The NBA season has begun, now the Development League season will start taking shape.  The NBADL draft is set for Friday, November 1.  The seventeen franchises will then have their training camps teeming with players who want to prove they belong.

The Sioux Falls Skyforce already have eleven players in the fold leading up to the selection process.  They can then use six picks spread across the eight rounds of the draft including the number seven choice overall.

Among the eleven players that will begin fall camp on November 7, include last year’s stalwart center Jarvis Varnado who won a title with the Miami Heat.  As Varnado marks his return, he is no longer property of the parent club.  If the NCAA all-time leading shot blocker proves his work, Varnado could sign an NBA contract with any team.  Another notable on the roster is Anthony Mason, Jr. who played two seasons with the Skyforce before testing the international scene in the 2012-13 campaign.  Another holdover from last year’s team is Chris Ayer a 6-10 power forward acquired at the trade deadline in March from the Maine Red Claws.

Two other players who were in camp with the Miami Heat, got released and allocated to Sioux Falls include rookie guard Larry Drew II out of UCLA and 7-footer Justin Hamilton who was one of the last roster cuts before the Heat and Chicago Bulls tipped off the season.

The most seasoned player on the training camp roster prior to draft night is guard/forward Bill Walker.  The Kansas State product has 158 games logged over four seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks.

The rest are in camp based on their showing at open tryouts the Skyforce conducted in late summer and early fall.  Of those, Winona State's Grant Johnson of the Northern Sun Conference might resonate the most among folks in the Upper Midwest.  He played for the Warriors during most of his Junior season, but the NCAA deemed him ineligible and the Northern Sun Conference nullified 13 conference victories as a result.  As a senior Johnson was second leading scorer on the team as Winona State advanced to the NCAA Division 2 Elite 8 tournament.

The NBADL draft will commence at 6 p.m. Central Time and the Skyforce will host a draft party at the Sanford Pentagon starting at 5:45 p.m.

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