Title Quest
Published on March 31, 2003 underNBA G League (G League)
Fayetteville Patriots News Release
The Fayetteville Patriots are headed to the NBDL Finals and have a chance to win Fayetteville its first league title in 49 years. The Patriots open the 2003 NBDL Finals against Mobile on Friday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m. Game 2 is in Mobile on April 9. If necessary the series will return to Fayetteville on April 11. WHAT IS THE NBDL?
The National Basketball Development League (NBDL) is a grassroots basketball league started by the National Basketball Association (NBA) that began play in November 2001. Through the NBDL, the NBA is able to bring professional basketball to mid-sized American cities, providing fans with a fun, family-oriented atmosphere. The league is comp eight teams throughout the southeastern states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia. The teams compete in a 50-game regular-season schedule, which runs through March and is followed by playoffs. The NBDL offers players an opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the supervision of the NBA.
THE FAYETTEVILLE PATRIOTS ARE NOT YOUR EVERYDAY MINOR LEAGUE ORGANIZATION
- The NBDL is the only minor league in the country that has a television contract with a national television station.
- Therefore, seven Fayetteville Patriots games appeared on ESPN2 this season. The NBDL Finals will also be aired on ESPN2
- The Fayetteville Patriots have two former McDonald's All-Americans â Omar Cook and Jason Capel â on their roster.
- The Fayetteville Patriots have one of the most local feels to the team than any other minor league team in the state.
- Patriots coach Jeff Capel is from Southern Pines, N.C., and attended and was the head coach at Fayetteville State University.
- Two Fayetteville Patriots â Jason Capel and Terrell McIntyre â were born in Fayetteville.
- McIntyre attended Hoke County High School before having a great career at Clemson.
- Coach Capel's son Jeff III, won a N.C. state basketball championship at Hope Mills South View in 1993, played at Duke from 1993-'97 and is the youngest coach in Division I at Virginia Commonwealth University.
- Assistant coach Sam Worthen is a former NBA player. He attended Marquette University, a 2003 Final Four team.
- The Patriots won the NBDL regular-season by six games with a 32-18 record.
- McIntyre almost made the New Orleans Hornets roster in training camp.
- Two Big East, Two ACC and one Pac-10 player make-up the Patriots' roster. Matt Barnes attended UCLA. Jason Capel attended UNC. Terrell McIntyre is a former Clemson Tiger. Omar Cook went to St. John's University. And Jameel Watkins played four years at Georgetown University.
- Junie Sanders is a 30-year-old player who made the team through an open tryout, which consisted of 115 players. He is helping the Patriots to the 2002-2003 NBDL title.
- Devin Brown, a 23-year-old guard from San Antonio, Texas, won the NBDL MVP and Rookie of the Year. He is a former San Antonio Spur and it is believed he will be the next player called up by the NBA.
- The Patriots have three players on their roster â Omar Cook, Devin Brown and Matt Barnes â who have been on NBA rosters. Barnes and Cook were second-round draft choices.
FAYETTEVILLE PATRIOTS "CALL-UPS"
Chris Andersen 6-11 Forward Blinn CC
Denver Nuggets forward Chris Andersen was the first ever NBDL call-up. Andersen was the first overall pick in the 2001 NBDL draft by the Fayetteville Patriots. He spent two games with the Patriots before being called up by the Nuggets. Andersen is averaging 5.5 points and 5.2 rebounds as a Nugget.
Devin Brown 6-5 Guard Texas-San Antonio
Shooting guard Devin Brown was the Fayetteville Patriots first-pick, second overall, in the 2002 NBDL Draft. Brown recently won NBDL MVP and Rookie of the Year and was named first-team All-NBDL. Before Brown even got the chance to get to Fayetteville, the San Antonio Spurs called him up to the NBA, making Brown the 9th NBDL call-up, and the second straight year that the Patriots first-pick in the draft had been called up. Brown spent seven games with the Spurs before returning to the Patriots on Nov. 26. Brown averaged 16.9 points per game with the Patriots, ranking him third in the league in scoring average. He was eighth in the league in free-throw percentage, shooting 82 percent. He was the only player among the top 10 scorers in the league to average less than 25 minutes per game.
Omar Cook 6-2 Guard St. John's
The Orlando Magic drafted Omar Cook in the second round (32nd overall) in the 2001 NBA Draft. The Magic traded his draft rights to the Denver Nuggets to satisfy the completion of an earlier trade. The Nuggets released Cook in December 2001. The Dallas Mavericks acquired a few days later and then released him, leading him to sign with the NBDL in January of 2002. Cook became the eighth NDBL call-up last April when he signed with the Boston Celtics. The Celtics released him in August and he signed with the Orlando Magic. The Magic then released him in September and he re-signed with the NBDL. In two seasons with the Patriots, Cook is averaging 9.4 points, 6.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals. He owns the NBDL record for assists in a game with 19. He led the league in assists last season and was second in the league in assists this season.
Player NBA Team Currently
Chris Andersen Denver Nuggets Still w/Nuggets
Tremaine Fowlkes L.A. Clippers Still w/Clippers
Isaac Fontaine Memphis Grizzlies Mobile Revelers
Omar Cook Boston Celtics Patriots
Anthony Johnson New Jersey Nets Still w/ Nets
Ansu Sesay Seattle SuperSonics Still w/Sonics
Rusty LaRue Utah Jazz Overseas
Jason Hart San Antonio Spurs Overseas
Damone Brown Toronto Raptors Still w/Lowgators
Corey Benjamin Atlanta Hawks Still w/Lowgators
Tierre Brown Cleveland Cavaliers Still w/Cavs
Brandon Williams Atlanta Hawks Still w/Hawks
Bobby Simmons Washington Wizards Still w/Wizards
Rafer Alston Toronto Raptors Still w/Raptors
Devin Brown San Antonio Spurs Still w/Patriots
Mikki Moore Hawks/Celtics Still w/Hawks
Jeff Trepagnier Denver Nuggets Still w/Nuggets
Mike Wilks Hawks//T'Wolves Still w/T'Wolves
NBDL Call Ups By
Team (University Attended)
Asheville Altitude â Jason Hart (Syracuse), Rusty LaRue (Wake Forest), Jeff Trepagnier (USC)
Columbus Riverdragons â Tremaine Fowlkes (Fresno State)
Fayetteville Patriots â Chris Andersen (Blinn JC), Devin Brown (Texas-San Antonio), Omar Cook (St. John's)
Greenville Groove â Ansu Sesay (Ole Miss)
Huntsville Flight â Mike Wilks (Rice), Brandon Williams (Davidson)
Mobile Revelers â Rafer Alston (Fresno State), Isaac Fontaine (Washington State), Anthony Johnson (Charleston) Bobby Simmons (DePaul)
North Charleston â Corey Benjamin (Oregon State), Damone Brown (Syracuse), Tierre Brown (McNeese St.)
Roanoke â Mikki Moore (Nebraska)
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
"Our family wrestled with scheduling a birthday party for our daughter, whose birthday is five days after Christmas. We were fortunate to hear, during announcements at the Patriots' game, of the opportunity to have a birthday party during the game at the Crown Coliseum.
The party package was child-friendly. Treat bags, packed with goodies and good, were given to each child as part of the package. The children met the players and received autographs. Everyone was thrilled with the night."
Karen Kollar
Letter to the Editor
IN THE COMMUNITY
The Patriots are also very involved in the Fayetteville Community. Players and coaches actively participate in Read to Achieve, the most extensive educational outreach program in the history of professional sports, reaching an estimated 50 million children a year. To date, the Patriots have partnered with various schools to distribute 1,431 books to encourage more youths to Read to Achieve. With Fort Bragg being such a dominant and supportive part of the Fayetteville community, the Patriots made their presence felt during the holiday season by making five appearances at Bragg during the month of December. The Patriots also enjoy putting on basketball clinics for the youth of Fayetteville. After each game, fans get the opportunity to meet Patriots players and get the autographs of their favorite players.
NBA G League Stories from March 31, 2003
- Patriots Introduce New Ticket Prices, Guarantee - Fayetteville Patriots
- Title Quest - Fayetteville Patriots
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
