ALBANY, NY--Former Winthrop Eagles standout guard Michael Jenkins was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008-09 Continental Basketball Association Draft which was conducted Tuesday night in Albany
Jenkins, a 6-3 guard, was selected by the Albany Patroons, a team that compiled a 21-27 record last season. He is the first Winthrop player to ever be selected in the CBA Draft. Just after his selection was announced via a live webcast, CBA Director of Scouting Mark Argenziano and Director of Player Personnel Jeff Argenziano lauded Jenkins' size and scoring ability as major keys in his game and said his ability to play both guard positions would also be valuable for Albany.
“This is a kid who has had great success but is under the radar,” said new Patroons Head Coach Derrick Rowland. “He is an all-around player who does many things well. We will be looking to bring him in and make him a part of the rotation. I think we got a great player today with this pick.”
Jenkins was excited about being tabbed the No. 1 overall pick and hope to continue his collegiate success onto the professional level.
“I would first like to thank the people of Albany and the Albany organization for thinking so highly of me and my abilities,” said Jenkins. “This was something that I hoped would happen and to be selected first overall is an honor. I look forward to coming to Albany and being apart of the tradition and legacy of the Patroons. I can’t wait to get started and bring a championship back to Albany.”
Jenkins helped lead Winthrop to four straight Big South Conference championships, four trips to the NCAA tournament, and an historic first round victory over Notre Dame in 2007. He led the Eagles in scoring last year with a 13.9 average and finished his career as the 10th leading scorer in Winthrop history with 1,253 points.
A three-year starter for the Eagles, the Kinston, NC native saved his best individual performance for the 2008 Big South Conference championship game when he scored a career-high 33 points against UNC Asheville and earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
The CBA, the oldest professional basketball league which begins its 63rd year this season, held its 23rd annual draft which consisted of six rounds and was open to all players who exhausted their college eligibility and were eligible for the NBA Draft this past June. During the 2008-09 season the CBA will have 10 teams. Those teams include Jenkins' Albany (NY) Patroons, the Atlanta Krunk, Butte (MT) Daredevils, East Kentucky Miners, Great Falls (MT) Explorers, Minot (SD) Skyrockets, Lawton (OK) Fort Sill Calvary, Pittsburgh Xplosion, Rio Grande (TX) Silverados, Vancouver (WA) Dragons, and the Yakama (WA) Sun Kings. (Please note that Xplosion and Yakama are the correct spellings used by the two franchises).
