Brandon Peel Signs With the London Lions
Peel becomes the sixth former Blue Devil to sign a professional contract.
Former Central Connecticut men's basketball standout Brandon Peel signed with the London Lions of the British Basketball League it was announced Wednesday. Peel becomes the sixth former Blue Devil to join the professional ranks as he embarks on his first season in European basketball playing in the top level in the United Kingdom.
Peel is a 6-7 forward who finished his Central career ranked eighth on the school's all-time rebounding list with 881 from 2012-16. He earned All-Northeast Conference Third Team honors as a senior and collected 16 double-doubles, while averaging 11.7 points and 9.1 rebounds. Peel was also an NEC All-Rookie Team selection in 2012-13 and finished his career with averages of 8.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
The Lions' season begins on September 22. Below is an update of Blue Devils currently in the pro ranks.
Javier Mojica (6-3, G): A former Northeast Conference Player of the Year while leading CCSU to the 2007 NEC Championship, Mojica won a championship with Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, the top professional league in Puerto Rico. In his 10th professional season, Mojica averaged 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, while shooting 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range. In four seasons at Central, Mojica scored 1,283 points and averaged 11.2 ppg and 4.9 rpg.
Ken Horton (6-7, F): Central's all-time leading scorer (1,966 points), Horton signed with Elan Bearnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez of LNB Pro-A, France's top professional league. He played for Telekom Bsk in the German BBL league last season. In 33 games he posted 10.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.6 apg and 1.3 spg and earned Eurobasket.com All-German Bundesliga Honorable Mention. He helped the team reach the FIBA Europe Cup Semifinals. In 116 games at CCSU, he posted 16.9 ppg and 8.9 rpg, while blocking 197 shots and was named the 2011 NEC Player of the Year
Faronte Drakeford (6-7, F): Drakeford recently signed with San Josep Girona of the Spain 1 Division. He most recently played for Isover Basket Azuqueca in Spain. He averaged 19.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.7 apg and 1.5 spg in 21 games. He was named Eurobasket.com All-Spanish EBA Honorable Mention for his efforts. In two seasons at CCSU he averaged 13.2 ppg and 6.2 rpg in 60 career starts.
Khalen Cumberlander (6-3, G): Cumberlander became the latest Blue Devil to join the professional ranks when he signed his first professional contract with CAB Madeira SAD for the 2017-18 season. CAB Madeira plays in the LPB, the highest professional level in Portugal. Cumberlander became the 36th player in Central history to score 1,000 points and finished his career with 1,138 points. In 114 career games, he averaged 10.0 points, including a career-high 13.2 per game as a senior. As a senior he scored at least 10 points in 21 games, including four 20-point outings.
Tidell Pierre (6-6, F): A two-year member of the Blue Devils squad, Pierre recently signed his first professional contract with Centro Deportivo Rivadavia de Mendoza of the Argentina TFB basketball league. As a senior in 2016-17, Pierre averaged 8.1 ppg and 6.8 rpg with three double-doubles. He started 26 games and was the Northeast Conference's most-improved rebounder (+4.8), while ranking third in the NEC with 3.24 offensive rebounds per game.
