SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Five hundred yards of concrete building the arena foundation and today, the Santa Cruz Warriors started building the foundation for their team.
General manager, Kirk Lacob said the first season in a new location is no joke this year.
"We really expect to have a great season, we are going to do everything we can. We've got a lot of guys returning from last year and hopefully we've added a lot of new talent. We are going to do our best to compete here," Lacob said.
Fans got to enjoy the history too. Don Wiberg lives and Santa Cruz and said he hopes their best will bring a championship.
"We're going to get a championship, that's what I'm looking for. You know that ticker tape parade they had in San Francisco for the Giants, we're going to do that in Santa Cruz, I know," Wiberg guaranteed me.
Behind closed door, the Santa Cruz Warriors coaches worked hard to find the best talent out there. They've named their draft room the "War Room".
And with their first pick, the thirteenth overall, the Warriors selected Travis Leslie, a 6'4 guard from Georgia.
Leslie spent time with the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA last year but was hampered with injuries. But Lacob was hopeful that he would deliver in Santa Cruz.
"We think he's a tremendous athlete first of all and he was a really high level player, division one at Georgia, an SEC school."
Lacob said he was one of their top choices and could not believe he was still available for them
"He's signed and ready to go, he's our player and he'll report when training camp starts on November 99th," Lacob explained.
The Warriors also drafted:
TJ Robinson - 6'8 forward from Long Beach State
Faisal Aden - 6'4 guard from Washington State
Durrell Summers - 6'4 guard from Michigan State
Steve Tchiengang - 6'9 forward from Vanderbilt
Darren Moore - 6'3 guard from UC-Irvine
Japeth Aguilar - 6'10" center from Western Kentucky
Arron Mollet - 6'3" guard from Notre Dame de Namur
