Show s Utah Eagles bring exciting new players to Nick Hicken Contributing Writer Ever sense Stockton retired and Malone bounced to Hollywood Utah has been stuck in a great basketball depression It has been torturous to see sec seethe seethe the consistency and quality of the states state's collegiate and professional basketball teams decline in the last few years But this year looks to tobe tobe tobe be the beautiful beginning for not one but two very talented professional basketball teams in Utah One of which will be playing its home games at With the exciting new talent on the Jazz this season people cant can't wait waitto to get back to the Delta Center to see them again However the Jazz arent aren't the only basketball team look forward to seeing this year 1 I Utah is now home to the new Continental Basketball Association team the Utah Eagles thanks to their proud owner Randy Mellor Mellon Mellor a Salt Lake City businessman spoke enthusiastically about his gift to Utah in a recent CBA news conference The City of Salt Lake will be a great city for CBA basketball and when this opportunity arose to join I jumped at the opportunity to join said Mellor The owner also noted how excited he is to provide I the chance to watch an exciting team for much less les money than games Though many locals are thrilled about the Eagles Eagle's there arc are many who are arc unfamiliar with the CBA The CBA is the oldest professional basketball league in the world The league started in 1946 and was originally called the Eastern Basketball Association When the National Basketball Association developed in inthe inthe inthe the it only had 80 roster spots So the CBA took many of the best players who were unable to make a spot on the very limited roster Thus the CBA farms many players each year that go on onto onto onto to play in the The Utah Eagles participated in their first draft on Tuesday Sept 26 Eagles head coach Scott Fields called in the draft picks from a pay phone at The settings may have been humble but the Eagles were able to draft several highly coveted players The Eagles' Eagles first pick was Steven Smith a strong and athletic 68 forward out of LaSalle Smith played in inthe inthe inthe the Rocky Mountain Revue this year for Philadelphia He was one of the most impressive players in the Revue and ended up earning Tournament All-Tournament honors With their second pick the Eagles chose Jose JoseJuan JoseJuan JoseJuan Juan Barea a 60 guard Barea also played at the Revue this year and was a crowd favorite He is isa isa isa a good ball handler and andis andis andis is extremely quick His crafty yet controlled play looks to provide a great deal of excitement in the coming season Although Barea Barca signed a year two-year S Sll 11 11 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks that is partially guaranteed he will willbe willbe willbe be playing for the Eagles until he is called up to the Mavs The Eagles' Eagles third pick Bryant Markson is familiar to many Utahans who watched him play at the Markson was easily the most athletic player from the U and is a good finisher at the rim He Heis Heis Heis is a 67 forward who will really help the team in the open court In the fourth round the Eagles picked Denham Brown a 66 guard from the very talented Connecticut Huskies who were favored to with the Finals last year Brown was known as the Assassin for hitting clutch shots at the end of games He also played in the Rocky Mountain Revue where he showed his ability to shoot from range and run an offense effectively He will definitely pose an outside threat to opponents this year and will be a strong defensive force as as well Even in the fifth round the Eagles managed to pick pickup up a very good player in Paul Davis Hes He's a 6 11 center who has been solid in inthe inthe inthe the post throughout his four r j II y fi it I I L I 1 P I J l' l II I I Wr Photo by Wade Jer kes of or CBA's newest team the Utah Eagles will play home games at LAC years at Michigan State He is a fairly smart player who can also step out and hi hit open jumpers Davis is isa isa isa a great fit in this excellent team that the Eagles will have next year The Eagles final pick was Robinson a 68 forward from Temple Robinson is a forward that likes to shoot outside shots He will be a good sixth man Scott Fie Fields Ids and the Eagles had a very successful draft that some even compare to the magnificent job done by Kevin OConnor O'Connor in the Jazz's 2006 draft The Eagles look like they will willbe willbe be a good team this year that will be very entertaining to watch Ticket prices have not yet been disclosed but Eagles Eagle's owner Randy Mellor assured the fans that t they ey will be much less than tickets and attendees will have a better chance of getting good seats The Utah Eagles open the 07 06 Season Dec 1 at the Redwood Campus More information as well as an open tryout schedule for Oct 14 13 can be found at |