Colorado 14ers

Colorado 14ers
Founded	2006
Folded	2009 (relocated to Texas)
History	Colorado 14ers NBA D-League:2006–2009 Texas Legends (D-League): 2010–future
Arena	Broomfield Event Center
City	Broomfield, Colorado
Team colors	Navy, Red, Yellow, White, Blue
Head coach	Bob MacKinnon Jr.
Owner	Tim Wiens and John Frew
Championships	1 (2008-09)
Division titles	1 (2008-09)
Affiliations	Denver Nuggets New Jersey Nets
Website	www.nba.com/dleague/colorado/

The Colorado 14ers were a team in the NBA Development League which began play in 2006-07. They were affiliated with the Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors of the NBA. The 14ers played their home games at the Broomfield Event Center in the Denver suburb of Broomfield, Colorado. They were named for the many high 14,000-foot mountain peaks for which Colorado is famous. They won the NBA D-League championship in 2009 by sweeping the Utah Flash.

On June 18, 2009, the D-League announced that the 14ers would be relocating to Frisco, Texas to resume play in the 2010-11 season as the Texas Legends. ^[1]

Media

Colorado 14ers games were broadcast on radio at Mile High Sports Radio 1510 AM KCKK in Denver, and Mile High Sports Extra 1570 AM KSXT in Loveland.

Final Roster

Final 2008-09 Roster

Head Coach: Robert MacKinnon
Assistant Coach: Robert Campbell
Assistant Coach: Casey Owens
Athletic Trainer: Mia Del Hierro

#	Nat.	Pos.	Ht.	Player	Acquired	College
10		G	6'1	Eddie Gill	2007/08/09	Weber State
12		G	6'5	Billy Thomas	2007/08/09	Kansas
14		G	6'0	John Lucas	2009	Oklahoma State
17		G	6'0	Vernon Hamilton	2009	Clemson
18		G	6'6	Sonny Weems	2008/09	Arkansas
19		G	6'3	Dominique Coleman	2008	Colorado
21		C	6'10	Joe Dabbert	2008	Creighton
22		F/C	6'8	Josh Davis	2008	Wyoming
23		F	6'9	Trey Gilder	2008	Northwestern State
33		F	6'9	Jamar Brown	2008/09	Colorado State-Pueblo
34		G/F	6'4	Damien Lolar	2007/09	West Texas A&M
50		C	6'9	Kentrell Gransberry	2009	South Florida

Season By Season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win–Loss %

Season	W	L	%	Playoffs	Results
Colorado 14ers
2006-07	28	22	.560	Won Semifinals Won Conference Finals Lost D-League Finals	Colorado 130, Albuquerque 100 Colorado 94, Idaho 91 (OT) Dakota 129, Colorado 121 (OT)
2007-08	29	21	.580	Lost Semifinals	Los Angeles 102, Colorado 95
2008-09	34	16	.680	Won Round 1 Won Semifinals Won D-League Finals	Colorado 129, Erie 108 Colorado 114, Austin 111 Colorado 2, Utah 0
Totals	91	59	.607

All-Stars

Players

2007

• Louis Amundson, Forward
• Elton Brown, Forward
• Pooh Jeter, Guard
• Rick Rickert, Forward/Center
• Von Wafer, Guard

2008

• Elton Brown, Forward
• Kaniel Dickens, Forward
• Eddie Gill, Guard
• Billy Thomas, Guard

2009

• Josh Davis, Forward

Coaches

2007

• Joe Wolf, Head Coach
• Kent Davison, Assistant Coach
• Mark Morrisey, Trainer

Honors

• Louis Amundson, 2006-07 D-League Rookie of the Year, 2006-07 All D-League 1st Team
• Elton Brown, 2006-07 All D-League 1st Team
• Joe Dabbert, 2008-09 All D-League Honorable Mention
• Josh Davis, 2008-09 All D-League 2nd Team
• Kaniel Dickens, 2007-08 All D-League 2nd Team
• Eddie Gill, 2007-08 All D-League 1st Team, 2008-09 All D-League 3rd Team, 2008-09 D-League Impact Player of the Year
• Pooh Jeter, 2006-07 All D-League Honorable Mention
• Billy Thomas, 2007-08 Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award, 2007-08 All D-League 3rd Team
• Von Wafer, 2006-07 All D-League 1st Team

Franchise History

In 2006 Colorado businessmen Tim Wiens and John Frew, who were building the Broomfield Event Center as the centerpiece of the Arista development of Broomfield, Colorado, quickly sought to gain a new minor league basketball team for the place and the surrounding community, believing minor league teams could be a hit in the northwest Denver-Boulder region. They created the Colorado 14ers, to play alongside the Central Hockey League Rocky Mountain Rage. The team was originally scheduled to play in the Continental Basketball Association. However, agreement was soon reached for the team to play in the NBA Development League, and the 14ers were quickly slated to become the minor league affiliate of the Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets. The new franchise, named for Colorado's famed 14,000-foot mountain peaks, was born.

2006-07 season

Onetime Denver Nugget Joe Wolf was hired to be the 14ers' first coach, and what would become one of the D-League's most formidable teams was assembled. Finding quick success in their inaugural season, the 14ers shattered Colorado minor league basketball records of many kinds from scoring to fan attendance. Team leaders included Von Wafer and Louis Amundson, who were each permanently called up to the NBA by the end of the season. Nevertheless, the talented and resilient team overcame losing stretches and roster reorganizations, and qualified for the playoffs in their first season. The 14ers made an impressive run through the playoffs, winning the Western Division championship before finally falling to the Dakota Wizards in the league championship.

2007-08 season

The 14ers' second season began with an almost entirely new roster, with only Elton Brown and Eric Osmundson remaining from the team's inaugural year. Newcomers included area products Kaniel Dickens who quickly emerged as one of the top players on the team, as well as Eddie Gill, selected in the draft, who was called up to the NBA before even playing a game with the 14ers (and eventually returned to become a powerful force on the team). Kevin Hill also picked in the draft, was the only Canadian selected in the 2007 draft. Despite consider roster turnover which included Brown's departure (but not before scoring his 50th career double-double with the 14ers) as well as an impressive five call-ups to the NBA (including the rare simultaneous call-ups of Kaniel Dickens and Billy Thomas on February 22, 2008 by the Cleveland Cavaliers), the 14ers fared as well as they did in their first year, finishing the regular season with one more win than in 2007-08. The 14ers' six game winning streak at the end of the season vaulted them into the playoffs as a wild card, but they lost in the first round to the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Despite this and a slippage in fan attendance it was overall a successful season under at times challenging circumstances.

2008-09 season

Colorado's third season, the most of any minor league basketball franchise in the state, was a triumph over adversity. The season began with ownership increasingly falling upon hard times, having a new coach, Robert MacKinnon, after Joe Wolf had ascended to the NBA, and an almost completely remade roster with returnees Eddie Gill, Billy Thomas, and Jamar Brown who previously played for the Colorado Crossover. Newcomers Dominique Coleman helped lead the team as a steals artist and Josh Davis was a major contributor as well. Another key was Sonny Weems, assigned from the Denver Nuggets three times to contribute during the regular season and playoffs. From the beginning the 14ers were a formidable force in the D-League, pulling into the league lead for wins and setting the D-League record for points in a game with a 147-119 win over Rio Grande Valley on March 10, then breaking that record with a 155-127 win over Albuquerque on April 8. Finishing with a franchise record 34 wins, the 14ers had home court advantage throughout the playoffs, soundly defeating the Erie Bayhawks, rallying to beat the Austin Toros, and sweeping the Utah Flash to gain the NBADL championship.

Relocation

Unfortunately, their title would become their epitaph, as on June 18, 2009, the D-League announced that the 14ers would be relocating to Frisco, Texas to resume play in the 2010-11 season as the Texas Legends.^[1]

Affiliations

• Denver Nuggets (2006-09)
• New Jersey Nets (2006-09)
• Toronto Raptors (2006-08)

Coaches

• Joe Wolf, Head Coach (2006-08)
• Robert MacKinnon, Head Coach (2008-09)
• Kent Davison, Assistant Coach (2006-07)
• Casey Owens, Assistant Coach (2007-09)
• Robert Campbell, Assistant Coach (2008-09)

Players

• Julius Hodge, G, 6'7, North Carolina State University (2006-07)
• Manual Navarez, C, 6'10, Southern Nazarene University (2007)
• Jason McKrieth, G, 6'4, Rice University (2007)
• Louis Amundson, F, 6'9, University of Nevada at Las Vegas (2006-07)
• Bakari Hendrix, F, 6'9, Gonzaga University (2006-07)
• P.J. Tucker, F, 6'5, University of Texas (2007)
• Mile Ilic, C, 7'2, Serbia (2007)
• Von Wafer, G, 6'5, Florida State University (2006-07)
• Mike Harris, F, 6'6, Rice University (2006-07)
• Antoine Hood, G, 6'4, Air Force (2006-07)
• Pooh Jeter, G, 5'11, University of Portland (2006-07)
• Mark Jones, G, 6'6, University of Central Florida (2007)
• Rick Rickert, F/C, 6'11, University of Minnesota (2006-07)
• Chad Bell, C, 7'0, University of Nevada (2007)
• Chuck Davis, G, 6'3, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (2007)
• Kevin Hill, G, 5'10, George Brown College (2007-08)
• Brandon Dean, G, 6'2, University of Arkansas (2007-08)
• Mo Charlo, F, 6'7, University of Nevada (2007-08)
• Tony Bobbitt, G, 6'4, University of Cincinnati (2007-08)
• Terrence Crawford, F, 6'7, Oklahoma State University (2006-08)
• Brian Greene, F, 6'9, Colorado State University (2008)
• Elton Brown, F, 6'9, University of Virginia (2006-08)
• Milone Clark, G/F, 6'4, Tennessee Tech (2008)
• Davin White, G, 6'1, California State University, Northridge (2008)
• Paul Butorac, F, 6'10, Eastern Washington University (2008)
• Lou White, G, 6'4, Voorhees College (2007-08)
• Taurean Green, G, 6'0, University of Florida (2008)
• Roderick Riley, C, 6'11 Prairie View A&M (2008)
• Eddie Gill, G, 6'0 Weber State University (2007-08)
• Justin Cage, G/F, 6'6 Xavier University (2007)
• Luke Anderson, G, 6'6 Minnesota State University (2008)
• Derrick Stevens, G, 5'11 Colorado State University (2008)
• John Thomas, F, 6'9 University of Minnesota (2008)
• Kaniel Dickens, F, 6'8 University of Idaho (2007-08)
• Eric Osmundson, G, 6'4 University of Pennsylvania (2006-08)
• Cheikh Samb, C, 7'1 Senegal (2008-09)
• Marlon Parmer, G, 6'2 Kentucky Wesleyan College (2008-09)
• Sean Williams, F/C, 6'10 Boston College (2008-09)
• Lamar Butler, G, 6'2 George Mason University (2008-09)
• Julian Sensley, F, 6'9 University of Hawaii (2007, 2009)
• Jamar Brown, F, 6'9 Colorado State University - Pueblo (2008-09)
• Dominique Coleman, G, 6'3 University of Colorado (2008-09)
• Joe Dabbert, C, 6'10 Creighton University (2008-09)
• Josh Davis, F/C, 6'8 University of Wyoming (2008-09)
• Trey Gilder, F, 6'9 Northwestern State University (2008-09)
• Eddie Gill, G, 6'1 Weber State University (2007-09)
• Kentrell Gransberry, C, 6'9 South Florida University (2009)
• Vernon Hamilton, G, 6'0 Clemson University (2009)
• Damien Lolar, G/F, 6'4, West Texas A&M University (2007, 2009)
• John Lucas, G, 6'0, Oklahoma State University (2009)
• Billy Thomas, G, 6'5, University of Kansas (2007-09)
• Sonny Weems, G/F, 6'6 University of Arkansas (2008-09)

Players assigned from NBA Teams

• Julius Hodge - assigned by the Denver Nuggets on December 1, 2006
• P.J. Tucker - assigned by the Toronto Raptors on January 5, 2007
• Mile Ilic - assigned by the New Jersey Nets on February 26, 2007
• P.J. Tucker - reassigned by the Toronto Raptors on March 5, 2007
• Taurean Green - assigned by the Denver Nuggets on April 5, 2008
• Sonny Weems - assigned by the Denver Nuggets on December 10, 2008
• Cheikh Samb - assigned by the Denver Nuggets on December 10, 2008
• Sean Williams - assigned by the New Jersey Nets on December 29, 2008
• Sonny Weems - assigned by the Denver Nuggets on March 6, 2009
• Sonny Weems - assigned by the Denver Nuggets on April 11, 2009

Players recalled to The NBA

• Julius Hodge - recalled by the Denver Nuggets on January 2, 2007
• P.J. Tucker - recalled by the Toronto Raptors on February 5, 2007
• Mile Ilic - recalled by the New Jersey Nets on April 3, 2007
• Taurean Green - recalled by the Denver Nuggets on April 16, 2008
• Cheikh Samb - recalled by the Denver Nuggets on January 5, 2009
• Sonny Weems - recalled by the Denver Nuggets on January 6, 2009
• Sean Williams - recalled by the New Jersey Nets on January 22, 2009
• Sonny Weems - recalled by the Denver Nuggets on March 31, 2009
• Sonny Weems - recalled by the Denver Nuggets on April 26, 2009

Players Called Up To The NBA

• Louis Amundson - called up by the Utah Jazz on February 5, 2007
• Von Wafer - called up by the Los Angeles Clippers on February 21, 2007
• Louis Amundson - called up by the Philadelphia 76ers on March 8, 2007
• Von Wafer - called up by the Denver Nuggets on April 13, 2007
• Eddie Gill - called up by the New Jersey Nets on November 15, 2007
• Billy Thomas - called up by the New Jersey Nets on December 24, 2007
• Billy Thomas - called up by the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 22, 2008
• Kaniel Dickens - called up by the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 22, 2008
• Eddie Gill - called up by the Seattle SuperSonics on March 24, 2008
• Billy Thomas - called up by the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 16, 2008
• Eddie Gill - called up by the Milwaukee Bucks on February 9, 2009

Coaches Hired By The NBA

• Joe Wolf - hired as assistant coach by the Milwaukee Bucks on April 16, 2008

Affiliates

• Denver Nuggets (2006–2009)
• New Jersey Nets (2006–2009)
• Toronto Raptors (2006–2008)
• Chicago Bulls (2006–2007)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.nba.com/dleague/frisco/ NBA Development League Team Comes To Frisco, Texas

External links

• Colorado 14ers