Polish basketball team signs Naymick
By Alex DiFilippo (Last updated: 07/20/08 9:45pm)Former MSU basketball player Drew Naymick is preparing for a 4,500-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean to Poland, where he said he’ll continue his basketball career.
Naymick
The 6-foot-10 center told The State News on Sunday that he signed a one-year contract with SKK Kotwica Kolobrzeg — a team in the Dominet Bank Ekstraliga, or Polish Basketball League. Naymick wouldn’t disclose further details on the contract.
“I’m very happy and excited to continue playing basketball,” Naymick said. “It’s a great opportunity for me, and if I play well it will give me a great chance to move up.”
Naymick graduated from MSU in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He considered parlaying his degree into a finance-related job, but toward the end of last season, he decided he’d rather continue his basketball career.
“I was starting to get some attention from agents and European teams,” Naymick said. “I knew I would have a pretty good chance to play somewhere and I decided to test the waters.”
The Muskegon native is the all-time leading shot blocker in both MSU history (134) and Michigan high school basketball history (527). After an up-and-down four years that included an injury-ridden 2005-06 season that forced him to take a medical redshirt, Naymick thrived as a senior, setting career highs with 4.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
Naymick said he’ll fight for playing time in Poland by using the same tactics that helped him develop into a routine starter for the Spartans.
“I’ve learned a lot about toughness at MSU,” he said. “Working hard gave me the opportunity to play for MSU, and the same kind of thing is going to get me time over there.”
Originally Published: 07/20/08 3:42pm
SoCal Spartan
07/20/08 7:27pmI thought he was legitimately doing the PhD first?
Matt
07/20/08 10:22pmI’m just happy he wont be playing for us anywhere….I swear it’s like he was here for 15 years…
Peter
07/22/08 10:13amI hope he knows what he is getting into by going into Poland as not only a mediocre basketball player, but an American with red hair. Polish people hate gingers. He’ll probably be clubbed by an overweight Pollack wearing a Polska Liga jersey. It’s a shame really, he could have done so much. Like help average sized people change light bulbs only accessible by step ladder.
kalvin
07/24/08 1:09amwhy anyone of you would rip this kid i will never understand. he might not be the best athlete, or even the great player he was made out to be, but this kid gave everything he had to our basketball program. dont ever forget that he leaves MSU as the ALL TIME leading shot blocker and an even better human being. Drew Naymick is one of the best student athletes to play any sport for my beloved spartans and he always represented the university excellently. i will always be proud to call him a spartan.
Peter
07/28/08 4:47pmYou know, President Bush loves our country and has done everything he feels is right, why don’t Americans like him? Oh yeah, he sucks. Kind of like the underachieving Drew Naymick.