By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
The ET Land Elephants selected Jarod Stevenson with the first pick in the Korean Basketball League (KBL)'s ethnic Korean draft Wednesday.
Stevenson, the older brother of LG Sakers player Moon Tae-yong, was also the only player taken, as the four other teams eligible for the draft declined to make selections.
The 34-year-old's professional basketball career has taken him to Russia, Spain, Greece and, currently, Serbia.
"I am very excited to be taken with the No. 1 pick. I'm looking forward to helping ET Land," Stevenson said. "I think it's going to be big challenge. My brother played very well so there's going to be a lot of pressure on me to play better. So I will try to step up to the challenge to represent our family and the KBL.
"Usually my natural position is small forward but I think in the KBL I might be more of a power forward because of my height. I am looking forward to playing both small and power forward to help my team get as many wins as possible," he said.
Stevenson's brother said he's looking forward to meeting his brother in games next season.
"I am very excited because this is the first time we will be playing in the same league since high school. I'm very happy he was taken with the No. 1 pick and I look forward to playing him next season," Moon Tae-young said.
"He has talent and a lot of experience," said Elephants head coach Yoo Do-hoon. "So we are very happy. We haven't scored a lot from beyond the arc this season. So we expect him to reinforce us in that area."
Only the five teams who did not select a player in last year's ethnic Korean draft - the Elephants, Ulsan Mobis, Dongbu Promy, Daegu Orions and SK Knights -- were eligible to make picks this year.
The Elephants received the first pick when they won the draft lottery. Each of the five teams had an equal chance at winning.