By Matthew Brennan, D-League.com

Three weeks into the D-League season, three veteran players have already received GATORADE Call-Ups to the NBA. However, there is also plenty of young talent putting up impressive numbers this season that can attract the attention of an NBA team. Here are five players (all under 25 years old) who are hoping to follow in the footsteps of Kelenna Azubuike or Matt Carroll and play their way from the D-League into the NBA. All five players have spent time with NBA teams in summer league or training camps but only one has played in an NBA regular season game.

Jeremy Richardson – Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Carlos Powell is leading the Dakota Wizards in scoring. Dick Carlson/NBAE/Getty Images

Richardson is one of the top returning D-League players from the 2006-07 season, and he is off to an excellent start after being selected by Fort Wayne in the D-League Expansion Draft. The 6-7 wing from Delta is averaging 27.5 points, second in the D-League, and is connecting on .591 (13-22) of his attempts from three-point range. He was also named the D-League Performer of the Week on December 3 after scoring a D-League season high 40 points in a game. Last season he was a second-team All-D-League Performer and received GATORADE Call-Ups to the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers, appearing in six NBA games.

Richardson was in training camp with the Miami Heat and played well in the preseason, but was one of the final cuts. “It kinda upsets me,” he said in an interview with the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. “It will make me play with a real chip on my shoulder because I feel like I should be there. I worked hard and had the focus with my workouts and training to get there. I did enough to be in the NBA, but it’s all going to work out in the end.”

Carlos Powell – Dakota Wizards

Carlos Powell, a 6-7 forward from South Carolina, was the second overall pick in the 2007 D-League Draft. He has lived up to his lofty draft status by leading the Wizards with 24.7 points per game while also adding 4.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Consistency has been his trademark, as Powell has scored 18 points or better in every game this season. Prior to the D-League, Powell played in the 2007 NBA preseason with Golden State after tearing up the Australian Basketball League during the 2006-07 season. He also led South Carolina to the 2005 NIT Championship during his college career.

Powell entered the D-League with a lot of confidence after his strong showing with the Warriors during summer league and preseason. "I impressed them a little bit (summer league), and I went to their vet camp and had a great camp," Powell told the Bismark Tribune in an interview. "The numbers just didn't add up for me. But they said, 'Try the D-League. You'll get a call-up.'" If he maintains his current performance, Powell should be playing in an NBA regular season game very soon.

C.J. Watson – Rio Grande Valley Vipers

A first-round pick by the Vipers (fifth overall) in the D-League Draft, Watson has hit the ground running in the D-League, averaging 22.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Vipers are off to a 6-2 start partly due to the contributions of Watson, who was in training camp with the Charlotte Bobcats prior to this season.

Watson, who is 6-2 but can play both guard spots, is in his second professional season after playing last season in Italy and Greece. He starred for four years under Bruce Pearl and Buzz Peterson at Tennessee, where the Vols earned a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament his senior year.

Keith Langford played for the Spurs during the preseason. Tim Heitman/NBAE/Getty Images

This season Watson has scored 22 points or better in all but one game, as he was limited by food poisioning and held to four points in a win over Tulsa. His 22.6 points ranking him ninth overall in the D-League. Watson's versatility can make him attractive to an NBA team looking for either depth at point guard or someone who can score some points off the bench.

Keith Langford – Austin Toros

Keith Langford is making an impact in his second stint in the D-League, averaging 25.0 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Austin Toros. His scoring total places him fourth in the league, and Langford has gotten it done every nigh for Austin by scoring 19 or more points in all six games this season. The 6-4 guard joined the Toros after participating in training camp with the San Antonio Spurs, their NBA affiliate (The Spurs also own and operate the Toros). During the 2006-07 season he averaged 19.7 points for Vanoli Soresina in the Italian league.

Langford erupted for 28 points on Tuesday as the Toros knocked off the Vipers to win their fifth straight game. Rio Grande Valley head coach Bob Hoffman spoke to The Monitor about how tough it is to defend the Langford and his teammates. “Langford was all we could handle," said Hoffman. "He just went at us every possession. We have to do a better job of trying to be ready for him, and now they’ve got other weapons.”

This is not Langford's first season in the D-League, as the former Kansas start played the entire 2005-06 season with the Fort Worth Flyers. He averaged 11.6 points in 46 games, meaning that he is on pace to more than double his scoring average in the D-League. His former Fort Worth teammate, Kelenna Azubuike, who is around the same height and build as Langford (Azubuike is 6-5, 220, Langford is 6-4, 215), made a similiar jump in his second D-League season from 12.6 points per game to 26.0 points. If Langford continues his strong play, he should be awarded the same chance as Azubuike to showcase his talent in the NBA.

Sean Banks – Los Angeles D-Fenders

Banks is breaking out in his third D-League season, leading the Los Angeles D-Fenders in scoring (21.5 ppg), rebounding (6.1 rpg), and assists (4.4 apg). At 6-8, 210, Banks has been excelling at all phases of the game in the D-League, and the boxscores reflect it. A good example would be his outing against the Idaho Stampede on November 27, where Banks scored 35 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists, and made three three-pointers on seven attempts.

Banks is the one player listed here who was actually assigned to the D-League by an NBA team, as the Hornets sent him to Tulsa during the 2005-06 season. Things did not work out with the Hornets, as Banks never appeared in a regular season game in New Orleans, but he has since moved on to the D-League and emerged as a star for the D-Fenders. Banks only played one year of college basketball at Memphis (he was Conference USA Freshman of the Year for 2004-05), so in reality this would be his senior season of college if he had not declared for the draft. Banks' physical tools and all-around game make him an intriguing candidate for a GATORADE Call-Up.