GREELEY, Colo. — The day before the COMO draft, Colorado general manager Collin Atkinson sent a surprise message to commissioner Alex Smith: This would be Atkinson's final season. Five years of subpar basketball had taken their toll. Smith confirmed details of the conversation with the Greeley Tribune. He said that the message wasn't shocking, given the Hilltoppers' struggles (110-300 in five seasons). But, hours later, he was stunned by the timing of another message, this one from a potential ownership group inquiring about 2019-2020 membership. Nate Atkins (based in Detroit) and his business partner Wade Rupard (Minneapolis) had stumbled into the conversation at the perfect time. Smith quickly asked Atkinson if he was willing to transfer ownership, and he obliged. Roughly 24 hours before the draft, Atkins and Rupard held the reins of the Colorado Hilltoppers. It'd be one thing if the pair were intimately familiar with the league rulebook and various transactional contexts. But, in fact, they knew little about the day-to-day process of owning a COMO team. It was with this baggage — or lack thereof — that they immediately began building their draft board. Once the event began, the league allowed Colorado to execute a basic trade with St. Louis that had been loosely agreed upon under Atkinson's watch (the Hilltoppers' No. 5 overall pick for Nos. 8 and 10). 'If you ain't first, you're last' The Toppers' first official pickup was Duke guard/forward Cam Reddish, and two picks later, they added Virginia guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who greatly boosted his draft prospects in the NBA Summer League. Atkins said the team originally targeted Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland at No. 5, but decided to accept the package of picks instead. The guy they got at No. 8 — Reddish — was high on their board, anyway. "We loved Cam Reddish so much we honestly considered him at No. 5," Atkins told the Tribune. "He is the reason we were OK passing on Garland (who went to Hamburg at No. 6). "Our picks are almost all about upside and the same is true for Nickeil, who could soon be lobbing passes to Zion (with the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans)." Rupard said it was part of the organization's aggressive mindset. "We want to build a team that can contend for a title, and this is the first step," he said. "That's our ultimate goal. As the prophet Ricky Bobby once said, 'If you ain't first, you're last,' and that's a motto Nate and I live by." Zion arrives in Chaska The world has seen few conclusions as foregone as the No. 1 selection Sunday. Chaska — once a COMO powerhouse, now a cellar dweller — was able to inject a significant amount of positivity into its franchise with the addition of Duke legend Zion Williamson. General manager Joseph Fafinski told SWNewsMedia.com that no fewer than six COMO teams made trade inquiries regarding the No. 1 pick. Nothing was tantalizing enough to follow through on. Once Williamson's name was called, Fafinski made it clear to reporters: "We're rebuilding." A big part of that mindset is John Wall's albatross of a deal ($28M) that will hang around the Moose's neck until 2021. The roster is full of iffy contracts (Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, even Kristaps Porzingis), but even if Fafinski cleans house, Wall's deal makes it tough to complete a rebuild through free agency. Perhaps the former All-COMO player will show a spark this season and become a trade-deadline prospect. Regardless, Fafinski is feeling pretty good. "Woke up today and remembered getting Zion wasn't a dream," he said Monday. Expansion teams finally add talent The first-ever Hamburg Villagers and Scranton Stranglers arrived Sunday via the draft. Each team had three picks: first round, second round, and expansion round. The Stranglers, slotted at No. 4 overall, made a bit of a splash by taking North Carolina guard Cobi White. Two spots later, the Villagers selected Vandy guard Darius Garland. The two new teams are in the same conference, so they'll be able to directly measure their progress against each other in 2019-2020. Their next opportunity to land players will be in the Expansion Draft (slated for Sept. 29), when other teams' cut players $14M and below will be available. After that, they'll participate in unrestricted free agency with some limitations. 2019-2020 COMO Draft results (first round)
2019-2020 COMO Draft results (second round)
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NASHVILLE — No matter the setup, the COMO Draft Lottery seems to engender significant controversy on an annual basis. Monday night was no exception, as the Chaska Moose — making their first-ever lottery appearance — appeared to benefit from a last-minute change of plans. As commissioner Alex Smith was about to announce the No. 2 overall selection, he paused and stated that the next envelope would instead receive the No. 1 overall pick. The precedent for such a move is almost non-existent. Smith called it a "spur-of-the-moment decision to increase drama." So, instead of being given the No. 2 pick, the next envelope — Chaska — got No. 1 and a chance to draft generational talent Zion Williamson in late July. The other team: St. Louis. General manager Aaron Connolly was beside himself, screaming, "Zion was taken from me!" After reviewing the video footage, he asserted, "Each time I watch it, I am more convinced that there are some shenanigans going on." Never mind that some pundits see projected No. 2 pick Ja Morant as a future Hall of Fame selection. Every team that entered the lottery (a six-team group that included expansion franchises Hamburg and Scranton) had its sights set solely on Williamson, a Duke phenom whose 6-foot-7, 285-pound frame and seemingly impossible vertical leap have carried him to near-mythical status before he's even set foot on the professional hardwood. So it's understandable that Chaska general manager Joseph Fafinski unleashed several exclamation points after securing the right to draft Williamson. "Zion!!!!!!" Fafinski shouted. "He was born to graze!" Hamburg and Scranton each had a 10 percent chance of snagging the No. 1 pick, while Chaska, St. Louis, Paisley Park and Colorado all had a 20 percent chance. Colorado was the biggest loser of the night, winding up at No. 5 (though the Top-5 status allowed the Hilltoppers to keep their pick away from St. Louis for one more season). Hamburg was first off the board at No. 6, then Colorado at No. 5, Scranton at No. 4, and Paisley Park at No. 3 before the real drama commenced. Video shows Chaska's envelope being opened by the commissioner's wife, Bridget, before the commissioner decides to change the format of the lottery. In his defense, Smith stated, "I never looked at the envelope until after I announced the change. What you saw on the screen was what I saw. You can even see my left hand covering the slip of paper until the announcement was made." "Furthermore," he said, "I had no incentive to swing the lottery toward or away from St. Louis. This is a championship franchise with an excellent young core and some bright seasons ahead. I'm proud of the work Aaron has done in resurrecting the Hornets from Curt Clauss' trash mountain of squandered potential." Connolly was unswayed. He'd seen multiple other COMO lottery attempts go sideways (Paisley Park general manager Brendan Halleron referenced the 2017 lottery, when the commissioner placed slips of paper inside an acoustic guitar and Kansas City won by virtue of getting stuck inside the instrument for more than a year). "Sure looks like Chaska's envelope was opened prior to that decision being made," Connolly said. Did it remind him of the infamous 1985 NBA Draft Lottery, in which commissioner David Stern allegedly used a frozen envelope to send Patrick Ewing to the New York Knicks? "This might actually top that," he said. "I will not forget this." 2019 COMO Draft order
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