Sons of Liberty: Delaware 87ers Load Up in 2014 NBA D-League Draft

Despite not having a first-round pick, the Delaware 87ers still found a way to be fairly active on Saturday during - and after - the 2014 NBA Development League draft. In all, the team acquired the rights to nine players, seven of whom were selected directly by the Sevens during the eight-round D-League draft:

D.J. Seeley (2nd round, No. 19 overall): Seeley - a 6'4", 194-pound guard, returns to the States after spending the last season playing in both Serbia and Germany. As a senior with Cal State-Fullerton in 2012-13, Seeley shot 47.2 percent from the field (41.2 percent from three-point range) and averaged 17.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

Jamal Jones (2nd round, No. 30 overall): Jones is a 6'8", 197-pound swingman who has played at three different schools over the past three seasons before signing with the D-League in July. Last year, Jones averaged a team-high 13.4 PPG for Texas A&M prior to leaving the university due to undisclosed reasons. Following the upcoming season, Jones will be eligible for the 2015 NBA draft.

Sebastian Koch (2nd round, No. 35 overall): Koch, a 6'8", 200-pound shooting guard from Elon University, shot better than 43 percent from beyond the arc during his final two years in college, earning him a pre-draft workout earlier this year with the Charlotte Hornets. Koch was born and raised in Germany, but played his high school ball at Christ School in Asheville, N.C.

Devon Moore (3rd round, No. 41 overall): Moore, spent last season playing in both Hungary and the Ukraine after graduating from James Madison in 2013. As a 6'4", 190-pound point guard, Moore is the JMU all-time leader in career assists with 502.

Kenny Hall (4th round, No. 55 overall): After a busy, drama-filled, four-year career at the University of Tennessee, Hall - a 6'9", 230-pound forward - spent last season with Slovakian club Rieker KN where he averaged 14.4 PPG and 6.8 RPG. During his senior year with the Vols, Hall averaged 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

LaQuentin Miles (6th round, No. 71 overall): Miles, a 6'5", 190-pound guard, led the Southland Conference in scoring last season (23.2 PPG) while also notching 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game for Central Arkansas. Free throw shooting appears to be an issue (55.3 percent for his career), but he seems to be pretty adept at getting to the charity stripe (10.0 free throw attempts per game in 2013-14).

Brandon Goode (6th round, No. 91 overall): Goode, a 7-foot, 235-pound center from Norfolk State, earned third-team All-MEAC honors last season after averaging 11.1 PPG (on 61.3 percent shooting), 6.9 RPG and 2.4 BPG.

Late Saturday, Delaware announced that as part of a five-team deal, the Sevens had acquired Melvin Johnson III - the No. 13 pick in the 2014 NBA D-League Draft - from the Texas Legends in exchange for the rights to former Phoenix Suns guard Ish Smith.

Johnson - a 6'6" point guard from Arkansas State - went undrafted this past June after averaging 15.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a senior. During the 2013-14 season, Johnson shot 47.8 percent from beyond the arc for the Red Wolves, knocking down 42.4 percent of his three-point attempts during his four-year college career.

In non-draft news, Liberty Ballers learned yesterday that Ronald Roberts Jr. will be joining the 87ers as a designated affiliate player. Because of his status, the Sixers do not own his NBA rights, and he can be signed by any team at any time.

The Sevens begin training camp on Monday, November 3, and open up the season on the road on November 15 against the Canton Charge.

Random odds and ends

• Robert Covington was selected with the No. 1 pick by the Grand Rapids Drive. The 76ers tried to sign the 6'9" forward to a multi-year deal prior to the draft, but the two sides were unable to come to terms.
• In former Sixer news, Elliot Williams was taken by the Santa Cruz Warriors with the No. 2 overall pick, Marquis Teague was taken ninth overall by the Oklahoma City Blue, and Damien Wilkins was drafted 16th by the Iowa Energy.
• Other names of note: Ben Hansbrough (No. 5 overall, Grand Rapids Drive); Brady Heslip (No. 11 overall, Reno Bighorns); Naadir Tharpe (No. 26 overall, Los Angeles D-Fenders).