Lightning select former Aggie in CBA draft

     LAWTON, Okla. (Sept. 16) -- With the sixth pick of the sixth round, the Rockford (Ill.) Lightning have selected former Cameron University guard Brian Colbert in the 2003 Continental Basketball Association College Draft. Colbert was the 42nd pick overall in the draft, which was held Tuesday night via teleconference among the league's seven franchises.
     Oklahoma State's Melvin Sanders (second round), Tulsa's Kevin Johnson (fourth round) and Oklahoma's Quannas White (fifth round) were the only other players from state schools taken in the draft. Colbert also was one of only a select few players taken in the draft who did not play collegiately at an NCAA Division I school.
     "It's exciting," Colbert said being drafted to play professional basketball. "I've been working really hard this summer. As soon as I came home from school, I started working out and preparing for this. I've been to a lot of camps this summer, trying to get better. I haven't reached the level that I think I can get to, but give me a year or two and I think I'll be there."
     A 6-3 shooting guard from Baltimore, Md., Colbert spent the last two seasons with the Aggie basketball team, averaging 15.9 points in 52 career games at CU. He earned honorable mention All-Lone Star Conference North Division as a junior and last season was selected to the all-conference second team. Colbert led the Aggies in scoring in each of his seasons at Cameron and led the team in steals as a senior. He scored a team season-high 30 points in a win over East Central University on Feb. 6, last season. He scored a game-high 28 points in the Aggies' season finale victory over Southeastern Oklahoma on March 1, connecting on a long-range three-pointer at the buzzer to lift Cameron to a 67-65 win over the Savages. In 26 games last season, Colbert led the Aggies in scoring 16 times.
     "Brian worked extremely hard during his time at Cameron and I'm very excited for him to have this opportunity in front of him," Cameron head coach Garrette Mantle said. "Brian is a good kid and deserves any success that comes his way."
     In a draft preview story issued by CBA officials earlier this week, Lightning head coach Chris Daleo, the 2003 CBA Coach of the Year, outlined his team's draft philosophy:
     "We prepare for the draft by trying to find hard-working athletes who understand their roles and are willing to pay the price for the Lightning's success. It is important for the Rockford Lightning to draft individuals who are solid players on the floor and solid citizens off the floor. We want to give our fans every opportunity to get to know and embrace our rookies."
     Rockford finished the 2002-03 season with a record of 32-16 and led the CBA in scoring, averaging a whopping 128.3 points per game. The Lightning feature a run-and-gun style of offense that players must learn quickly. It's a style to which Colbert feels confident he can grow accustomed.
     "They play at a really fast pace - it's mostly isolation plays and one-on-one setups," Colbert said. "That's what I like to do anyway and I've always been pretty good in one-on-one, so I think I can fit in well. And Coach Daleo is a lot like Coach Mantle - it's either his way or the highway. I like coaches who have discipline."
     The Lightning selected Earl Boykins out of Eastern Michigan in the fourth round of the 1998 CBA Draft and chose former University of Oklahoma standout Aaron McGhee in the second round of last year's draft. Boykins recently signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets after averaging 8.8 points and 3.3 assists as a Los Angeles Clipper last season. Other notable past draft picks of the Rockford Lightning include 2003 CBA MVP Andy Panko and former team stars Torraye Braggs, Muntrelle Dobbins, and Michael Hawkins.
     A five-round college draft was adopted by the CBA in 1985, when the NBA reduced its draft from 10 to seven rounds. In 1988, the CBA expanded its draft to nine rounds when the NBA draft was reduced to two rounds in 1989. The CBA draft was reduced to eight rounds for the 1991 edition, then to seven rounds for the next six seasons. From 1998 to 2000, the draft was increase to 10 rounds. The CBA did not hold a draft in 2001 and the 2002 CBA Draft consisted of five rounds.
     CBA teams are free to select any player not taken in the first round of the NBA Draft. If a player chooses to play in the CBA, he must play for the team that drafted him. Teams retain the CBA rights of a player for three years after he is drafted. To view a list of all draft selections in the 2003 CBA College Draft, visit the CBA online at www.cbahoopsonline.com.