Wealth Given By The Unforeseen

[mking22wvu]

The DASL Draft’s second round selections enter the league as bench-sitting, roster-filling nobodies who GMs hope will one day fill out and become an admirable contributor on their team. For the most part, these players peak somewhere between scrub and end-of-the-rotation role player. Every once in a while, however, they become something more. And when they do, they can completely change the fortune of a franchise.

The manner by which I came up with these ranking was a combination of subjectivity and data analysis. I assigned basic multiplier to the seasonal statistics for the second rounders with stand-out seasons. I then used my limited knowledge to maneuver some players around on the list based on my perception of the stats to combat the imperfections in my formula. It's far from perfect, but I hope you enjoy the list.

I now present to you the top 10 seasons by players who were drafted in the second round of the DASL draft:
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#10 – Matt Fish, 1996
14.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 1.2 spg

As the 38th selection in the ’92 draft, Fish was a contributor from day one. In addition to the featured stat-line, he’s averaged 11 ppg, 7 rpg, 1 bpg, and 1 spg during four. Fish has also played on seven different teams in nine seasons, the first of which was with Philly. He currently resides in Toronto on the last place Raptors.
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#9 – Luc Longley, 1999
13.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 1.1 spg

Longley, a career-long Magician and the 50th pick in the ’91 draft, became a role-playing rebounder/defender upon entering the league. It took him awhile, though, to become an admirable scoring presence in the league. Last season was his best year, helping to solidify the Magic frontline. He’s having a slightly better season this year, showing he still has room to grow.
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#8 – Todd Lichti, 1991
15.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.5 spg

Besides one good year in Indiana in ’89, Lichti’s spent most of his time on the bench, filling his role as a middle- to end-of-the-rotation player throughout his nine destinations. In each opportunity, since being the 31st pick by the Spurs in the 1989 DASL draft, he has proven his ability to be a sound defender. Presently, he’s coming off the bench for the contending Grizz.
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#7 Elmore Spencer, 1999
9.5 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.6 bpg, 1.2 spg

Spencer has been the an anchor for his team’s defense for the entirety of his DASL career. The Spurs’ 36th pick in the ’92 draft has had a very good career as a defending and rebounding specialist, currently playing for the Lakers, who don the second best record in the league this season.
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#6 Derrick Martin, 1998
20.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.6 spg

After a couple seasons enduring lots of bench-sitting with the Pacers, Martin started evolving into a very good scorer in the league. The scoring output peak for the 34th pick in the ’92 draft was also sandwiched by other very good seasons of scoring. He was recently traded from his most successful stop, in Utah, to Vancouver.
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#5 Ed Stokes, 1996
14.4 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1 spg, 1 bpg

The final pick in the 1993 DASL draft a couple very good seasons, one in Charlotte, and one in Indiana, following being drafted by Toronto, the better of which is featured here. When he’s received the minutes, he’s shown he can be an adequate rebounding specialist. He continues to be a role player in Denver for the Nuggets.
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#4 Elden Campbell, 1995
11.7 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 2.7 bpg, 1.3 apg

After being the 36th pick by the Nets in the ’90 draft, Campbell had a successful six years in Utah, where he was a starter on the frontline. Always having proved himself on the defensive end, he’ll have a few years of productivity left before he has to call it quits. He currently plays few minutes, log jammed behind younger, more talented bigs in Houston.
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#3 Timothy Postell, 1994
18.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.2 spg

Postell, the 53rd pick in the ’89 by Sacramento, didn’t play well early on in his career, and it probably hurt his chances of getting larger quantities of minutes. When he finally received playing time, he exploded with this campaign. Unfortunately, following this season in Portland, he changed teams for five straight seasons, not finding traction as a starter against until his second stop in Toronto, where he currently resides.
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#2 Luther Wright, 1995
15.4 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 1 spg

After starting slow with the team that drafted him in Indiana, Wright has had a very good career as a rebounding specialist. The featured season was his first as a main contributor on a DASL team, and his third overall after being the 31st pick in the ’93 draft. He currently plays for Dallas, and has for the last three seasons, following five seasons for the Pacers.
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And the best season by a player selected in the 2nd round of the DASL draft is…..

#1 Oscar Torres, 1999
25.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.6 spg

After a couple not-so-stellar seasons in Boston, the 44th pick in the ’97 draft was signed by Cleveland, where he exploded for this unprecedented statistical output for a player drafted so late. On the Bucks this season, on year removed from the featured season, he hasn’t gotten the playing time he could get on a lesser team, but he’s been productive with only 25 minutes per game to work with. Also, as the youngest player on this list at age 24, great things can be expected from Torres.
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There will always be the hope and desire of intense luck regarding the development of 2nd round players. The next one could be the guy you decide to cut after only one season….or he could be the next Oscar Torres.

Thanks for reading what will hopefully be the first of many unrelated reports about the past, present, and future of the DASL. Let me know what you think.

[lukeyrid13]

Great article. I like this idea, it digs deeper than a lot of other articles and I'm sure it needed a decent amount of research to see where all the productive players were picked and weed down the list.

+3

[UOducksTK1]

I didn't realize Derrick Martin was a 2nd round pick, dang.

One of my favorite articles to date. Go ahead and PM me your +3 upgrade whenever.