The Euro diaries: Meet Goliath

VARESE, ITALY -- I believe the good stories really don't have an end, or even a beginning. Karma throws fate in the dryer of life, hits the button and starts an eternal spin.

On The Road Again
NBA Insider Chad Ford has hopped across the pond once more for an up-close look at some of the top European prospects in the 2003 NBA Draft. Follow Ford's trip in his daily journal:

Eighteen months ago Podkolzin was a big oaf stumbling through the frozen tundra of Siberia in shoes three sizes too small, squeezing basketballs like grapefruits, seemingly destined to waste his young life in a small, nothing town in the middle of nowhere.

Now he stands in a parking lot in the beautiful town of Varese, Italy. He's 18 years old and dancing to hip-hop, wearing a Lakers warm-up and a Pistons cap, and his shoes are state-of-the-art Adidas high tops, size 21.

His agent has just delivered the paperwork. Within a few days, Pavel will be on the official list of underclassmen declaring for the 2003 NBA Draft. He talks on his cell phone, waves to well-wishers strolling the streets of Varese and asks incessantly about the NBA.

And then, karma knocks us to the floor.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spy a small throng of people just 100 feet from Pavel. As I move closer, the scene causes my jaw to drop. Pavel sees and wanders over.

It's times like these I'm glad we finally splurged for that digital camera.

Pavel (7-foot-4 and 300 pounds) walks up to Jerry (2-foot-6 and 74 pounds).

A giant and a dwarf, in a parking lot in the sleepy town of Varese, Italy.

Holding hands.

Staring into each other's eyes.

Waiting for karma to take them for another spin.

The solemnity of the moment isn't lost on anyone. We have a better chance of seeing Bigfoot and the Yeti out on a blind date than of encountering this scene again ... anywhere ... anytime.

I'm not making this up, folks. You can't make this up.

But that's the way things have been going for Pavel these days. In ancient times Goliath always eventually got the stone between his eyes. It was the Davids, the Kirk Hinriches of the world, that somehow always seemed to get ahead.

Perhaps this is the year the big guys finally win. Yao Ming started the shift in karma last year by proving that all 7-foot-6 guys don't have to play like Shawn Bradley or Manute Bol.

Pavel Podkolzin might finally slam the door on the myth that the really big guys should stick to pro wrestling.

* * *

Eighteen months ago, Varese GM Gianni Chipparo and future Clippers scout Fabricio Besnati stumbled upon Podkolzin in Siberia. At the time, Pavel was 16 years old, stood 6-foot-11 and weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 240 pounds.

By all accounts, Pavel was a project. He had received little formal coaching in Russia, didn't speak a word of Italian and was in terrible shape. But after an audition in Italy (yes, they made him audition) Chipparo and Besnati became convinced that Pavel was worth the risk.

For the next year, Pavel toiled in relative obscurity. He worked on his jumper, athleticism, conditioning and strength. He learned basketball plays. He hired a tutor to teach him Italian and English. And he grew. And grew. And grew.

And then fate knocked on his door once again.

The date was Dec. 19, 2002, and Tony Ronzone and I were just finishing up a scouting trip to Yugoslavia to see Darko Milicic and another giant, 7-foot-6 Slavko Vranes.

That night Ronzone and I were talking with several NBA scouts, swapping strange stories -- urban legends about finding the proverbial diamond in the rough.

Bensati just happened to be at the bar that night, and he told of his Siberian discovery.

Before he worked for the Clippers, Besnati was the general manager of a team in St. Petersburg, Russia. On one scouting trip, Besnati ran across a 7-foot kid in the middle of Nowhere, Siberia. Besnati was intrigued and eventually arranged for him to go to a small club in Italy to work on his game.

The thinking was that in a couple of years, Besnati would pull him out and he'd have a nice player. Shortly thereafter, Besnati left the St. Petersburg team and joined the Clippers' scouting staff. Upon his return to Varese, Italy, Besnati was shocked to find that his kid had grown -- four inches and more than 60 pounds. The kid, Pavel Podkolzin, now stands 7-foot-4 and weighs more than 300 pounds. According to Besnati, the kid isn't just big, he can play. "He's been practicing every day for over a year, and the development has been better than you can imagine. He can shoot the 3, is a great ball handler and has a great feel for the game."

Of course, because he's tucked away, no NBA scouts have seen him play. Besnati swears that if he were scouted like Darko has been, he's an easy top-10 pick in next year's draft. "I'm serious about this. He's that good. He makes Slavko Vranes look like a toothpick."

I'm skeptical. Besnati invites Ronzone and I to visit him in Italy. He says we'll need 10 minutes to make up our minds. We laugh the whole thing off. But Besnati is clearly intent on proving the existence of such a kid. He gets on the Uleb Cup Web site and pulls up the team site. Podkolzin's name is nowhere to be found, and Besnati gets upset.

"I know he's here somewhere." A minute later he begins laughing and directs us back to the Web site. He's pulled up a copy of this year's team picture. Standing in the back row, in the middle, is the biggest guy I've seen since Shaq. He's standing two players away from former NBA center Shawnelle Scott. This kid makes the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Scott look like Kerry Kittles.

"That's him," Besnati says, still laughing. "You're going to break the biggest story of the draft."

Ronzone and I are stunned. Besnati leaves 10 minutes later. Tony and I are still staring at the picture. Minutes later, Ronzone talks to Joe Dumars and tells him they may have to make a little detour on his next trip to Europe. After seeing the picture, I expect another 28 GMs to start booking their flights to Varese today.

They didn't come overnight. But within a few weeks, scouts from the Grizzlies and Warriors had arrived. Soon the Rockets, Lakers and Bucks would follow. Since the first of this year, an estimated 20 NBA teams have scouted Pavel Podkolzin.

* * *

Pavel fits that description to a T. He's a physical specimen unlike anyone I've seen since Shaq. He has a strong, well proportioned body. His arms and calves are huge, and his waist is thin (OK, so not exactly like Shaq).

On the court he looks equally impressive ... in practice. He begins his workout by nailing two 3-pointers from NBA range. Then he takes the ball, crosses over, dribbles between his legs, spins on a dime and rattles the rim with a monster dunk.

He hits floaters, 15-footers from the wings. He takes a low screen on the baseline and makes another athletic move to the basket.

After every basket, he looks over at me and Ronzone and smiles. It's not the ****y type of smile you'd see from an American kid. It's the, "Am I doing OK?" smile I've seen from more than one international player in the last year. The humility is refreshing, even if the practice simulations do get a little old.

There's no way to judge Pavel's defense or his ability to score in the post. Several team officials claim he still has a long way to go. On defense, he still is learning the game and doesn't always follow the ball, limiting his shot-block opportunities. On offense, he has the tendency to gravitate toward the perimeter.

During breaks, Pavel jokes around with his teammates. He's a riot. His personality is infectious . Unlike many of the more drab Europeans who have made their way to the NBA, Pavel is sure to be a hit with fans. Like Yao, he has a subtle way of finding humor in everything.

I ask pavel's teammate, and former Bulls and Jazz guard, Rusty LaRue about Pavel, and all LaRue can do is shake his head at all of the attention Pavel is getting.

When I press LaRue for a scouting report, he flips the question. "You've seen about as much of him as I have, he doesn't really play. Practice is not a game. He's so young, I'm not sure if he really knows how to play."

If LaRue sounds a little bitter, he should be. He's a four-year NBA veteran playing on a ULEB club team. He's married with a wife and three children who've never adapted to living overseas. He's everything Pavel is not -- a proven commodity in college and the pros. He's a steady 6-foot-3 guard with great fundamentals and a wealth of experience. But in a league where size seems to trump all else, LaRue comes up about a foot short.

While the chances of an NBA return for LaRue wane by the day, Pavel's stock seems to rise whether he actually plays or not. Another crossover move has Ronzone raving about the kid's handle.

LaRue still isn't impressed. "He gets that from watching too much NBA. He needs to learn how to play like he's 7-foot-4 before he tries to play like he's 6-foot-4."

LaRue's probably right, but that old-school thinking is on the outs in the NBA. The attraction that European big men bring to the table is their versatility. Teams will draft Pavel hoping he'll be kryptonite to Shaq's mojo. But if he hits a few 3s now and then, what's the harm in that?

Plenty if you're over in Europe. "I don't shoot 3s in the game," Pavel says sheepishly. "My coach doesn't like it. I don't want to get the bench."

It's hard to explain why exactly -- his outside shooting touch is silky smooth. One turnaround jumper in the lane causes the spirit to move in Tony.

"I've seen enough," he says feigning like he's walking for the door. He'll be back. It's impossible to take your eyes off of the 7-foot-4 kid running the floor like a gazelle.

* * *

stuck in europe for a few seasons... on bad ankles = probable injury, plus huge buyout? I think the Knicks are going to have NONE of this guy. I have a feeling the Clippers/Detroit/Miami/Bucks might draft him and let him wait...

if his ankles weren't bad, i'd say for us to draft him and let him improve some over there, and let him and milos come over together in 2 years.

I like this guy more everytime i hear something about him. If he can come over next year he's worth drafting with the lottery pick.

Posted by prodson:

i agree. the DYESS dynasty starts NOW!

That has been my quote since we got him. Let's just hope there's still a chance for that to happen.