen (10), Cheyne Gadson (10), and Justin Reed (10).

Kasib Powell led Skyforce scoring with 26, Elton Nesbitt contributed 20 and David Bailey scored 18. 

"I'm trying to be like a sponge and soak everything up, whether it's good or bad," said Skyforce head coach Nate Tibbets. " I'm trying to learn from it. It's been a fun year so far our guys compete and play hard." 

The Toros (14-5) play the LA-Defenders Thursday in their final Showcase game. Sioux Falls (8-14) heads home to face the Albuquerque Thunderbirds on Friday night.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*D-League Daily Developments*

WEDNESDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS...top performers from Wednesday's games v Austin's Ian Mahinmi, on assignment from the San Antonio Spurs, led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds while Kris Lang chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the win. 
v Mike Hall and Glen McGowan each finished with 20 points for Tulsa while Ramon Sessions, on assignment from the Milwaukee Bucks, contributed with 15 points and 10 assists. 
v Kyrlo Fesenko, on assignment to the Utah Flash from the Jazz, and Brian Hamilton each finished with contest with 17 points. 
v Cleveland Cavaliers guard Shannon Brown, currently on assignment with Rio Grande valley, poured in 37 points in the seven-point victory over the Dakota Wizards while teammate Trent Strickland finished with 27 points. 
D-LEAGUE SHOWCASE ROLLS ON: The fourth annual D-League Showcase continues play today with the final three games at Qwest Arena. Upon its conclusion, the Showcase will have seen 14 games in 4 days. 
GATORADE CALL-UP BOARD (11 call-ups, 10 players, 7 NBA teams): 
Player NBA Team D-League Team Call-Up Dates 
Eddie Gill New Jersey Nets Colorado 14ers 11/15/07-12/12/07 
Jelani McCoy Denver Nuggets L.A. D-Fenders 11/29/07-12/27 
Luke Jackson Miami Heat Idaho Stampede 12/12/07-present 
Jeremy Richardson Memphis Grizzlies Fort Wayne Mad Ants 12/20-1/7 
Billy Thomas  New Jersey Nets Colorado 14ers 12/24-1/7 
Marcus Williams San Antonio Spurs Austin Toros 12/26-12/29 
Keith Langford San Antonio Spurs Austin Toros 12/28-1/7 
DerMarr Johnson San Antonio Spurs Austin Toros 12/29-1/7 
Guillermo Diaz Los Angeles Clippers Anaheim Arsenal 1/8-present 
CJ Watson Golden State Warriors Rio Grande Valley Vipers 1/8-present 
Jeremy Richardson San Antonio Spurs Fort Wayne Mad Ants 1/10-present 
ASSIGNMENT BOARD (29 assignments, 23 players, 15 NBA teams): 
Player NBA Team D-League Team Assignment Date Recall Date 
Ramon Sessions Milwaukee Tulsa 11/7 N/A 
Kyrylo Fesenko Utah Jazz Utah Flash 11/10, 12/6, 12/27 11/30, 12/13, N/A 
Steve Novak Houston Rio Grande Valley 11/11 12/16 
Brandon Wallace Boston Utah 11/13 12/18 
JamesOn Curry Chicago Iowa 11/16, 1/7 12/17, N/A 
Kosta Perovic Golden State Bakersfield 11/18 1/6 
Nick Fazekas Dallas Tulsa 11/20 N/A 
Marcin Gortat Orlando Anaheim 11/20 12/2 
Ian Mahinmi San Antonio Austin 11/21 N/A 
Gabe Pruitt Boston Utah 11/23, 12/3 11/26, 12/13 
Coby Karl L.A. Lakers D-Fenders 11/28 12/24 
Alando Tucker Phoenix Albuquerque 11/28, 1/11 12/17 
Darius Washington San Antonio Austin 11/29, 12/21 12/13, 12/28 
Aaron Brooks Houston Rio Grande Valley 12/6 12/14 
Morris Almond Utah Jazz Utah Flash 12/6 1/8 
Cheikh Samb Detroit Fort Wayne 12/10 12/20 
Taurean Green Portland Idaho 12/10 12/22 
Maurice Ager Dallas Tulsa 12/17 1/6 
D.J. Strawberry Phoenix Albuquerque 12/18 1/11 
Demetris Nichols Chicago Iowa 12/18 1/7 
Mouhamed Sene Seattle Idaho 12/23 N/A 
Cedric Simmons Cleveland Rio Grande Valley 1/2 1/10 
Josh McRoberts Portland Idaho 1/9 N/A 
Shannon Brown Cleveland Rio Grande Valley 1/11 N/A


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*66ers extend winning streak with victory over Thunderbirds*

BOISE, ID., Jan. 16, 2008 - The Tulsa 66ers defeated the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, 94-79, in game nine of the 14-game D-League Showcase on Wednesday at Qwest Arena in Boise. This marks the fifth straight win for the 66ers, improving their record to 9-10. 
The 66ers had five players score in double-digits, with forwards Mike Hall and Glen McGowan leading the way with 20 a piece. Forward Nick Fazekas chipped in 17, while guards Adam Harrington and Ramon Sessions tallied 15 each.

"We were really over anxious in the first half and we came out and played better in the second half," said Joey Meyer, 66ers head coach. "We played with a lot of intensity. I thought Glen McGowan off the bench and Jerry Kelly came out with energy, and really turned around the game for us."

The first half of play showcased the defensive skills of both teams, with Albuquerque's Cory Underwood recording three blocked shots, holding Tulsa to shoot just 29.7 percent (11-37) from the floor. While the teams were tied at the end of the first quarter, the Thunderbirds pulled ahead, 39-35, going into the half.

Entering the second half of play, the two exchanged the lead before the 66ers McGowan scored on a reverse lay-up with four minutes remaining in the third quarter, never allowing the Thunderbirds to regain the lead.

Overall, Tulsa shot 45 percent (34-of-75) from the field, 74 percent (23-of-31) from the line, while Albuquerque shot 37 percent (30-of-82) from the floor and 80 percent (8-of-10) from the charity stripe.

Leading the way for Albuquerque was center Kevin Pittsnogle with a game-high 21 points, adding five rebounds and four steals. Equally as impressive for the Thunderbirds was Alando Tucker, a guard on assignment from the Phoenix Suns, as he added six points, four boards, three assists, three steals.

"He's [Tucker] been terrific for us, both him and DJ Strawberry," said Jeff Ruland, Albuquerque's head coach. "Obviously we rely on him a lot. We've had two above par games from him. Last week he had 36 and 39 so teams are going to try to take that away. I think he's a little tired right now. We've been on a twelve day road trip. Hopefully we can regroup here and get one or two more."

Albuquerque finishes the 2008 Showcase with a record of 0-2, having fallen to the Colorado 14ers on Tuesday. The 66ers will return to the floor to take on the Colorado 14ers tomorrow.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Fesenko, Hamilton lead Flash to showcase win*

BOISE, Idaho, Jan. 16, 2008 - Kyrylo Fesenko and Brian Hamilton scored 17 points apiece to lead the Utah Flash to an 87-73 victory over the Iowa Energy at the NBA Development League Showcase Wednesday at Qwest Arena. 
Utah is 12-8 and heads to Bismarck to meet the defending D-League Champion Dakota Wizards on Friday. Iowa's eighth consecutive loss dropped the Energy to 9-14 with the Austin Toros visiting Des Moines on Sunday.

Utah equaled its longest win streak of the season at two for the fourth time this season despite turning the ball over 28 times. The Flash won the rebounding battle 53-33 and limited the Energy to just 35-percent (26-73) from the floor.

"I was very pleased with our intensity on both ends of the court throughout the game," Utah head coach Brad Jones said. "We came out and took control on the defensive end and we executed on the offensive end."
On assignment from the Utah Jazz, Fesenko converted 6-of-12 field goal attempts and grabbed nine rebounds. Hamilton added three assists and three steals to his point total.

"I love this team. I love to play basketball and when we play, if we win or we lose, every game and every practice is like a celebration for me," Fesenko said. "I just like to play basketball, that's all."

Normally a slow starting team, the Flash converted 11-of-16 field goal attempts and outrebounded the Energy 13-4 to take a 28-16 lead after the first quarter. Utah stretched the lead to 14 at the half and led by as many as 22 in the fourth before Iowa made a late charge to cut the margin to 10.

"Utah came a lot more ready to play than we did and really took it to us right from the jump," Iowa head coach Nick Nurse said. "It was an uphill battle the whole way and we didn't really respond until it was too late."

Britton Johnsen contributed 13 points and Kevin Kruger 10 as nine players scored for the Flash. Brian Jackson collected a game-high 14 rebounds for Utah. Doug Thomas and Mike Efevberha were the only Iowa players in double figures with 10 points each.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Vipers outlast Wizards at D-League showcase*

The Rio Grande Valle Vipers had not won a game in 2008 entering Wednesday night's match-up with the defending D-League Champion Dakota Wizards. With a break out game by Cleveland assignee Shannon Brown and Trent Strickland and 42 bench points, the Vipers won a back and forth match-up, dropping a six game losing streak with a 119-112 victory over the Wizards at Qwest Arena at the 2008 D-League Showcase. In a game that featured 24 lead changes and 12 ties the Vipers and Wizards battled throughout the first three quarters with neither team leading by more than five points until the fourth quarter. The Vipers led by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter and outscored the Wizards 36-30 in the final period to notch their first victory away from Dodge Arena since Dec 29th. 
"It was so fun to watch those guys out there tonight," Vipers Head Coach Bob Hoffman said. "The fought hard from the beginning and to get big minutes from everyone was huge."
Brown's 37 points led all scorers as he finished13-of-24 shooting, including four three pointers, and five rebounds. Strickland had a season high 27 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double. The Vipers received huge minutes from their bench as three of their non-starters finished in double figures including Chris Taft's 14, which led the Vipers reserves.
Rio Grande Valley will play their second of two home games in the month of January on Friday night as they face off against the Anaheim Arsenal. The Vipers defeated the Arsenal back on the 28th of November. Tip-off at Dodge Arena is set for 7:00 pm


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Colorado Cruises Past Tulsa*

BOISE, ID, Jan. 17, 2008 - The Colorado 14ers jumped on the Tulsa 66ers early and never let up in their 121-92 wire-to-wire victory on Thursday at the 2008 D-League Showcase at Qwest Arena. 
Kaniel Dickens and Elton Brown each posted double-doubles for the 14ers. Dickens scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in just over 25 minutes, while Brown corralled a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with his 19 points.

The 14ers had eight players score in double figures and shot 54.9 percent (39-of-71) from the field and 40.9 percent from 3-point range (9-of-22). Colorado, which had lost five straight before coming to Boise, heads home after posting a 2-0 record at the Showcase and improves to 11-9 overall.

"I think we played extremely well on the defensive end," said Colorado head coach Joe Wolf. "We took away their main looks, and did a nice job protecting the paint. When the possession was over, we did a good job rebounding the basketball. We played together and played great team defense."

Ramon Sessions scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Tulsa, which fell to 9-11 overall after posting a 1-1 record at the Showcase.

"I thought with the day off they had, they came in today and were very well prepared," Tulsa coach Joey Meyer said of Colorado. "They played with a lot energy and once they got ahead they played really confidently. They were really better prepared and they played better than us today."

The 14ers led 33-23 after the first quarter and extended their lead to 12 points at the half. Colorado put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring Tulsa, 35-21 in the period and taking a 26-point lead into the fourth quarter.

After extending its lead to as many as 36 points, the 14ers emptied their bench and coasted to a 29-point victory.

Despite the lopsided defeat, Meyer was happy that his players had the chance to display their talents at the Showcase.

"I think it's a great opportunity and a great idea," he said. "It gives all these NBA guys a chance to see all these guys in one setting."


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*D-Fenders Top Toros In Showcase Showdown*

IDAHO, Boise (January 17, 2008) The Los Angeles D-Fenders took the lead early and never looked back in their first match up of the season against the Austin Toros. The game of NBA owned D-League teams, was the second for both at the D-League Showcase presented by adidas. The Toros went 1-1, the D-Fenders 2-0 for the exhibition. 
The D-Fenders took an early lead in the first quarter led by Devin Green with 8 points. The Toros got into foul trouble and Spurs assignee Ian Mahinmi went to the bench with two fouls midway the first quarter. A Keith Langford three pointer gave Austin a brief one point lead, but Green answered with a running hook shot to put the D-Fenders back on top. 

The D-Fenders led by as many as 14 in the second quarter. The Toros fought back and came within five, but 67% scoring for the D-Fenders help them finish the first half with a ten point lead.

LA continued to widen the gap in the third, Sean Banks and Wendell White combined for 18 of the D-Fenders 24 points scored. Turnovers and fouls plagued the quarter for the Toros. 

"We beat a very good team, and fortunately we had a really good first half," said D-Fenders head coach Dan Panaggio. "I give credit to Austin, they didn't give and they kept the pressure on us and made us fight for it down the stretch."

Sean Banks led the D-Fenders with 21 points and 5 rebounds, Devin Green and Wendell White both chipped in 16, Cecil Brown finished with 14. 

Keith Langford was high scorer for Austin with 24 points and five rebounds. Justin Reed scored 15 off the bench. Cheyne Gadson added 12 points and 8 rebounds, Ian Mahinmi 10 points and eight rebounds.

"I thought we came out and for a number of reasons, we got behind early and we dug ourselves a hole that we couldn't come out of," said Toros head coach Quin Snyder.

Snyder added, "They played very well early and throughout the game. There were a couple of possessions late in the game where we cut it to four and we had a jump ball situation, where it could have been our ball when we were down four, but we missed the tip. There was a lot of pressure on individual situations like that because we were behind." 

Both teams play on Sunday, the Toros head to Iowa and the D-Fenders will face the Mad Ants at Fort Wayne.


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