The collective gasp that filled the room when defender Steve Shak was announced as the first selection in the MLS SuperDraft was probably not so much a reaction to the player as it was to the fact that the MetroStars had managed to avoid trading the pick. In the weeks leading up to the draft, MetroStars general manager Nick Sakiewicz said every single club inquired about obtaining the top spot, and in the three days prior to the draft those talks intensified. Chicago and Colorado were the most aggressive suitors and the rumored scenarios would have landed the MetroStars at least two, possibly three, first-round picks. Instead, MetroStars coach Octavio Zambrano chose Shak, a player he had coached as a 15-year-old on the U-19 L.A. Salsa club team in California. The biggest gasp came from Shak himself, who looked like a pageant winner as he exchanged tearful hugs with his parents before taking the stage and catching his breath. “This is probably the biggest surprise I’ve ever had in my life,” Shak said. Zambrano said Shak’s father asked him to coach his son on the Salsa. “I saw this really thin, lanky kid, and I didn’t think much of him,” Zambrano recalled. “But once he started playing, I knew that this kid was something special.” Zambrano believes that playing with older, highly skilled Latin American teammates refined Shak’s game. “I know what his pedigree is,” Zambrano said. “I think technically, he is the most rounded player in the draft.” Sakiewicz saw Shak for the first time in the Umbro Select games held during the three days prior to the draft. “I think Steve is a good example of why it is important for players to come play in these games,” Sakiewicz said. “I was totally unprepared for this draft coming from Tampa Bay, where we had traded away all our top picks, so I had to scramble to see players in these last few weeks. I think Steve was unequivocally the standout player in this combine.” Most agree Shak was one of the standouts, but considering the MetroStars’ plurality of immediate needs, it seemed two first-round picks would have been better than one. “We were close to doing something, but as I said, nobody was willing to come up with two bona fide starters for the pick, so we decided to keep it and pick one good player,” Zambrano said. Said Sakiewicz: “All of the trade scenarios involved some kind of risk, and we didn’t want to take those risks.”
Wilt: ‘The player we wanted’
As it turned out, the MetroStars’ hedging did not affect Chicago and Colorado, who each got the man they would have picked first-with a little help from Dallas. After Kansas City made Indiana’s Nick Garcia the second pick, the Burn dealt forward Dante Washington to Columbus and got the No. 3 pick. They then traded that pick to Colorado for the No. 5 spot and the Rapids’ first-round pick in 2001. The Rapids took goalkeeper Adin Brown, and Chicago, standing pat at No. 4, took UCLA defender Carlos Bocanegra. “We made five different proposals to the MetroStars, but in retrospect, I’m glad it didn’t happen, because we got the player we wanted,” Chicago general manager Peter Wilt said. Columbus felt comfortable that Washington, 29, was better than any forward available in the draft and believe he will at least partially fill the gaping void left by Stern John, who went to play in England. Washington played with Columbus briefly in the 1996 season but was dealt to Dallas after three games so that the Crew could sign goalkeeper Brad Friedel. He has 24 goals and 15 assists in 88 games. “Dante wanted to go somewhere he could get more minutes and we needed to make some room under the salary cap,” Dallas coach Dave Dir said. “We were lucky enough to get Aleksey Korol with the fifth pick, so I would say it was probably good for him and good for us.” Another forward looking to kick-start his career, Wolde Harris, will get an opportunity to do so in New England, where Giovanni Savarese recently left for Italy and Joe-Max Moore took off for the English Premier League. Colorado moved the disgruntled former Clemson star in order to get the No. 10 pick in the draft and used it on Clemson left back Alan Woods.
United colors carry weight
D.C. United continued to discover new ways to benefit from its own success. Picking 16-year-old Bobby Convey was logical since United has enough depth to invest time in the crafty midfielder. United’s next pick, however, was riskier. Butler midfielder Steven Armstrong, who was born in England and has played for South Africa’s U-23 national team, has not signed an MLS contract. Although many teams regarded Armstrong highly, they let him fall to United at the first pick of the second round for fear he will flee to play in England as soon as he graduates. Yet his comments while wearing a black United jersey on draft day revealed why it was a risk only D.C. could take. “Initially, I was thinking of going overseas, and I’ve got people who are willing to help me do that,” Armstrong said. “But I’ve been supporting D.C. and following them for three years, so it’s awesome. It’s an honor to be picked by them.” Armstrong also expressed interest in L.A., but Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid said Armstrong’s senior international status was a deterrent for his club. “We may end up saying we wasted a pick on him,” United general manager Kevin Payne said. “But he’s got some time to make a decision and we hope to convince him that the best way to become a professional in Europe may not be as a serial trialist, but rather that it is often better to be part of an existing pro club. Since ours is respected abroad, we may be able to help him.”
EnduroDraft?
The draft began just after 10 a.m. and MLS officials had hoped to finish all six rounds by around 1 p.m., but Commissioner Don Garber did not make the closing remarks until 2:45. Every team seemed to use every last second of its five-minute time limit for each pick in the first round, not to mention the liberal use of two additional five-minute timeouts per team. The waiting was tolerated during the first round, but when Miami called timeout before its first pick in the draft – the fifth in the second round – it was greeted with a chorus of groans. “We weren’t wavering – another team asked us to call time so they could make us an offer,” Miami general manager Doug Hamilton said. The integrated draft revealed a not-so-shocking principle – that which is free goes first. Eight of the nine Project-40 players and six of the eight youth internationals chosen went in the first three rounds. Most of those players will not count against a team’s roster or salary cap. By contrast, just four of the 17 USL players taken were picked in the first three rounds. The 42 college players were spread almost evenly across the six rounds.
by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns
