Broomfield, Colo. - The Colorado 14ers basketball club today announced the appointment of
Kent Davison as associate head coach. He will assist 14ers head coach Joe Wolf. The team, from the NBA Development League, begins its inaugural season with a two-game road trip Nov. 24-25 against the Idaho Stampede. The 14ers will host the Los Angeles D-Fenders Dec. 1 in the first basketball game played at the new Broomfield Event Center.
Davison most recently served as the inaugural head coach of the Roanoke Dazzle, a former member of the NBA Development League. Davison had 13 NBA call-ups as coach of the Dazzle, the most of any coach in the five years of the league. Davison also boasted the 2005 and 2006 NBA D-League Rookie of the Years in James Thomas and Will Bynum. Matt Carroll was the D-League MVP under Davison in 2005 while Davison had seven First-Team All-League selections in his tenure with the Dazzle.
"To be with an organization like the 14ers is a great opportunity. I am impressed by the people involved, especially the ownership group, Gary Hunter and Coach (Joe) Wolf," said Davison. "My wife and I are excited to make the move to Colorado. She is from Kansas and we lived there for 20-some years. It's kind of like returning home."
Kent Davison began his basketball coaching career in the college ranks where he was the assistant basketball coach at Sterling College (Sterling, Kansas) for one year before moving to the high school level to pursue his career as a head coach. Winfield High School (Winfield, Kansas) gave Davison his first head coaching position; however he was not limited to basketball. The multi-talented Davison coached the girls' tennis team and boys basketball team. He also became the assistant football coach and assistant boys tennis coach from 1974-1979 to round out his stay at Winfield, all while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in business and economics from Sterling College in May of 1972. He later received his Masters Degree in secondary school administration from Fort Hays State University in May of 1988.
Davison went back to collegiate athletics the following season as a volunteer assistant basketball coach at Wichita State until 1981 when he left to fill Garden City Community College's vacant assistant coaching position. Davison made Garden City, Kansas his home for the next 18 years, serving 11 as the assistant coach and the remaining seven as the head coach of the Broncbusters, winning the Coach of the Year for the Jayhawk Community College Conference in 1994-95.
Davison made the jump to the professional ranks in 1998 and served as the assistant coach of the Fort Wayne Fury of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). Davison stayed in Fort Wayne for two seasons before becoming the inaugural head coach/director of player personnel for the Dodge City Legend in 2000. Davison led the team to a league championship and earned Coach of the Year honors. Serving there for parts of two seasons, Davison returned to Fort Wayne to fulfill the same position he had with the Legend until 2001 before coaching the Dazzle.
With seven new markets and 12 teams for 2006-07, the D-League will be divided into divisions for the first time. The Colorado 14ers will join the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, Anaheim Arsenal, Bakersfield Jam, Idaho Stampede and Los Angeles to make up the Western Division. The Arkansas RimRockers, Austin Toros, Dakota Wizards, Fort Worth Flyers, Sioux Falls Sky Force and Tulsa 66ers will comprise the Eastern Division.
The 14ers' 50-game regular season schedule features 30 contests within the Western Division and 39 weekend games (Fri-Sun). In addition, the first ever D-League All-Star Game is set for Saturday, Feb. 17 to be played during Jam Session at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas.
Season Tickets are available now for the 2006-07 seasons by calling 303-465-HOOP. For more information on season tickets and to see a complete list of season ticket holder benefits, visit www.BroomfieldEventCenter.com.
About the Broomfield Event Center: Currently under construction on the south side of U.S. Highway 36, between 112 th and 120 th Streets, the Broomfield Event Center will be a state of the art 180,000 square foot multi-purpose event center and will include 6,000 seats, including 25 suites, 900 club seats, a sit-down restaurant, two themed bars and a separate basketball practice facility. The Broomfield Event Center will host more than 130 events per year, including concerts, trade shows, rodeos and sporting events. It is the future home of the Rocky Mountain Rage Professional Hockey Club (Central Hockey League) and the Colorado 14ers Professional Basketball Club (NBA Development League, Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets, Toronto Raptors affiliate team). The new venue is scheduled to open in November.
About Arista: The Broomfield Event Center is a major anchor for the 215 acre multi-use development known as Arista. Other than the event center, the Arista development will include retail, office and residential space.