Local IBL team hopes it has found needed point guard

Victoria Sun

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 11:02 a.m.

1. Jaquay Walls, G -- 6-3, 170 Colorado (56th pick Indiana)

2. Pete Mickeal, F -- 6-5, 230 Cincinnati (58th pick Dallas, now with New York)

3. Kaniel Dickens, F -- 6-7, 225 Idaho (50th pick Utah)

1. Eddie Gill, G -- 6-0, 190 Weber State

2. Richie Fraham, F -- 6-5, 210 Gonzaga

3. Tony Kitt, F -- 6-8, 240 Kansas St.

4a. Alex Scales, G -- 6-4, 195 Oregon

*4b. Jarrett Stephens, F -- 6-7, 250 Penn St.

5. Axel Dench, C -- 6-10, 250 Gonzaga

6. Shaun Stonerook, F -- 6-8, 230 Ohio

7. Desmond Ferguson, F -- 6-7, 220 Detroit

8. Troy Rolle, G -- 6-4, 195 Utah St.

9. Andy Bedard, G -- 6-2, 200 Maine

10. Francis Djoumbi, C -- 7-2, 245 Dream City Sports (Africa)

* Denotes second fourth-round pick obtained from Trenton in exchange for the rights to Damian Owens.

Las Vegas Bandits head coach Lionel Hollins wanted to land a solid point guard in Thursday's International Basketball League draft.

Bandits director of player personnel and assistant coach Barry Hecker thinks the team succeeded.

With the sixth pick in the first round of the college draft, the Bandits picked Weber State's Eddie Gill. The 6-0 guard averaged 15.1 points and 5.65 assists a game in two years at the school.

As a senior, Gill led the Big Sky with seven assists and 3.2 steals a game.

"The consensus among the NBA scouting fraternity was he is the best defender in the draft as far as free agents are concerned," Hecker said. "He's the type of player that can play in the league (NBA) in a year.

"We jumped on him right away."

The Bandits, who picked sixth in each of the 10 rounds, took Gonzaga's Richie Frahm in the second round and Kansas State's Tony Kitt in the third round. With two fourth-round picks (the latter was obtained when the Bandits traded the rights to Damian Owens in exchange for the pick), the Bandits chose Oregon's Alex Scales and Penn State's Jarrett Stephens.

Frahm averaged a career-high 16.9 points as a senior for the Zags. Kitt, a surprise pick, averaged 12.6 points and 9.1 rebounds a game his senior year while Scales, a first-team all-Pac-10 selection as a senior, averaged 16.3 points and five rebounds a game his final season. Stephens, a big banger in the middle, averaged 18.8 points and 11 rebounds as a senior.

"Kitt came out of the woodwork," Hecker said. "Eric Musselman, head of CBA scouting, called me and said he is a really good player.

"It's not a gamble because if Eric says this kid can play, then this kid can play."

Of Stephens Hollins said with a big smile, "He's a monster. He's a wide body and solid inside."

Prior to the draft Hollins said he wanted a young floor general who would challenge Rancho High School graduate Michael Johnson, who averaged 5.6 and 2.7 assists in 33 games for the Bandits last season.

He hopes Gill will be that player.

"I've seen Eddie play," Hollins said. "He is able to push the ball up the court and is a good scorer.

"I like the fact that early in his college career he was more of a scorer than anything else, but his role changed and I like the fact that he now knows how to defend."

In the three-round NBA supplemental draft where each team was allowed to pick a second-round NBA draft choice, the Bandits picked Colorado's Jaquay Walls, Cincinnati's Pete Mickeal and Idaho's Kaniel Dickens.

Walls, a 6-3 guard, averaged 14.1 points and 4.2 assists in two seasons at Colorado and was taken 56th by Indiana. Mickeal, a 6-5 forward, averaged 14.2 points and seven rebounds in two seasons as a Bearcat and was taken 58th by Dallas. Dickens averaged 12.2 points and 6.6 rebounds as a senior and was taken 50th by Utah.

Should any of the above players not make their respective NBA teams, the Bandits have the rights to sign them.

"I thought we did a great job with the supplemental draft because possibly all three of them could be in our training camp," Hecker said. "There were some better players out there, but after talking to some people in the NBA, those three we picked we felt there is a good chance they would be here.

"I hope the kids make it to the NBA, but if not, we've got three great players."

Former UNLV center Issiah Epps was the only Rebel taken in the draft. Defending champion St. Louis chose Epps in the eighth round.

Both Hollins and Hecker said that for the Bandits, the draft was a success, although it is anyone's guess how many of the players picked will end up in a Bandits uniform this fall. Hecker said that Stephens, Scales and Shaun Stonerook, taken in the sixth round, are currently playing overseas.

The Bandits start training camp Nov. 1.