TJ, Coop drafted into the "D" League

Oregon State's Calvin Haynes and former UP and PSU players taken in NBA D-League draft

Calvin Haynes, a 6-foot-2 guard who completed his four-year career at Oregon State earlier this year, was drafted in the seventh round by the Reno Bighorns.

Haynes played in 122 games at OSU, the sixth most in school history, and finished 16th in career scoring with 1,226 points.

The University of Portland had two players drafted, led by T.J. Campbell, a 5-9 guard who was taken by the Canton Charge with the second pick of the fourth round. Campbell played professionally in Australia last season.

Darren Cooper, a graduate of Benson High School who completed his Pilots career in 2007, was taken by the Maine Red Claws in the fifth round. Cooper, a 6-3 guard, played the last two seasons with the D-League's Dakota Wizards.

Juma Kamara, who played for Portland State until 2007, was taken in the eighth round by the Bakersfield Jam. Kamara, a 6-6 guard/forward, has been playing professionally in Qatar.

Another familiar name was drafted in the third round, where the Erie BayHawks drafted Mychel Thompson out of Pepperdine. Thompson, despite the different spelling, is the son of Mychal Thompson, whom the Trail Blazers took with the No. 1 pick of the 1978 NBA draft.

onetouchfutbol wrote:Yeah, I saw this too. It´s great to see these 2 draw some attention... I hope they can use it as a stepping stone. I´m not sure what being drafted into the D League means with the lock out and all.

onetouchfutbol wrote:Yeah, I saw this too. It´s great to see these 2 draw some attention... I hope they can use it as a stepping stone. I´m not sure what being drafted into the D League means with the lock out and all.

The Cleveland Cavaliers recently signed point guard Donald Sloan for the rest of the season from the D-League’s Erie BayHawks. He is backing up Kyrie Irving after the Ramon Sessions trade.

Sloan, who also has played a little bit with the Hawks and Hornets this season, scored 11 points in the Cavs’ win in New Jersey on Monday night.

It’s unclear how seriously the Cavaliers considered the Charge’s T.J. Campbell, who has been exceptional since late January. It was difficult for Campbell to see the parent club of the Charge go get a point guard from outside the organization.

“It definitely bugs me, but I’ll get my chance eventually,” Campbell said. “I’m just trying to stay focused and do my best. I can’t worry about the things that are going on around the league. It’s good for Sloan. He’s getting his chance.”

For comparison’s sake, Campbell is averaging 17.5 points and 7.1 assists since becoming a starter 18 games ago. Sloan averaged 22.8 points, 7.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds in eight games for Erie this season.

Sloan (6-foot-3) is taller than Campbell (5-9) and more experienced, having already played some in the NBA and having spent all of last year playing in the D-League while Campbell played sparingly overseas. Both are 24, with their birthdays eight days apart. Sloan played collegiately at Texas A&M and Campbell at the University of Portland.

Campbell is a much better long-range shooter, boasting 41.8 percent from the arc on the season, compared to 26.3 percent for Sloan.