Incarnate Word's Pierce Caldwell is in North Dakota today to begin his career as a professional basketball player in the NBA Development League.
The former Cardinals guard got the call and flew immediately to Bismarck, N.D., where he joined the Texas Legends (Dallas Mavericks affiliate) for a pair of weekend games against the Dakota Wizards. The two D-League squads will play Friday and Saturday giving Caldwell his first pro action. He replaces former San Antonio Spurs and veteran NBA guard Antonio Daniels on the Legends roster. Daniels recently suffered a wrist injury.
“I got the call from (Legends owner) Donnie Nelson,” Caldwell said, “and I left to join the team in Dallas before flying to North Dakota.” Since he completed his UIW eligibility last spring, Caldwell spent time in the Spurs off-season program before getting a trial with the Legends. While with the Legends' summer program he spent a month playing in China.
“It has been fun,” Caldwell said. “The players are bigger, way bigger in this league. They are stronger and faster and the court is bigger—the three-point line is way farther out.” Caldwell, a three-time NCAA Division II All-American, finished at Incarnate Word holding all the school's shooting records from three-point range.
Recalling his summer experiences, Caldwell said “the defenses are different and it took me a few days to pick it all up but I'm okay now.”
With the Legends Caldwell will have a wealth of experience from which to draw. Coaching the Frisco, Texas,-based team is Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, the only female coach in either the NBA or the D-League. Also, the team's director of operations is Spud Webb, a 12-year NBA veteran and one-time winner of that league's slam dunk contest. As the Legends owner, Nelson also serves as the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks.
With Caldwell's signing, the Legends roster now numbers players from schools such as West Virginia, Washington, Houston, North Carolina, Boston College, and Incarnate Word.
