Dave’s bench has a good mix of rookies and sophomores, combining the experience with young potential….  Lol that sophomores are experienced.

Ben McLemore – The #1 pick in the 2013 NLL draft by Philadelphia 76ers. (No wonder he was the 6^th man….), Ben has had a rocky start to the NLL, as he was in the doghouse most of his rookie season, only getting playing time when there were injuries to a sixer.  This year has been different, though, as he has asserted himself much more than before.  Dave actually has looked to get the young man minutes and he hasn’t disappointed.  He hasn’t skyrocketed either, however, which could be a disappointment for a #1 overall.  Hopefully, Ben will show he was worthy of that pick during the rest of his contract.  He should be a great scoring threat off the bench in this contest tonight.

Michael Carter Williams – Last year’s ROTY, MCW had a wonderful freshman season in the NLL after being drafted 8^th by Chicago.  He was given the boot in the offseason when the Bulls got the opportunity to add Curry, so MCW and all his hardware ended up in Toronto, where he’s averaging 16.2 a game.  Not bad for young MCW.  He will look to bring his PG leadership and intangibles (we’re talking a 6’6” PG here, lots of intangibles!) to Dave’s team off the bench.  Excellent choice for VT here,  as Penny must have been napping during the draft process!

Alex Len – The big 7 footer was the 12^th overall selection for Sacramento, but traded mid season to the Denver Nuggets for Kirk Hinrich and Travis Outlaw.  Len never really seems to get the time to blossom, as he only gets about 15 minutes a game.  His scoring needs work, but Alex was a project coming out early, so no surprise there.  Hopefully he will get to show all the promise that is associated with his pick tonight.  Plus, you really can’t teach someone to BE 7 foot!

Cody Zeller – Dave loves those big men, as the 2^nd 7 footer off his bench will be Cody Zeller.  Cody was actually taken ahead of Len in the 2013 draft, 10^th by Denver.  He was traded this year for more depth, as he had fallen out of favor with the Nuggets.  Cody and Lucas Nogueira were sent to the Pelicans in a 3 team deal that netted Denver both DeMarre Carroll and Trevor Booker.  Surprisingly, Cody has blossomed since, as he now averages over 7 PPG and 6.5 rebs, almost double the output he had in Denver.  Expect he and Len to be VT’s “Twin Towers” off the bench, creating rebounding nightmares for the smaller Penny squad.

Kentavious Caldwell Pope – KCP is finally becoming the player that GM Badwolf envisioned when he was taken 9^th in the 2013 draft.  After a rocky rookie season, KCP has bounced back and is now a valuable asset for Milwaukee.  He’s averaging over 15 a game and shooting 38% from 3.  His rebounding and defense need to improve, but the sky is the limit for this young athletic guard/forward.  He should provide valuable scoring off the bench for Dave’s squad

PJ Hairston – Troubled early on, PJ left college and went to the NBDL, where he became the league’s most dominant player, parlaying that into the 24^th pick of the 2014 NLL draft by the Blazers.  PJ has had a lot of ups and downs, mirroring the surprisingly poor play of the Blazers this season.  Like Portland, there were big expectations for PJ, but he has only proved to be an average scorer, thus far.  Hopefully, his play will improve and being selected for this team should help boost the young man’s confidence.  Now if he can just find a way to be a spark for VT, he could become the surprise of the game tonight!

Cleanthony Early – Another young rookie, Cleanthony was taken 27^th overall by Detroit, but was relegated to the D-League and didn’t even suit up for GM Mavs4life before being traded to Penny’s Suns.  He’s got potential and is considered to be one of the sleepers of this draft, but that has not translated yet on the court.  Penny thinks Dave took him as a kick in the behind just to force Penny to have to watch one of his players hopefully do well against him.