Edge Sports News
Effect of Drejer's Shocking Departure Could Be Felt Beyond Florida
CBS Sportsline
February 20, 2004 Double Bonus
Effect of Drejer's shocking departure could be felt beyond Florida
By Luke Winn, SI.com
1. Spanish raid on Florida
Florida coach Billy Donovan lost one of his starting guards on Wednesday -- and not because of injury or an NCAA rules violation. Instead, it was more like international theft when sophomore Christian Drejer, 21, was lured by a reported $1 million contract to play for F.C. Barcelona in the Spanish pro league. The loss of Drejer, who was averaging 10.2 points and four assists per game this season, left the slumping Gators in a big hole.
In Drejer's nearly two-season stint with Florida the former Danish National Player of the Year, who was recruited heavily by the Gators, was hobbled by injuries and never lived up to his billing. As a result, his appeal to the NBA plummeted (as a freshman he was considered a future lottery pick). The impact of his decline and departure will be felt beyond Gator nation: European players who already have NBA or top-level club options will be less willing to risk exposure at the NCAA level while coaches will be hesitant to woo elite Euro-teens to U.S. colleges.
Agent Keith Kreiter, the president of Edge Sports International, understands the exposure risk for European prospects. He represented Polish-born Maciej Lampe, who entered last year's draft as an 18-year-old and was selected 30th by the Knicks. "People say to these kids, 'Come here for college, you'll work on your game.' The unfortunate thing is, when you're seen every day, people have more time to pick apart your game."
Those NBA observers watching Drejer at Florida found that he lacked aggressiveness and his shooting touch was not as good as advertised. As an 18-year-old, he not only passed on the chance to enter the NBA Draft but also on an offer from F.C. Barcelona so that he could play college ball in the U.S. In retrospect, it would've been better for him to remain a mystery and develop in the NBA -- while making a big-time salary -- rather than be exposed as an amateur. Donovan said that if Drejer had finished the season well, he would have been a first-round NBA pick, but Kreiter -- who made it clear he doesn't condone what Drejer did -- said the Dane may have damaged his draft value.
The only parties who benefit when a prospect such as Drejer plays NCAA ball are NBA execs. Think the Pistons would have taken Darko Milicic with the second choice last June if he floundered in college? Would the Knicks have wasted the 15th pick in 1999 to take Frederic Weis if he was exposed first?
Furthermore, the risk for the college coach may be greater than the reward. A source familiar with the Drejer situation says a European agent and the Spanish club, working through the Dane's parents, cared little about Florida's program and only about getting Drejer onto Barca's roster before a March 3 deadline for personnel moves. Drejer's midseason departure from the Gators is unprecedented in college ball, and if players follow his lead in the future, coaches in the U.S. will think twice before recruiting elite foreign talent. Donovan, for one, isn't likely to let his team get burned again.
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