By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
Korean-American Tony Atkins was selected for the KCC Egis in the first ever ethnic Korean draft in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) Tuesday.
The 28-year-old has played as a starter at Georgia Tech University, which is one of the traditionally powerful teams in the National College Athletic Association (NCAA), and also in various European leagues including those in Greece, Croatia, France and Poland. He averaged 11.5 points with 5.7 assists during 15 games in the Croatian league last season
The 1.78-meter tall player participated in the foreign player draft but he wasn't selected because of his height.
With the Egis now securing a talented guard, they appear to have solved an ongoing problem, now boasting Lim Jae-hyun, Kang Byung-hyun and Atkins.
The Samsung Thunders, which got the second draft pick by lottery, chose Eric Sandrin. Sandrin, known as the elder brother of Daegu Orions forward Lee Dong-joon, played for the Ulsan Mobis and averaged 11.8 points with 6.6 rebounds during 24 games in the KBL last season.
The 2.02-meter tall player shoots well both from the inside and outside.
The LG Sakers picked 1.92-meter tall Gregory Stevenson, while the KT&G Kites and KTF MagicWings followed by choosing Kevin Mitchell and Chris Vann. Both will play as guards.
The league's other teams dropped their right for nominations.
Seven players took part in the draft, but only five were selected.
The nominated players can play for one team for up to three years.
The draft for university students is to be held Wednesday afternoon.