Foreign Basketball Players Seek Korean Dream
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
No less than 600 foreign players applied for the Korean Basketball League (KBL) tryouts for next season, hoping to experience the ``Korean Dream.''
The basketball body said, ``A total of 616 basketball players sent their applications ahead of the deadline last Monday. The number is the largest in the history of the basketball league.''
Compared to the last tryouts held in 2003, where 250 players wanted to play in South Korea, the number is an astonishingly big increase.
In selecting imported players, 10 teams each recruited the players last three seasons.
However, to prevent those players' salaries from skyrocketing due to under-the-table money, the league set a new rule last January.
The new rule stipulates that salary caps of two foreign players must not exceed $400,000.
The former rule said that the salary caps for two foreign players is less than $280,000 and maximum of $200,000 for one but there were rumors that players accepted secret payments from their teams.
Because of the reduced wage, it was expected that players who have big name value would not apply for this season's tryout.
``The reasons many players want to play in Korea is due to the league's reputation and good treatment,'' an official from the league said.
Among applicants, there are 51 players who played in the Korean league previsouly.
From scoring machine Pete Mickeal, who won the KBL's best foreign player award, Lou Roe, former Spanish league MVP, and rebound leader Olumide Oyedeji to Nigel Dixon, Johnny McDowell and Denis Edwards, who played in the early years of the league, a variety of players expressed their desire to come to Korea.
In addition, some players estimated to be better than Mickeal were said to put their names on the list even though it is not 100 percent certain they will appear in the tryouts, scheduled from July 19 to 21 in Las Vegas, because they might request off-the-book money or have better offers from other leagues.
There are also several players who played in the National Basketball League (NBA) such as guard Antonio Meeking, who played for the Charlotte Bobcats, former New Jersey Net Jabari Smith and forward Tyrone Nesby of the Washington Wizards.
What's attracting basketball fans are the two Korean-American players Eric Sandrin and Tony Atkins who intend to participate in the tryouts.
Sandrin is the brother of Lee Dong-joon, the second overall pick of the KBL's draft by the Daegu Orions this year.
The 28-year-old Sandrin, who stands 2.08 meters tall, played in the Portuguese league this year and averaged 14.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. He was named the MVP of the All-Star game and won the slam-dunk contest.
Atkins, 1.8-meters, 27, graduated from the prestigious Georgia Tech, which has produced Stephon Marbudy of the New York Knicks, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors and retired former All-Star Kenny Anderson. He has played in Turkey, France and Poland.
``Although Korean teams do not favor the guard position, Atkins applied because he wants to play in his mother's hometown,'' said his agent.
Tony Rutland of the SK Knights was the first Korean-American to play in the KBL in 1998. The point guard, who had played with Tim Duncan at Wake Forest, recorded 11.8 points per game and 5.1 assists.
Meanwhile, former LG Saker Pervis Pasco, expelled from the league after beating a referee and a player in this year's playoffs, also applied but was not accepted.