The Halifax Rainmen say they have their man, but they aren’t letting the cat out of the bag just yet.

The Rainmen are picking second overall in the Premier Basketball League draft this morning in Chicago, and are set to lay the first stones on the foundation for the 2009 season.

The Rainmen, who pick after the Detroit Panthers, have identified a big man who was reportedly a top PBL player last year. They are already confident he will report to Halifax.

“The player we’re looking to draft, we’ve had conversations with him,” Rainmen co-owner Andre Levingston said. “He’s very familiar with this city, with our organization. He’s excited about the opportunity to come to Halifax.”

Teams gain exclusive PBL negotiating rights to players drafted today and retain them until Nov. 16.

The Rainmen pick again at the 25th spot in the two-round draft.

“We’ll land a big man with our first pick,” Levingston said. “Then we’ll look to bring in a highly-skilled player in the second round who can do some banging and some rebounding.”

The two players drafted today are expected to be the stars of this season’s team along with returnees Eric Crookshank, Brian Silverhorn, Kadiri Richard and Jimmy Twyman.

The Rainmen protected the four stars of last year’s team and have their negotiating rights until Nov. 16. The rest of the team will be made up of free agent signings.

Levingston is excited for today’s draft, which takes place in the morning and will be streamed online on pblproball.com on tape delay at 8 p.m. He said it “legitimizes” the PBL.

“I just like the draft process,” he said. “It legitimizes this league and my first impression of the PBL has been strong.

“We’re looking to draft players who can help us win every night, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”