WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Former William and Mary men's basketball
standout Danny Sumner was selected in the 2012 NBA Development League Draft on
Friday night. The 2010 graduate of the College was the 12th pick of the eighth
round (124th overall) by the Erie BayHawks.
Sumner became the second W&M player drafted into the NBA
Development League, joining 2009 graduate Alex Smith, who was a sixth round
selection of the Reno Bighorns in 2010. Sumner was one of three Colonial
Athletic Association players and one of six from Virginia colleges taken in the
2012 NBA D-League Draft on Friday night.
In his first two professional seasons aboard, Sumner spent
time with four different organizations. He signed his first professional
contract with Karhu Kauhajoki of the Korisliga League
in Finland to start the 2010-11 season, before finishing the year in the
Canadian NBL with the Halifax Rainmen. Sumner spent the first part of the
2011-12 season with the VGB 1900 Giessen Pointers in the German Pro B league,
where he average 16.6 points per game in 14 contest. He finished the year in
the Iceland First Division, helping UMF Skallagrimur Borganes to the league
championship as he scored 26 points in the title game. Sumner also had three
workouts with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks following his senior season at W&M.
Sumner graduated from the College among
the program's top 25 all-time in scoring with 1,146 points. A three-year
starter, he averaged in double figures each of his final three seasons, helping
the Tribe to CAA Championship Game appearances in 2008 and 2010. Sumner was a
two-time CAA All-Championship team selection during his career and captained
the Green and Gold to its second-ever postseason appearance in the National
Invitational Tournament in 2010. A member of one of the winningest senior classes
in school history, he also finished his career among the program's top 10 in
3-pointers made per game and games played.
Sumner joins the other seven BayHawk draft picks on Erie's 17-player
training camp roster. The roster will be cut to 10 men for the BayHawks'
regular season opener against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Friday, Nov. 23, in
Ft. Wayne, Ind. Erie's home opener will be on Saturday, Dec. 1, against the
Canton Charge
The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA's
official minor league. Featuring 16 teams with direct affiliations to NBA
franchises, the NBA D-League is a proven developer of talent: 27 percent of
players in the NBA at the conclusion of the 2011-12 season boasted NBA D-League
experience, and the league continues to develop coaches, referees, and
front-office staff for the NBA and its teams. In fostering the league's
connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and
wellness, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational
development through NBA D-League Cares programs. The NBA D-League also advances
the game of basketball as the research and development arm of the NBA.
The NBA D-League season is made up of 50 regular-season
games plus a postseason and runs from November to April. The league consisted
of 16 teams during the 2011-12 season: Austin Toros, Bakersfield Jam, Canton
Charge, Erie BayHawks, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Idaho Stampede, Iowa Energy, Los
Angeles D-Fenders, Maine Red Claws, Reno Bighorns, Rio Grande Valley Vipers,
Sioux Falls Skyforce, Santa Cruz Warriors, Springfield Armor, Texas Legends and
Tulsa 66ers.
