Desmon Farmer of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers was today named D-League.com Performer of the Week for games played during the week of March 24.  Farmer averaged 33.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists as the Vipers went 3-1 on the week.  

Farmer?s week was highlighted by a season-high 49 points (including 8-of-12 from three point territory) to go with nine rebounds and six assists in a win over the Albuquerque Thunderbirds on Friday.  On Saturday, Farmer came back to score 36 points as the Vipers finished a weekend sweep of the Albuquerque.

The USC product has moved into first place on the D-League?s all-time scoring list with 2,187 points over three seasons.  This year, he leads all D-League players with a 24.6 scoring average and ranks among the league leaders in minutes played.  

Other top performers in the D-League last week included Bakersfield?s Mateen Cleaves, who averaged 23.0 points, 15.5 assists, and 6.0 rebounds in two games; Tulsa?s Adam Harrington, who shot seven-of-12 from three-point range and averaged 24.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in three games; Julius Hodge, who averaged 31.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in two games for Albuquerque; Fort Wayne?s Dahntay Jones, who averaged 26.3 points in three games; Ian Mahinmi, who averaged 20.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in three games for Austin while on assignment from the San Antonio Spurs; and Alando Tucker, who averaged 34.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in two games for Albuquerque while on assignment from the Phoenix Suns.

Carlos Powell of the Dakota Wizards today was named D-League.com Performer of the Week for games played during the week of March 17.  Powell averaged 31.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds as the Wizards went 2-1 on the week.  Powell is the first player to earn the honor twice this season, as he was previously named D-League.com Performer of the Week on Feb. 4.  

A University of South Carolina product, Powell?s best game of the week came on Friday in a win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, when he led all scorers and tied his season high with 37 points, on 13-of-16 shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line, to go with seven assists and five rebounds.  On Sunday, in the weekend?s second match-up between the Wizards and the Mad Ants, Powell tied his season-high with 12 assists.

Erie, Pennsylvania has been awarded an NBA Development  League franchise, it was announced today at a press conference at Bayfront Convention Center in Erie. The team will join Reno, NV which was awarded a D-League franchise on Feb. 29 -- for their inaugural seasons in 2008-09.

?When we decided  to pursue the opportunity to acquire and start-up an NBA D-League franchise, we immediately knew Erie would be a fantastic location. Erie is clearly a ?basketball town? and the entire community -- led by the various city officials -- opened their arms and welcomed the new  opportunity,? said Steve Demetriou on behalf of the Erie NBA
D-League ownership group. ?We truly believe that this new team will be a successful, winning and enjoyable long-term  professional sports entertainment venue for the Erie community.?

Like  Reno, Erie?s NBA affiliations will not be determined until this summer. Erie will be associated with two or three NBA teams that can assign their first and second-year players to their affiliate a maximum of three times per  season. This season the NBA has assigned over 30 players to  the D-League, giving young players a chance to further
develop through valuable playing time.

?Our league is growing every day - not only are we adding two new teams for the '08-09 season, but attendance is up over 20 percent, ticket sales and sponsorship revenues are  up, and more and more people are tuning in online to watch our games,? said D-League President, Dan Reed.
 
?I'm excited and proud to welcome Erie into the NBA and D-League family, and  anticipate that the community will embrace our elite NBA-caliber brand of basketball, enjoy  our entertaining and affordable fan experience, and welcome the positive impact our players and staff will have in the community.?

Tickets for Erie D-League games are on sale and can be purchased via their website at www.nbaerie.com or by calling 814-790-5600. Games will be played at Louis J. Tullio Arena.

Julius Hodge of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds today was named D-League.com Performer of the Week for games played during the week of March 10.  Hodge averaged 25.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in four games this week.  He is the third Thunderbird to earn the honor this season and the only D-League player to be awarded the honor in two different seasons.  

The North Carolina State product set season highs in points and rebounds on Tuesday, when he scored 34 points and grabbed 12 boards in a win over Austin, the first of four consecutive victories for the Thunderbirds.

Sioux Falls forward Kasib Powell and Rio Grande Valley guard Desmon Farmer were today named NBA Development League co-players of the month for games played in February.  

Powell, a D-League All-Star from Texas Tech, averaged 22.6 points, connecting on 19-of-26 three-point attempts, 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Skyforce in February.  Sioux Falls, which went 8-3 in February, is one game out of first place in the D-League?s Central Division.  

Farmer led Rio Grande Valley scorers in eight of 11 games played during the month, including two 39-point outings against Los Angeles on Feb. 17, and Fort Wayne on Feb. 26. In 11 games in February, the former Seattle SuperSonic averaged 26.8 points, including 36-of-71 three pointers, while dishing out 4.4 assists and grabbing 3.8 rebounds per game.

The Boston Celtics today re-assigned Gabe Pruitt, their second-round selection in the 2007 NBA Draft, to their D-League affiliate Utah Flash.  Pruitt will join the Flash for the third time this season.  He was previously assigned Nov. 23 - Nov. 26 and Dec. 3 - Dec. 13.  

The 6-4 guard has appeared in 12 games for the Celtics this season, averaging 2.0 points in 5.7 minutes.  Pruitt scored a career-high seven points on Dec. 14, in a win against the Milwaukee Bucks.