| Faces From Afar: Finding His Place in Larger N.B.A. Community |
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By Liz Robbins
Beno Udrih, his brother, Samo, and his father, Silvo, are the first family of basketball in Sempeter, Slovenia.
"Well, yeah, in my town it's easy to be known," Udrih said. "There are only two million people in Slovenia and maybe 5,000 people in my town. It's more like a village."
It took more than a village for Udrih to get to the San Antonio Spurs. With what is perhaps the N.B.A.'s most complete team, he is a fast-rising rookie point guard, a left-hander backing up another lefty import, Tony Parker of France.
Udrih's father played in Yugoslavia's second-division professional league. Udrih and his brother began their careers in Slovenia's pro league.
"My father didn't force me to play basketball," Udrih said. "I played handball, football, soccer. I came home one day and a basketball coach asked me to come try out for a team when I was 9."
By the time Udrih was 17, he was a better basketball player than his brother, who is three years older.
Samo Udrih plays in Israel's second-tier league.
"Sometimes you don't need to be better, you got to have some luck, too," Beno Udrih said. "I had a little bit of luck."
He had some hard luck, too. After a promising debut with Slovenia's top team, Olimpija, Udrih struggled with injuries and consistency when he played with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
He moved around last season, starting with a team in Russia and finishing in Italy. At the N.B.A.'s predraft camp in Chicago, he impressed teams that had not paid attention to him.
The Spurs drafted Udrih at No. 28, the same slot they used to choose Parker in 2001.
"We didn't think he'd still be there," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said of the 6-foot-3 Udrih.
Udrih and Parker, each 22, complement each other well. "Tony is an outstanding defender and very explosive; Beno spreads the court a little more because of his shot," Popovich said.
Udrih has averaged 13.5 minutes a game. When Parker was limited to 29 minutes last Wednesday against Orlando because of a groin muscle injury, Udrih sparked the Spurs' 10-point fourth-quarter comeback. He hit two 3-pointers and two free throws and had seven assists in the victory.
"He's a natural point guard, really understands the position," Popovich said. "He's got a great pace about himself: when to speed up, speed down. He's a grade-A passer: hits people on time."
Udrih has so far dispelled the Spurs' doubts that he could handle the physical N.B.A. game.
"The bonus is, we didn't know he was a 3-point shooter," Popovich said.
Through Friday, Udrih was shooting 47.2 percent from 3-point range, fourth in the N.B.A. But his cool court savvy is his calling card.
"He brings a different look, he's got great passes," the Spurs' Rasho Nesterovic, a fellow Slovene, said. "He sees that open guy when nobody sees him. He's just an all-around player."
Udrih comes by it naturally.
Used courtesy of: New York Times |
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