WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Former William and Mary men's basketball standout Quinn McDowell was selected in the 2013 NBA Development League Draft on Friday night. The 2012 W&M graduate was the third pick of the sixth round (88th overall) by the Springfield Armor.
McDowell became the third W&M player drafted into the NBA Development League and the highest pick for a Green and Gold player. Danny Sumner was picked in the eight round (124th overall) by the Erie BayHawks in 2012 and Alex Smith was selected in the sixth round (96th overall) by the Reno Bighorns in 2010. McDowell was one of three CAA player selected in the D-League draft along with JMU's A.J. Davis (third round - 39th overall) and Hofstra's Mike Moore (fourth round – 59th overall).
Last season, McDowell played his first year professionally for the Willetton Tigers in the State Basketball League in Australia. He ranked among the SBL leaders in a number of categories and was selected to the MSBL All-Star Five as the best shooting guard in the league. He was second in the SBL in scoring at 29.4 points per game, while adding 8.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. McDowell topped the league in 3-point shooting at 45.1 percent. He was also second in the league free throw percentage (84.3) and led the SBL in free throws made (198).
As a senior in 2012, McDowell became the first CAA men's basketball player to be named a finalist for the Lowe's Senior Class Award, earning All-America honors. He was the first two-time winner of the CAA's Dean Ehlers Leadership Award, taking home the honor in 2011 and 2012. The award is given to the student-athlete who "embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement."
A two-time team captain, McDowell was the CAA men's basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2012, a three-time CAA All-Academic Team honoree and a two-time All-CAA performer on the court during his Tribe career. He became just the fourth player in W&M history to score 1,500 career points and pull down 500 career rebounds. McDowell departed the Tribe program as its all-time leader in games and minutes played.
McDowell joins the other seven Armor draft picks on Springfield's 17-player training camp roster. The roster will be cut to 10 men on Nov. 21 in anticipation for the Armor's regular season opener at the Maine Red Claws on Friday, Nov. 22. The NBA Development League is in its 13th season. For the third consecutive year, all 17 NBA D-League teams and the NBA D-League headquarters in New York participated in the Draft exclusively through Cisco WebEx Meeting Center.
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 17 teams during the 2013-14 season: Austin Toros, Bakersfield Jam, Canton Charge, Delaware 87ers, 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.
