When it comes to basketball, fewer Division I programs have been more diverse than Valparaiso University over the years.
Internationally speaking, the Crusaders have overcome the language barrier numerous times to pluck talent from other countries. It all began with Scott Drew, who spent 10 years at VU, nine as assistant to his dad, Homer, before leaving in 2003 to resuscitate scandalized Baylor.
A consummate recruiter, Drew frequently tapped the Baltic states and Croatia, which was one of his favorite hunting grounds. The predominantly Catholic country produced Zoran Viskovic, who starred on VU’s Sweet Sixteen team in 1998, Marco Punda, and 7-footer Hrvoye Vucic.
Croats remain passionate about soccer, but VU freshman David Skara grew up in Zadar, which bucked the trend. In his city, basketball was Hoosier Hysteria transplanted.
“I hope to add to the (VU) tradition, but that didn’t influence my decision to sign with Valparaiso,” he said after a solid 27-minute stint in a winning first-place showdown with Green Bay.
Numerous Croats have played NBA ball. Chicagoans still remember Toni Kukoc, who spent eight of his 13 seasons thriving with the Bulls, but Skara turns elsewhere for hero worship.
According to him, Croatia reveres Drazen Petrovic, who starred for the New Jersey Nets from 1989-93 and had his number (3) retired. Widely regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards, Petrovic’s rising career was cut short at age 28 in a fatal auto accident.
“He’s the best player Croatia ever had,” Skara insisted. “He’s a legend.”
The long-legged 6-foot-8 forward tuned up for VU by averaging 16 points and eight rebounds last season at Midwest Elite Academy in Merrillville.
Coach Bryce Drew, once a teammate of Viskovic and fellow Croat Marko Punda, cites the country’s ability to produce highly skilled players with refined passing skills.
“Once you get a few in that helps,” Drew said. “We’ve become familiar with Croatia and their culture so we can relate to them. It gives you name recognition.”
Skara flashes skills at a higher maturity level than many college freshmen.
“David has a very high basketball IQ and is quick on his feet,” Drew said. “He’s going to get better with experience.”
Part of a solid eight-player rotation, Skara is averaging better than 20 minutes off the bench. His prime time was increasing even before injuries to David Chadwick, Keith Carter and Lexi Williams thinned the roster. In a recent victory over Oakland, Drew used only eight players. Six of them, including Skara, hit double figures.
“We’re young, Only one senior,” Skara said, referring to Vashil Fernandez, a 6-10 forward from Kingston, who sharpened his skills by playing for Jamaica’s national team last summer.
“It helped me develop my skills,” said Fernandez, always a strong shot blocker but seldom scoring until this year. He owns the single-season school record with 80 and is averaging better than seven points and six rebounds.
Drew credits Fernandez’s improved right-handed hook shot.
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“He’s worked hard, especially around the rim, and it’s paid off,” Drew said.
Shooting up close and personal, Fernandez carries a team-leading .600 field goal percentage (77-for-128).
Before the season, Valparaiso was picked to finish fourth, behind Green Bay and Cleveland State, but takes a one-game lead over the Horizon League co-favorites into Sunday’s game at Milwaukee. Calling the Crusaders overachievers could be resented, but nobody outside of the ARC saw this coming.
“If people have a low opinion we like to prove differently,” Fernandez said. “We come out with a chip on our shoulder. Everybody’s hungry.”
The undernourished Crusaders include Tevonn Walker, who hammered for 20 points against Green Bay, and Max Joseph. Both Canadians are from Montreal, and Louisiana State transfer Shane Hammink hails from the Netherlands.
Fernandez went 5-for-5 from the field in an earlier victory against Oakland, probably his best game of the season. “Everyone knows his role,” he said, citing VU’s unselfish offensive approach.
Three of VU’s four remaining conference opponents are resting in the second division, but Milwaukee has won its last five home games. The league championship might not be decided until the last weekend in February when Valparaiso (23-4, 10-2) closes at Cleveland State (15-11, 9-3) and pesky Oakland (12-14, 7-4) visits Green Bay (20-6, 9-3).
The Phoenix also have a prior engagement with CSU.
Overhyped, underplayed
Green Bay’s visit to Valparaiso attracted a season-high crowd of 4,920, but didn’t live up to the hype partly because Keifer Sykes sprained his left thumb in the first four minutes.
“He tried to play through the pain, but it swelled up on him,” said coach Brian Wardle, who benched the point guard for seven minutes in the second half. “He had trouble handling the ball.”
Sykes ventured in Friday with an 18-point average and is closing in on 2,000 for his career, but 6-8 E.V. Nickerson, helped limit him to only 2-of-13 shots. The rudderless Phoenix looked listless until three treys in the last three minutes nearly erased VU’s 56-43 lead.
Sloppy ballhandling offset VU’s 45-30 dominance on the boards to prevent an early blowout. Fourteen turnovers forced the Crusaders to settle for a 29-23 lead at the intermission. In a word: ugly.
John Mutka is a freelance writer.