Canadians Picked for NBL Draft
Twenty one year old Kevin Brown became the first Canadian to be taken in the first National Basketball League of Canada on Sunday.
The young player went fifth overall to the Saint John franchise, one of seven teams that make up the inaugural NBL Canada.
The jammed draft weekend took place in Toronto, where executives and coaches from the seven teams, hailing from London, Oshawa, Quebec, Moncton, Halifax, Saint John and P.E.I., took place in a two day combine before players were selected.
The combine was held at Seneca College. Saturday was put aside for free agents of any nationality while the Sunday combine before the draft was open to Canadian players only.
Kevin Brown decided to compete for a draft spot at Seneca against American and other hopefuls. He was so confident of his skill that he didn't think it was necessary to wait for the Canadians-only round the following day.
Speaking of his successful draft with Saint John, Brown said: "As this league goes on, I know that I'll do some good things for this team."
Tense Draft Rounds
The owners and general managers decided on a group of 25 to 30 players after the combine, who were placed in a side room before the draft took place.
There were three rounds in the NBL Canada draft. The first was to select international players, and the last two to select Canadians. Teams could begin signing players after the draft.
Another Canadian, Tristan Martin, was also picked in the first round and taken by the Quebec Kebs with the seventh overall selection. Toronto's Kevin Francis was the first Canadian-only second round pick.
Twenty seven year old Francis has ample experience behind him, having played in Finland, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, France and China. For now, he is satisfied with his pick and is looking forward to settling down at home with his partner and two month old daughter.
The Oshawa Powers picked Cleveland native Morgan Lewis as the first overall pick of the draft.
"I've played overseas the last three years in Germany and I just kind of wanted the opportunity to play closer to home," he said. "It seems they're trying to do big things with this league and I want to be part of it."
