It is not hard to spot Rod Platt when he walks into the train station in Wels, Austria.
To begin with, the Loyola College graduate is about 6-foot-9. And Platt is an African-American in a central European country that is mostly white.
That is no big deal to big man Platt, who has played pro basketball in Austria for the past four seasons.
“That is the one thing I have always noticed: They are not as worried about things as they are back home,” said Platt, in a recent telephone interview from Wels, a town with about 55,000 people. “They are laid-back and relaxed over here.”
Platt graduated from Loyola in 1999 with a degree in philosophy. He then spent three seasons playing pro hoops in The Netherlands, then moved to WBC Wels in the top Austrian league prior to the 2002-03 season.
“Everyone can’t make it to the NBA. I don’t know if that is realistic anymore,” said Platt, who was the Most Valuable Player of the Austrian All-Star game in 2004. “I am just going to play as long as I can.”
Platt, 30, is one of several basketball players from Baltimore-area colleges who now makes his living as a pro hoopster overseas. Another is guard Fred Warrick, who finished his career at Coppin State in 1999. He has spent the past four seasons playing in the Czech Republic. Living overseas is not easy, no matter the line of work.
“The most challenging? I guess being away from my family, being away from my son,” said Warrick, whose 6-year-old son lives in Washington.
Warrick is provided the free use of an apartment and a car in the Czech Republic. He is less than four hours from Prague, which Warrick calls his favorite city in Europe.
Tom Martin, who played in college at Towson University from 1987-89, has played overseas for nearly 10 years. He is a guard this season in London.
“When I first go to London, teams were only allowed two Americans per team,” Martin wrote in an e-mail from England. “Today, most teams play with five foreign players. The need to get better has seen the rise in young, talented (European) players. I run my own basketball clinic in schools and colleges, and next year I am going to offer trips to a U.S. basketball camp for one or two of my young prospects.”
Another Towson product, Baltimore’s Kurk Lee, played several years in Finland.
The European season lasts until May, and sometimes June. Most teams play just one game per week, which gives American imports a lot of free time. Many European teams practice in the morning, take the afternoon off, then practice again in the early evening. Leagues in western Europe allow at least three Americans per team. Hungary allows just two Americans per team, while several teams in Romania and Serbia have one or no Americans on the roster.
“I use free time to see sights, interact with vasts amount of people from different cultures,” Martin wrote. He added that he enjoys dining out, and adds the club scene in London is “vibrant and fun.”
Most top Americans in Europe can earn at least six figures per season, and most of the time their salaries are tax-free. American imports in central Europe can make nearly $100,000 per season, while NBA-caliber players in countries such as Spain, Italy and France can make at least $500,000 per season.
John Gilchrist received a lot of attention after he left the Maryland Terps after his junior season in 2004-05. This year, as a first-year pro for Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion in Israel, he averaged 14.5 points and 30.5 minutes per game in his first 17 contests.
Tamir Goodman, who played at Towson, has played pro ball in Israel for several years.
Warrick, 29, held the single-game scoring record of 49 points for the Czech league until it was broken by fellow American Adam Hess during the 2004-05 season. Hess played at William & Mary. Warrick is related to Maurice Whitfield (Norfolk State), who has played in the Czech Republic the past few seasons.
The style of play in Europe is unlike that of the NCAA. There are a few basic rule differences between Europe and top-level American leagues. The game in Europe has 10-minute quarters, the ball can be touched once it hits the rim, the three-second lane is a trapezoid and thus wider near the basket, and a player is called for walking if he does not clearly put the ball on the floor before he picks up his pivot foot.
Martin wrote that getting used to the walking call was a big adjustment on the court in Europe.
“The game is a little different,” Warrick said. “There are a lot of mainly shooters here, and they are a lot more fundamentally sound” than most American players.
THE GLOBAL GAME
Here is a look at male basketball players from local colleges who have played pro basketball overseas this season:
» Coppin State: Pierre-Yves Denervaud (Switzerland), Julian King (Paraguay), Terquin Mott (Venezuela), Dorian Pena (Phillipines), Rafi Reavis (Phillipines), Larry Stewart (Greece), Fred Warrick (Czech Republic), Allen Watson (Austria)
» Loyola College: Rod Platt (Austria), Jason Rowe (France)
» Maryland: Obinna Ekezie (Italy), Rodney Elliott (Turkey), John Gilchrist (Israel), Exree Hipp (Australia), Mike Mardesich (France), Drew Nicholas (Italy)
» UMBC: Serge Feckoua (France), Pascal Fleury (Canada)
» Morgan State: Tom Frederick (England)
» Navy: Sitapha Savane (Spain)
» Towson University: Ralph Biggs (Belgium), Matt Campbell (Australia), Tamir Goodman (Israel), Donald Jones (Argentina), Ryan Lexer (Israel), Dwayne Martin (England), Florian Schneider (France), Marijan Spalevic (Serbia)
Source: www.eurobasket.com.
