Brown

This year, Ferry had an entire year under his belt and an entire staff to scout the college and international ranks.

And on Wednesday night, those 12 months and that staff paid huge dividends as the Cavaliers got the player they coveted at No. 25 and got their close second choice 17 spots later without making a deal to get him.

The 2006 Draft was considered one of the deepest – and most unpredictable – in years. And that’s exactly how it played out. But while teams were busy wheeling and dealing at the top of the first round, the Cavaliers stood pat and got the man they wanted – Michigan State combo guard, Shannon Brown – at the bottom of it.

As the picks flew off the board in the second round, Ferry and his staff got the player that many experts predicted they would grab in the first: Texas point guard, Daniel Gibson.

With their third overall choice, at No. 55, Cleveland selected a project – 6-9 power forward, Ejike Ugboaja, from Nigeria.

“We feel we got lucky; lucky with the two players that we got,” said Ferry, following the Cavaliers’ banner Draft night. “You have to be good going through the draft process and the scouting and, I really felt that our group throughout the year really grew and came together as a scouting group.”

The Cavaliers scouting team – including Chris Grant, Lance Blanks and international scout, Chico Averbuck – certainly got what they wanted, whether it was luck or, as the cliché goes, luck as the residual of skill.

The Wine and Gold significantly beefed up their backcourt with their first two choices. Brown floored the Cavaliers with a dazzling pre-draft workout and he gives Mike Brown yet another defensive stalwart – along with fellow former Spartan, Eric Snow – at the guard position.

“Shannon comes from a winning situation at Michigan State where they do things the right way,” said an obviously pleased Grant. “(Coach Tom) Izzo is very well respected and we appreciate how he coaches his players. When we scouted him we liked his athleticism, grit, toughness, energy, ability to score, passion for the game. All these things come out of him when he plays. He’s just a ball of energy.”

Brown seemed equally excited to be coming to Cleveland, where he’ll team with LeBron James – a friend and foe from high school all-star games they both participated in four years ago.

Gibson

“I’ll play whatever (the Cavaliers) need me to play – point guard, two-guard,” said Brown in a post-draft conference call. “But my hard work and determination is going to help me. I just bring a lot of energy, a lot of toughness and a lot of grit to the basketball court. I just play hard.”

The 6-4, 205 Brown, 20, was named All Big Ten Second Team and Big Ten All-Defensive Team following his junior season in which he averaged 17.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He scored 15 or more points in 21 of 34 games as a junior. During his three-year career at Michigan State, he played in 97 games (89 starts) and averaged 12.2 points and 3.4 rebounds. He scored in double figures in 61 of 97 career games, including 13 games with 20 or more points.

The 21-year-old Gibson was named Honorable Mention All-America by the AP following his sophomore season at Texas in which he averaged 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard shot .380 (101-266) from three-point range and scored in double figures 24 times during his sophomore season. During his freshman season, he averaged 14.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game and was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. In two seasons, Gibson started all 68 games he played for the Longhorns and, in his brief career at Texas, averaged 13.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

“(Gibson) really shoots the ball naturally,” praised Ferry. “It’s comfortable. It’s easy. He can really motor side to side and stay in front of people. That combination for us is really important.”

On Wednesday morning, the Cavaliers’ position of need was their backcourt and before the clock struck midnight on Thursday morning, the Cavaliers had vastly improved themselves in that area.

Whether it was luck, or simply the way the 2006 Draft panned out, the first big night of the Wine and Gold’s off-season could not have worked out any better for Cleveland.