Saturday is when the new season begins and the Skyforce have named who will be gracing the court for Game one. Five rookies and seven players with various levels of seasoning are ready to hit the hardwood.

Six of the players are listed as guards and two are listed as guard/forward so we can see an early trend toward the makeup of the squad. With one pure forward and three centers there will be a considerable amount of length available.

All of the returning players enter their second seasons in a Skyforce uniform. Guards Tre Kelley and DeAndre Liggins arrive after a year elsewhere while center Byron Mullens, with two more guards Rodney McGruder and Bubu Palo who were part of the team that fell to Canton in the 2015 NBADL Playoffs.

Four of the members spent time in Miami Heat camp and after being waived by the parent club, signed up for a stint in Sioux Falls. Center Keith Benson, forward Greg Whittington, guard Corey Hawkins and guard Briante Weber have a foundation with the organization to begin the regular season.

Two of the five draft choices are with the team to start the campaign as first round pick Jabril Trawick will take a backcourt slot and third rounder Russell Byrd will swing between both front and back lines. The final entry made quite an impression through the open tryout process as center Nigel Spikes will join the crew on opening night against the Iowa Energy at the Sanford Pentagon.

No. Name            Pos Ht        Wt   DOB      From Acquired
24 Keith Benson     C 6-­11     238 08/13/88 Oakland
22 Russell Byrd      G/F 6-­6   203 03/04/92  Michigan St./Master’s
3  Corey Hawkins    G 6­-1     200 12/22/88  UC Davis
7  Tre Kelley             G 6­-0     187 01/23/85  South Carolina
12 DeAndre Liggins  G 6­-6     204 03/31/88  Kentucky
4  Rodney McGruder  G/F 6-­5 205 05/21/91 Kansas State
5  Byron Mullens        C 7­-0     270 02/14/89 Ohio State

8  Bubu Palo              G 6­-2    170 07/09/91  Iowa State
20 Nigel Spikes          C 6­-10  227 10/18/89 Marshall
23 Jabril Trawick       G 6­-5    215 06/17/92 Georgetown
11 Briante Weber     G 6­-2   165 12/29/92  VCU
2  Greg Whittington   F 6­-8    210 02/07/93  Georgetown

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