Brandon Ewing, Iowa's top selection in the 2011 draft

After winning the 2010 NBDL Championship last season, the Iowa Energy looked to pick up some talent in Thursday’s draft to help them once again win it all.

With Curtis Stinson leaving for a better offer overseas, the Energy were in need of a point guard. As a Marquette fan, I was hoping Dwight Buycks would be available when the Energy were on the clock. But he was taken by the Tulsa 66ers five picks before the Energy were due up. With Buycks not being available, the Energy selected Brandon Ewing.

(Brandon Ewing, Iowa’s top selection in the 2011 draft, a 6’2 who attended Wyoming.)

Ewing was an extremely solid player his senior season at Wyoming (2008-2009) averaging around 17 points and 5 assists per game. The Chicago-native will most likely be relied on to fill in Stinson’s shoes as the starting point guard.

With back to back picks, the Energy snagged power forward Dominic Calegari out of UC Davis with their next pick. Calegari will provide scoring as well as rebounding for the Energy.

The third of the Energy’s eight selections, Jarrid Famous has the potential to have a huge rookie season for Iowa. Although Famous only averaged 8.7 points last year for the USF Bulls, he is very underrated heading into his first professional season. I have high expectations for Jarrid and hope he can be a key contribution in another great Energy season.

With the 51^st pick the Energy selected shooting guard-small forward Nick Murphy out of Jacksonville State. Murphy had a
fantastic season last year, averaging 15.5 points and 6 rebounds. In a pre-NBA draft interview with Ed Isaacson of NBA Draft Blog, Murphy listed his biggest strength as “being a leader on the court.” Also, “I do whatever I need to do to help my team win. I am also (more…)

But if at the very least, they join a championship team in the Iowa Energy who won last season’s NBADL Championship game. It was a huge deal for the fans of the Energy and the players and sent the D-League stars into the murky offseason with more than their Chicago Bulls counterparts had.

But when looking at this next season, the Energy have added eight new players with a lot of potential. They may not ever actually wear a Bulls uniform or play in the BA but after the magical season the Energy had last year, you may not have to be an NBA’er to have an extraordinary season.

Over the next few days we will be breaking down the Iowa Energy’s eight draft picks. Here is the final draft list for the 2011 NBA D-League Draft for the Energy.

 Check back all week as we break down the newest members of the reigning champion Iowa Energy D-League team.